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Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science, and Technology at Three Levels

Standard 4: Science - Elementary

Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.

Physical Setting

1. The Earth and celestial phenomena can be described by principles of relative motion and perspective.

Students:

     describe patterns of daily, monthly, and seasonal changes in their environment.

This is evident, for example, when students:

     conduct a long-term weather investigation, such as running a weather station or collecting weather data.
     keep a journal of the phases of the moon over a one-month period. This information is collected for several different one-month periods and compared.
 

2. Many of the phenomena that we observe on Earth involve interactions among components of air, water, and land.

Students:

     describe the relationships among air, water, and land on Earth.

This is evident, for example, when students:

     observe a puddle of water outdoors after a rainstorm. On a return visit after the puddle has disappeared, students describe where the water came from and possible locations for it now.
     assemble rock and mineral collections based on characteristics such as erosional features or crystal size features.
 

3. Matter is made up of particles whose properties determine the observable characteristics of matter and its reactivity.

Students:

     observe and describe properties of materials using appropriate tools.
     describe chemical and physical changes, including changes in states of matter.

This is evident, for example, when students:

     compare the appearance of materials when seen with and without the aid of a magnifying glass.
     investigate simple physical and chemical reactions and the chemistry of household products, e.g., freezing, melting, and evaporating; a comparison of new and rusty nails; the role of baking soda in cooking.
 

4. Energy exists in many forms, and when these forms change energy is conserved.

Students:

     describe a variety of forms of energy (e.g., heat, chemical, light) and the changes that occur in objects when they interact with those forms of energy.
     observe the way one form of energy can be transformed into another form of energy present in common situations (e.g., mechanical to heat energy, mechanical to electrical energy, chemical to heat energy).

This is evident, for example, when students:

     investigate the interactions of liquids and powders that result in chemical reactions (e.g., vinegar and baking soda) compared to interactions that do not (e.g., water and sugar).
     in order to demonstrate the transformation of chemical to electrical energy, construct electrical cells from objects, such as lemons or potatoes, using pennies and aluminum foil inserted in slits at each end of fruits or vegetables; the penny and aluminum are attached by wires to a millimeter. Students can compare the success of a variety of these electrical
     cells.
 

5. Energy and matter interact through forces that result in changes in motion.

Students:

     describe the effects of common forces (pushes and pulls) on objects, such as those caused by gravity, magnetism, and mechanical forces.
     describe how forces can operate across distances.

This is evident, for example, when students:

     investigate simple machines and use them to perform tasks.