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Content Standards for California Public Schools
 
Science

Grade 7th - Evolution: 3. Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations. As a basis for understanding this concept: e. Students know that extinction of a species occurs when the environment changes and that the adaptive characteristics of a species are insufficient for its survival.

Structure and Function in Living Systems: 5. The anatomy and physiology of plants and animals illustrate the complementary nature of structure and function. As a basis for understanding this concept: b. Students know organ systems function because of the contributions of individual organs, tissues, and cells. The failure of any part can affect the entire system. c. Students know how bones and muscles work together to provide a structural framework for movement.

Physical Principles in Living Systems (Physical Science): 6. Physical principles underlie biological structures and functions. As a basis for understanding this concept: f. Students know light can be reflected, refracted, transmitted, and absorbed by matter. g. Students know the angle of reflection of a light beam is equal to the angle of incidence.

Investigation and Experimentation: 7. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will: a. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (including calculators, computers, balances, spring scales, microscopes, and binoculars) to perform tests, collect data, and display data. b. Use a variety of print and electronic resources (including the World Wide Web) to collect information and evidence as part of a research project. c. Communicate the logical connection among hypotheses, science concepts, tests conducted, data collected, and conclusions drawn from the scientific evidence. d. Construct scale models, maps, and appropriately labeled diagrams to communicate scientific knowledge (e.g., motion of Earth’s plates and cell structure). e. Communicate the steps and results from an investigation in written reports and oral presentations.

Grade 8th - Investigation and Experimentation: 9. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will: a. Plan and conduct a scientific investigation to test a hypothesis. b. Evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of data. c. Distinguish between variable and controlled parameters in a test. d. Recognize the slope of the linear graph as the constant in the relationship yÊ =Ê kx and apply this principle in interpreting graphs constructed from data.

Grade 9th–12th -. Physics: Waves: 4. Waves have characteristic properties that do not depend on the type of wave. As a basis for understanding this concept: a. Students know waves carry energy from one place to another. b. Students know how to identify transverse and longitudinal waves in mechanical media, such as springs and ropes, and on the earth (seismic waves). c. Students know how to solve problems involving wavelength, frequency, and wave speed. d. Students know sound is a longitudinal wave whose speed depends on the properties of the medium in which it propagates. e. Students know radio waves, light, and X-rays are different wavelength bands in the spectrum of electromagnetic waves whose speed in a vacuum is approximately 3Ê ´Ê 108 m/s (186,000 miles/second). f. Students know how to identify the characteristic properties of waves: interference (beats), diffraction, refraction, Doppler effect, and polarization.

Biology/Life Sciences: Ecology: 6. Stability in an ecosystem is a balance between competing effects. As a basis for understanding this concept: a. Students know biodiversity is the sum total of different kinds of organisms and is affected by alterations of habitats. b. Students know how to analyze changes in an ecosystem resulting from changes in climate, human activity, introduction of nonnative species, or changes in population size. c. Students know how fluctuations in population size in an ecosystem are determined by the relative rates of birth, immigration, emigration, and death. e. Students know a vital part of an ecosystem is the stability of its producers and decomposers. Biology/Life Sciences: Evolution: 7. The frequency of an allele in a gene pool of a population depends on many factors and may be stable or unstable over time. As a basis for understanding this concept: d. Students know variation within a species increases the likelihood that at least some members of a species will survive under changed environmental conditions. 8. Evolution is the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing environments. As a basis for understanding this concept: b. Students know a great diversity of species increases the chance that at least some organisms survive major changes in the environment. d. Students know reproductive or geographic isolation affects speciation. Investigation and Experimentation: 1. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other four strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will: a. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (such as computer-linked probes, spreadsheets, and graphing calculators) to perform tests, collect data, analyze relationships, and display data. b. Identify and communicate sources of unavoidable experimental error. c. Identify possible reasons for inconsistent results, such as sources of error or uncontrolled conditions. g. Recognize the usefulness and limitations of models and theories as scientific representations of reality. h. Read and interpret topographic and geologic maps. j. Recognize the issues of statistical variability and the need for controlled tests. l. Analyze situations and solve problems that require combining and applying concepts from more than one area of science. m. Investigate a science-based societal issue by researching the literature, analyzing data, and communicating the findings. Examples of issues include irradiation of food, cloning of animals by somatic cell nuclear transfer, choice of energy sources, and land and water use decisions in California.

History and
Social Science

Grade 8th – United States History and Geography: Growth and Conflict: 8.12 Students analyze the transformation of the American economy and the changing social and political conditions in the United States in response to the Industrial Revolution. 1. Trace patterns of agricultural and industrial development as they relate to climate, use of natural resources, markets, and trade and locate such development on a map. 5. Examine the location and effects of urbanization, renewed immigration, and industrialization (e.g., the effects on social fabric of cities, wealth and economic opportunity, the conservation movement).

Grade 9th – 12th - Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills: The intellectual skills noted below are to be learned through, and applied to, the content standards for grades nine through twelve. Chronological and Spatial Thinking: 1. Students compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned. 2. Students analyze how change happens at different rates at different times; understand that some aspects can change while others remain the same; and understand that change is complicated and affects not only technology and politics but also values and beliefs. 3. Students use a variety of maps and documents to interpret human movement, including major patterns of domestic and international migration, changing environmental preferences and settlement patterns, the frictions that develop between population groups, and the diffusion of ideas, technological innovations, and goods. 4. Students relate current events to the physical and human characteristics of places and regions.

Grade 10th - World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World: 10.11 Students analyze the integration of countries into the world economy and the information, technological, and communications revolutions (e.g., television, satellites, computers).

Grade 11th – American History: 11.11 Students analyze the major social problems and domestic policy issues in contemporary American society. 5. Trace the impact of, need for, and controversies associated with environmental conservation, expansion of the national park system, and the development of environmental protection laws, with particular attention to the interaction between environmental protection advocates and property rights advocates.

Last updated: February 28, 2015

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