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

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 2.1: Use the concepts of density and heat energy to explain observations of weather patterns, seasonal changes, and the movements of Earth's plates.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.1a: Earth systems have internal and external sources of energy, both of which create heat.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.1b: The transfer of heat energy within the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and Earth's interior results in the formation of regions of different densities. These density differences result in motion.

• Temperature and humidity affect air pressure and probability of precipitation

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.1f: Air temperature, dewpoint, cloud formation, and precipitation are affected by the expansion and contraction of air due to vertical atmospheric movement.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.1g: Weather variables can be represented in a variety of formats including radar and satellite images, weather maps (including station models, isobars, and fronts), atmospheric cross-sections, and computer models.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.1h: Atmospheric moisture, temperature and pressure distributions; jet streams, wind; air masses and frontal boundaries; and the movement of cyclonic systems and associated tornadoes, thunderstorms, and hurricanes occur in observable patterns. Loss of property, personal injury, and loss of life can be reduced by effective emergency preparedness.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.1i: Seasonal changes can be explained using concepts of density and heat energy. These changes include the shifting of global temperature zones, the shifting of planetary wind and ocean current patterns, the occurrence of monsoons, hurricanes, flooding, and severe weather.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.1q: Topographic maps represent landforms through the use of contour lines that are isolines connecting points of equal elevation. Gradients and profiles can be determined from changes in elevation over a given distance.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 2.2: Explain how incoming solar radiation, ocean currents, and land masses affect weather and climate.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.2a: Insolation (solar radiation) heats Earth’s surface and atmosphere unequally due to variations in:

• The intensity caused by differences in atmospheric transparency and angle of incidence which vary with time of day, latitude, and season

• Characteristics of the materials absorbing the energy such as color, texture, transparency, state of matter, and specific heat

• Duration, which varies with seasons and latitude.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.2b: The transfer of heat energy within the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and Earth’s surface occurs as the result of radiation, convection, and conduction.

• Heating of Earth's surface and atmosphere by the Sun drives convection within the atmosphere and oceans, producing winds and ocean currents.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.2c: A location’s climate is influenced by ocean currents, prevailing winds, vegetative cover, elevation, and mountain ranges.latitude, proximity to large bodies of water,

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.2d: Temperature and precipitation patterns are altered by:

• Natural events such as El Nino and volcanic eruptions

• Human influences including deforestation, urbanization, and the production of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.

KEY IDEA 1: The central purpose of scientific inquiry is to develop explanations of natural phenomena in a continuing and creative process

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.2: Hone ideas through reasoning, library research, and discussion with others, including experts

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.3: Work towards reconciling competing explanations; clarify points of agreement and disagreement

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.4: Coordinate explanations at different levels of scale, points of focus, and degrees of complexity and specificity, and recognize the need for such alternative representations of the natural world.

KEY IDEA 3: The observations made while testing proposed explanations, when analyzed using conventional and invented methods, provide new insights into natural phenomena.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 3.1: Use various methods of representing and organizing observations (e.g. diagrams, tables, charts, graphs, equations matrices) and insightfully interpret the organized data

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 3.3: Assess correspondence between the predicted result contained in the hypothesis and actual result, and reach a conclusion as to whether the explanation on which the prediction was based is supported

Specific Heat of Common Materials (p.1)

Surface Ocean Currents (p.4)

Planetary Wind and Moisture Belts in the Troposhere (p.14)

Reading: Key Ideas and Details

Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text’s explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.

Reading: Key Ideas and Details

Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks attending to special cases or exceptions defined in the text. 

Reading: Craft and Structure

Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 9–10 texts and topics.

Reading: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.

Reading: Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and proficiently

Writing: Production and Distribution of Writing

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

Writing: Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

Writing: Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Writing: Range of Writing

Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.