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 2.1m: Many processes of the rock cycle are consequences of plate dynamics. These include the production of magma (and subsequent igneous rock formation and contact metamorphism) at both subduction and rifting regions, regional metamorphism within subduction zones, and the creation of major depositional basins through down-warping of the crust.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.1p: Landforms are the result of the interaction of tectonic forces and the processes of weathering, erosion, and deposition.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.1r: Climate variations, structure, and characteristics of bedrock influence the development of landscape features including mountains, plateaus, plains, valleys, ridges, escarpments, and stream drainage patterns.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.1s: Weathering is the physical and chemical breakdown of rocks at or near Earth’s surface. Soils are the result of weathering and biological activity over long periods of time.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.1t: Natural agents of erosion, generally driven by gravity, remove, transport, and deposit weathered rock particles. Each agent of erosion produces distinctive changes in the material that it transports and creates characteristic surface features and landscapes. In certain erosional situations, loss of property, personal injury, and loss of life can be reduced by effective emergency preparedness.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.1u: The natural agents of erosion include:

• Streams (running water): Gradient, discharge, and channel shape influence a stream’s velocity and the erosion and deposition of sediments. Sediments transported by streams tend to become rounded as a result of abrasion. Stream features include V-shaped valleys, deltas, flood plains, and meanders. A watershed is the area drained by a stream and its tributaries.

• Glaciers (moving ice): Glacial erosional processes include the formation of U-shaped valleys, parallel scratches, and grooves in bedrock. Glacial features include moraines, drumlins, kettle lakes, finger lakes, and outwash plains.

• Wave Action: Erosion and deposition cause changes in shoreline features, including beaches, sandbars, and barrier islands. Wave action rounds sediments as a result of abrasion. Waves approaching a shoreline move sand parallel to the shore within the zone of breaking waves.

• Wind: Erosion of sediments by wind is most common in arid climates and along shorelines. Wind-generated features include dunes and sand-blasted bedrock.

• Mass Movement: Earth materials move downslope under the influence of gravity.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.1v: Patterns of deposition result from a loss of energy within the transporting system and are influenced by the size, shape, and density of the transported particles. Sediment deposits may be sorted or unsorted.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 2.1w: Sediments of inorganic and organic origin often accumulate in depositional environments. Sedimentary rocks form when sediments are compacted and/or cemented after burial or as the result of chemical precipitation from seawater.

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

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 3.1: Explain the properties of materials in terms of the arrangement and properties of the atoms that compose them.

• Rocks are classified by their origin, mineral content, and texture.

• Conditions that existed when a rock formed can be inferred from the rock’s mineral content and texture.

• The properties of rocks determine how they are used and also influence land usage by humans.

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

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.1: Elaborate on basic scientific and personal explanations of natural phenomena, and develop extended visual models and mathematical formulations to represent one's thinking.

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

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

Rock Cycle in Earth's Crust (p.6)

Relationship of Transported Particle Size to Water Velocity (p.6)

Scheme for Igneous Rock Identification (p.6)

Scheme for Sedimentary Rock Identification (p.7)

Scheme for Metamorphic Rock Identification (p.7)

Properties of Common Minerals (p.16)

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: Craft and Structure

Analyze the structure of the relationships among concepts in a text, including relationships among key terms (e.g., force, friction, reaction force, energy). 

Reading: Craft and Structure

Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.

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: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claim or a recommendation for solving a scientific or technical problem.

Reading: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Compare and contrast findings presented in a text to those from other sources (including their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict previous explanations or accounts.

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

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Writing: Production and Distribution of Writing

Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

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.