Indiana Academic High School Science Standards -- Earth and Space Science I

Standard 1 -- Principles of Earth and Space Science

Students investigate, through laboratory and fieldwork, the universe, the Earth, and the processes that shape the Earth. They understand that the Earth operates as a collection of interconnected systems that may be changing or may be in equilibrium. Students connect the concepts of energy, matter, conservation, and gravitation to the Earth, solar system, and universe. Students utilize knowledge of the materials and processes of the Earth, planets, and stars in the context of the scales of time and size.

The Universe

ES.1.1 Understand and discuss the nebular theory concerning the formation of solar systems. Include in the discussion the roles of planetesimals and protoplanets.
• Formation of the Earth
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/1a.asp
  

ES.1.2 Differentiate between the different types of stars found on the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram. Compare and contrast the evolution of stars of different masses. Understand and discuss the basics of the fusion processes that are the source of energy of stars.

ES.1.3 Compare and contrast the differences in size, temperature, and age between our sun and other stars.

ES.1.4 Describe Hubble's law. Identify and understand that the "Big Bang" theory is the most widely accepted theory explaining the formation of the universe.

ES.1.5 Understand and explain the relationship between planetary systems, stars, multiple-star systems, star clusters, galaxies, and galactic groups in the universe.

ES.1.6 Discuss how manned and unmanned space vehicles can be used to increase our knowledge and understanding of the universe.

ES.1.7 Describe the characteristics and motions of the various kinds of objects in our solar system, including planets, satellites, comets, and asteroids. Explain that Kepler's laws determine the orbits of the planets.

ES.1.8 Discuss the role of sophisticated technology such as telescopes, computers, space probes, and particle accelerators in making computer simulations and mathematical models in order to form a scientific account of the universe.

ES.1.9 Recognize and explain that the concept of conservation of energy is at the heart of advances in fields as diverse as the study of nuclear particles and the study of the origin of the universe.

ES.1.10 Recognize and describe that the earth sciences address planet-wide interacting systems, including the oceans, the air, the solid Earth, and life on Earth, as well as interactions with the Solar System.

ES.1.11 Examine the structure, composition, and function of the Earth's atmosphere. Include the role of living organisms in the cycling of atmospheric gases.

• Atmospheric Structure and Composition AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/6.asp
  

ES.1.12 Describe the role of photosynthetic plants in changing the Earth's atmosphere.
• There's Something in the Air
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/6a.asp
  

ES.1.13 Explain the importance of heat transfer between and within the atmosphere, land masses, and oceans.
• Solar Effects
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/9b.asp
  
• The Mantle
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/1c.asp
  
• Current Events
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/4c.asp
  

ES.1.14 Understand and explain the role of differential heating and the role of the Earth's rotation on the movement of air around the planet.
• Earth's Climate
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/7.asp
  
• Temperature Factors
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/7b.asp
  
• Turn and Churn: The Coriolis Effect
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/9a.asp
  

ES.1.15 Understand and describe the origin, life cycle, behavior, and prediction of weather systems.
• Cyclonic Storms
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/10d.asp
  

ES.1.16 Investigate the causes of severe weather, and propose appropriate safety measures that can be taken in the event of severe weather.
• Thunderstorms
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/10a.asp
  
• Tornadoes
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/10b.asp
  
• Hurricanes
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/10c.asp
  

ES.1.17 Describe the development and dynamics of climatic changes over time, such as the cycles of glaciation.

ES.1.18 Demonstrate the possible effects of atmospheric changes brought on by things such as acid rain, smoke, volcanic dust, greenhouse gases, and ozone depletion.

• Climatic Change
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/7d.asp
  
• Stratosphere: The Ozone Zone
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/6c.asp
  
• Volcano: Friend or Foe?
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/5e.asp
  

ES.1.19 Identify and discuss the effects of gravity on the waters of the Earth. Include both the flow of streams and the movement of tides.
• Tidal Force
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/2c.asp
  

ES.1.20 Describe the relationship among ground water, surface water, and glacial systems.
• Surface Water Systems AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/5.asp
  

ES.1.21 Identify the various processes that are involved in the water cycle.
• The Water Cycle AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/3.asp
  

ES.1.22 Compare the properties of rocks and minerals and their uses.
• Minerals AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/6.asp
  
• The Rock Cycle AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/7.asp
  

ES.1.23 Explain motions, transformations, and locations of materials in the Earth's lithosphere and interior. For example, describe the movement of the plates that make up the crust of the earth and the resulting formation of earthquakes, volcanoes, trenches, and mountains.
• Earth's Structure AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/1.asp
  
• Plate Tectonics AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/2.asp
  
• Earthquakes AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/3.asp
  
• Volcanoes: Part 1 AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/4.asp
  
• Volcanoes: Part 2 AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/5.asp
  

ES.1.24 Understand and discuss continental drift, sea-floor spreading, and plate tectonics. Include evidence that supports the movement of the plates such as magnetic stripes on the ocean floor, fossil evidence on separate continents, and the continuity of geological features.
• Plate Tectonics AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/2.asp
  

ES.1.25 Investigate and discuss the origin of various landforms, such as mountains and rivers, and how they affect and are affected by human activities.
• Mountains
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/2d.asp
  
• Surface Processes AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/9.asp
  

ES.1.26 Differentiate among the processes of weathering, erosion, transportation of materials, deposition, and soil formation.
• Weathering and Soils AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/8.asp
  
• Surface Processes AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/9.asp
  

ES.1.27 Illustrate the various processes that are involved in the rock cycle, and discuss how the total amount of material stays the same through formation, weathering, sedimentation, and reformation.
• The Rock Cycle AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/7.asp
  

ES.1.28 Discuss geologic evidence, including fossils and radioactive dating, in relation to the Earth's past.
• Geologic History AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/10.asp
  

ES.1.29 Recognize and explain that in geologic change, the present arises from the materials of the past in ways that can be explained according to the same physical and chemical laws.

Standard 2 -- Historical Perspectives of Earth and Space Science

Students gain understanding of how the scientific enterprise operates through examples of historical events. Through the study of these events, they understand that new ideas are limited by the context in which they are conceived, that the ideas are often rejected by the scientific establishment, that the ideas sometimes spring from unexpected findings, and that the ideas grow or transform slowly through the contributions of many different investigators.

ES.2.1 Understand and explain that Claudius Ptolemy, an astronomer living in the second century A.D., devised a powerful mathematical model of the universe based on constant motion in perfect circles and circles on circles. Further understand that with the model, he was able to predict the motions of the sun, moon, and stars, and even of the irregular "wandering stars" now called planets.
• Earth Within the Solar System
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/1.asp
  
• Evolution of the Solar-Centric Model
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/1a.asp
  

ES.2.2 Understand that and describe how in the 16th century the Polish astronomer Nicholas Copernicus suggested that all those same motions outlined by Ptolemy could be explained by imagining that the earth was turning on its axis once a day and orbiting around the sun once a year. Note that this explanation was rejected by nearly everyone because it violated common sense and required the universe to be unbelievably large. Also understand that Copernicus's ideas flew in the face of belief, universally held at the time, that the Earth was at the center of the universe.
• Evolution of the Solar-Centric Model
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/1a.asp
  

ES.2.3 Understand that and describe how Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer who lived at about the same time as Galileo, used the unprecedented precise observational data of the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. Know that Kepler showed mathematically that Copernicus's idea of a sun-centered system worked better than any other system if uniform circular motion was replaced with variable-speed, but predictable, motion along off-center ellipses.
• Evolution of the Solar-Centric Model
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/1a.asp
  

ES.2.4 Explain that by using the newly invented telescope to study the sky, Galileo made many discoveries that supported the ideas of Copernicus. Recognize that it was Galileo who found the moons of Jupiter, sunspots, craters and mountains on the moon, the phases of Venus, and many more stars than were visible to the unaided eye.

ES.2.5 Explain that the idea, that the Earth might be vastly older than most people believed, made little headway in science until the work of Lyell and Hutton.

ES.2.6 Describe that early in the 20th century the German scientist, Alfred Wegener, reintroduced the idea of moving continents, adding such evidence as the underwater shapes of the continents, the similarity of life forms and land forms in corresponding parts of Africa and South America, and the increasing separation of Greenland and Europe. Also know that very few contemporary scientists adopted his theory because Wegener was unable to propose a plausible mechanism for motion.

• Alfred Wegener and Continental Drift
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/2a.asp
  

ES.2.7 Explain that the theory of plate tectonics was finally accepted by the scientific community in the 1960s when further evidence had accumulated in support of it. Understand that the theory was seen to provide an explanation for a diverse array of seemingly unrelated phenomena, and there was a scientifically sound physical explanation of how such movement could occur.
• Plate Tectonics
  http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/2.asp