Science, Grade 6, 2005
1.) Identify global patterns of atmospheric movement, including El Niņo, the Gulf Stream, the jet stream, the Coriolis effect, and global winds that influence local weather.
• Predicting local weather and weather patterns
Examples: cold and warm fronts, high and low pressure areas
• Describing the function of instruments and technology used to investigate Earth's weather, including barometers, thermometers, wind socks, weather vanes, satellites, radar, weather balloons, and rain gauges
• Using lines of latitude and longitude to locate areas of specific weather events
• Interpreting weather data through observations collected over time
Example: calculating annual precipitation and average temperature
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2.) Describe factors that cause changes to Earth's surface over time.
Examples: earthquakes, volcanoes, weathering, erosion, glacial erosion or scouring, deposition, water flow, tornadoes, hurricanes, farming and conservation, mining and reclamation, deforestation and reforestation, waste disposal, global climate changes, greenhouse gases
• Comparing constructive and destructive natural processes and their effects on land formations
Examples:
- constructive-volcanic and mountain-building processes;
- destructive-erosion by wind, water, and ice
• Distinguishing rock strata by geologic composition
Examples: predicting relative age of strata by fossil depth, predicting occurrence of natural events by rock composition in a particular strata
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3.) Describe water and carbon biogeochemical cycles and their effects on Earth.
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4.) Explain the plate tectonic theory.
Example: using terminology such as continental drift, seafloor spreading, lava, magma, eruption, epicenter, focus, seismic wave, and subduction zone
• Describing types of volcanoes and faults
• Determining energy release through seismographic data
Example: using data from the Mercalli scale and the Richter scale
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5.) Describe layers of the oceanic hydrosphere, including the pelagic zone, benthic zone, abyssal zone, and intertidal zone.
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6.) Describe regions of the oceanic lithosphere, including the continental shelf, continental slope, and abyssal plain.
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7.) Describe Earth's biomes.
Examples: aquatic biomes, grasslands, deserts, chaparrals, taigas, tundras
• Identifying geographic factors that cause diversity in flora and fauna, including elevation, location, and climate
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8.) Describe how Earth's rotation, Earth's axial tilt, and distance from the equator cause variations in the heating and cooling of various locations on Earth.
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9.) Identify the moon's phases.
• Describing lunar and solar eclipses
• Relating effects of the moon's positions on oceanic tides
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10.) Describe components of the universe and their relationships to each other, including stars, planets and their moons, solar systems, and galaxies.
• Identifying the impact of space exploration on innovations in technology
Examples: MRI, microwave, satellite imagery, GPS
• Mapping seasonal changes in locations of constellations in the night sky
• Describing the life cycle of a star
Example: H-R diagram
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11.) Describe units used to measure distance in space, including astronomical units and light years.
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