I can develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climate. 3.3.6-8.I
I can ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century. 3.3.6-8.O
I can collect data to provide evidence for how the motion and complex interactions of air masses result in changes in weather conditions. 3.3.6-8.J
I can analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects. 3.3.6-8.L
I can apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing human impact on the environment. 3.3.6-8.M
I can construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per capital consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems. 3.3.6-8.N
Astronomy
Space Systems
I can analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system. 3.3.6-8.C
I can develop and use a model of the Earth-un-Moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons. 3.3.6-8.A
I can develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motion within galaxies and the solar system. 3.3.6-8.B
GEOLOGY
History of the Earth
I can construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying times and spatial scales. 3.3.6-8.E
I can analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of past plate motions. 3.3.6-8.G
I can construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth's 4.6-billion-year-old history. 3.3.6-8.D
Earth Systems
I can develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth's materials and the flow of energy that drives this process. 3.3.6-8.F
I can develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth's systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity. 3.3.6-8.H
I can construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth's mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes. 3.3.6-8.K
I can conduct an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells; either one cell or many different numbers and types of cells. 3.1.6-8.A
I can use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively. 3.1.6-8.D
I can construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems. 3.1.6-8.J
I can construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations. 3.1.6-8.U
I can evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services. 3.1.6-8.L
I can gather and synthesize information that sensory receptors respond to stimuli by sending messages to the brain for immediate behavior or storage as memories. 3.1.6-8H
ecology & biochemistry
Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems
I can construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms. 3.1.6-8.F
I can develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions forming new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as this matter moves through an organism. 3.1.6-8.G
I can analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem. 3.1.6-8.I
I can develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. 3.1.6-8.K
Cell biology
Cytology
I can develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways the parts of cells contribute to the function. 3.1.6-8.B
I can use argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells. 3.1.6-8.C
I can gather and synthesize information about technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms. 3.1.6-8R
genetics and anatomy
DNA and Genetics
I can construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms. 3.1.6-8.E
I can develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism. 3.1.6-8.M
I can develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation. 3.1.6-8.N
I can construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment. 3.1.6-8.S
I can use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time. 3.1.6-8.T
I can analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past. 3.1.6-8.O
I can apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships. 3.1.6-8.P
I can analyze displays of pictorial data to compare patterns of similarities in the embryological development across multiple species to identify relationships not evident in the fully formed anatomy. 3.1.6-8.Q
I can develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures. 3.2.6-8.A
I can develop a model that predicts and describes changes in the particle motion, temperature and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed. 3.2.6-8.B
I can gather and make sense of information to describe how synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society. 3.2.6-8.C
Bonding and Reactions
I can develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures. 3.2.6-8.A
I can analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred. 3.2.6-8.D
I can develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved. 3.2.6-8.E
I can undertake a design project to construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes. 3.2.6-8.F
PHYSICS
Motion, Force, and Energy
I can apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects. 3.2.6-8.G
I can plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object's motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object. 3.2.6-8.H
I can construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects. 3.2.6-8.J
I can construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass and speed of an object. 3.2.6-8.L
I can develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system. 3.2.6-8.P
I can construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object. 3.2.6-8.O
I can apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer. 3.2.6-8.M
I can plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample. 3.2.6-8.N
ELECTROMAGTETISM
Electricity, Magnetism, and Waves
I can ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces. 3.2.6-8.I
I can conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact. 3.2.6-8.K
I can use mathematical representations to describe a simple model for waves that includes how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave. 3.2.6-8.Q
I can develop and use a model to describe how waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials. 3.2.6-8.R
I can integrate qualitative scientific and technical information to support the claim that digitized signals are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information than analog signals. 3.2.6-8.S
