California Academic Content Standards

The STANDARDS CORRELATION chart suggests which California Academic Content Standards you can cover using Fusion and Fission: Atoms and Energy in your classroom. We hope you will discover additional standards you can use.

For additional California Academic Content Standards you can cover see the STANDARDS CORRELATION chart for the following PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE SCIENCE CONCEPTS IN CONTEXT programs:

Earth Science Modules
Sun and Seasons, Day and Night

Jet Streams and Ocean Currents: the Global Circulation of air and Water

The Greenhouse Effect

The Water, Carbon and Other Geochemical Cycles

Life Science Modules
Photosynthesis: from Sunlight to Life

Food Webs: Connections Across the Natural World

Adaptation and Natural selection: Evolution at Work

Life in Extreme Environments

Physical Science Modules
Light, Optics, Mirros and Telescopes

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Force and Motion

Convection, Conduction and Radiation

Space Science Modules
Gravity: Mass, Weight and Motion

Objects in the sky: Planets, Stars and More!

Fusion and Fission: Atoms and Energy

How We Explore Space: Extending Our Senses Beyond Earth

Elementary Standards: Grade Four,   Grade Five
Middle School Standards: Grade Six,   Grade Seven,   Grade Eight
High School Starndards: Grades 9-12

Grade Five

Earth Science

5. The solar system consists of planets and other bodies that orbit the Sun in predict-able paths. As a basis for understanding this concept:

 

a. Students know the Sun, an average star, is the central and largest body in the solar system and is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium.

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b. Students know the solar system includes the planet Earth, the Moon, the Sun, eight other planets and their satellites, and smaller objects, such as asteroids and comets.

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c. Students know the path of a planet around the Sun is due to the gravitational attraction between the Sun and the planet.

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Investigation and Experimentation

6. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

 

a. Classify objects (e.g., rocks, plants, leaves) in accordance with appropriate criteria.

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b. Develop a testable question.

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c. Plan and conduct a simple investigation based on a student-developed question and write instructions others can follow to carry out the procedure.

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d. Identify the dependent and controlled variables in an investigation.

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e. Identify a single independent variable in a scientific investigation and explain how this variable can be used to collect information to answer a question about the results of the experiment.

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f. Select appropriate tools (e.g., thermometers, meter sticks, balances, and gradu-ated cylinders) and make quantitative observations.

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g. Record data by using appropriate graphic representations (including charts, graphs, and labeled diagrams) and make inferences based on those data.

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h. Draw conclusions from scientific evidence and indicate whether further informa-tion is needed to support a specific conclusion.

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i. Write a report of an investigation that includes conducting tests, collecting data or examining evidence, and drawing conclusions.

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Grade Six

Energy in the Earth System
Check the other
SCiC websites for additional activities you can use to cover these state standards.

4. Many phenomena on Earth’s surface are affected by the transfer of energy through radiation and convection currents. As a basis for understanding this concept:

 

a. Students know the sun is the major source of energy for phenomena on Earth’s surface; it powers winds, ocean currents, and the water cycle.

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b. Students know solar energy reaches Earth through radiation, mostly in the form of visible light.

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c. Students know heat from Earth’s interior reaches the surface primarily through convection.

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d. Students know convection currents distribute heat in the atmosphere and oceans.

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e. Students know differences in pressure, heat, air movement, and humidity result in changes of weather.

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Investigation and Experimentation

7. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

 

a. Develop a hypothesis.

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b. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (including calculators, comput-ers, balances, spring scales, microscopes, and binoculars) to perform tests, collect data, and display data.

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c. Construct appropriate graphs from data and develop qualitative statements about the relationships between variables.

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d. Communicate the steps and results from an investigation in written reports and oral presentations.

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e. Recognize whether evidence is consistent with a proposed explanation.

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Grade Seven

You can cover most if not all of the physical science state standards through the The Electromagnetic Spectrum program.

Grade Eight

Focus on Physical Sciences
Earth in the Solar System (Earth Science)

4. The structure and composition of the universe can be learned from studying stars and galaxies and their evolution. As a basis for understanding this concept:

 

a. Students know galaxies are clusters of billions of stars and may have different shapes.

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b. Students know that the Sun is one of many stars in the Milky Way galaxy and that stars may differ in size, temperature, and color.

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c. Students know how to use astronomical units and light years as measures of distances between the Sun, stars, and Earth.

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d. Students know that stars are the source of light for all bright objects in outer space and that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight, not by their own light.

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e. Students know the appearance, general composition, relative position and size, and motion of objects in the solar system, including planets, planetary satellites, comets, and asteroids.

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Investigation and Experimentation

9. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

 

a. Plan and conduct a scientific investigation to test a hypothesis.

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b. Evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of data.

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c. Distinguish between variable and controlled parameters in a test.

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e. Construct appropriate graphs from data and develop quantitative statements about the relationships between variables.

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f. Apply simple mathematic relationships to determine a missing quantity in a mathematic expression, given the two remaining terms (including speed = dis-tance/ time, density = mass/volume, force = pressure ´ area, volume = area ´ height).

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g. Distinguish between linear and nonlinear relationships on a graph of data.

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Grade Nine to Twelve

Physics
Nuclear Processes

11. Nuclear processes are those in which an atomic nucleus changes, including radioactive decay of naturally occurring and human-made isotopes, nuclear fission, and nuclear fusion. As a basis for understanding this concept:

 

a. Students know protons and neutrons in the nucleus are held together by nuclear forces that overcome the electromagnetic repulsion between the protons.

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b. Students know the energy release per gram of material is much larger in nuclear fusion or fission reactions than in chemical reactions. The change in mass (calculated by E=mc2) is small but significant in nuclear reactions.

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c. Students know some naturally occurring isotopes of elements are radioactive, as are isotopes formed in nuclear reactions.

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d. Students know the three most common forms of radioactive decay (alpha, beta, and gamma) and know how the nucleus changes in each type of decay.

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e. Students know alpha, beta, and gamma radiation produce different amounts and kinds of damage in matter and have different penetrations.

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g.* Students know protons and neutrons have substructures and consist of particles called quarks.

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Updated July 2001