K-12 Enduring Understandings

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GIPS K-12 Science Program
Enduring Understandings

 

Inquiry

• Scientists build networks of connections based on experience.
• Investigational design is shaped by the field of science in which the experiment/research is being conducted.
• By varying just one condition at a time, scientists can hope to identify its exclusive effects on what happens.
• Scientists analyze data to determine what evidence is valid and how that informs what they do/think.
• Descriptions of change are necessary to reasonably predict what will happen.
• Scientific inquiry progresses through a continuous process of questioning, data collection, analysis, and interpretation. (There is no fixed set of steps that scientists follow, no one path that lead to scientific knowledge.)
• Peer review is an expectation in the establishment of the veracity of data.
• Quality scientific writing presents data in relation to the original hypothesis and effectively explains what happened and possible next steps (both predictions for future investigations, impact of trends).
• The way research is presented should be done mindful of both the science involved and the scientific knowledge base of the audience.

• All matter is made up of relatively few kinds of basic materials combined in various ways.
• The way matter can be separated determines what type of matter it is.
• When two or more substances interact to form new substances, the properties of the new combinations may be very different from those of the old.
• The characteristics of atomic or molecular structure determine the physical properties and the ways in which substances react.
• An object's motion can be predicted and is the result of the combined effect of all forces acting on the object.
• The interaction between energy and matter creates forces (pushes and pulls) that produce predicable patterns of change.
• The total amount of matter and energy remains constant, even though their form and location undergo continual change.
• The total amount of momentum remains constant in a closed system even though it is transferred between objects.
• Although the various forms of energy seem very different, each can be measured in a way that makes it possible to keep track of how much of one form is converted into another.
• Machines do not reduce the amount of work that is done, they only change the direction of the force, multiply the force or multiply the distance through which the force is applied.
• Vibrations (waves) carry energy away from its source.
• Different wavelengths interact with matter in different ways.

Life Science

• All living things are made of similar chemicals, compounds and elements.
• Living things have certain structures that serve necessary functions for growth, response to stimulus, reproduction and use of energy.
• The level of classification systems is an ongoing effort within the science community so that there are meaningful ways to study groups.
• Organisms can survive only in environments in which their needs can be met.
• The change one organism makes in order to adapt/survive has significant ripple effects.
• All living things go through predictable phases of life or maturity.
• While an organism's traits are inherited, the appearance of those traits can be modified.
• Environment has the power to shape/change how an organism responds/functions in it's surroundings.

Earth and Space Science

• Each part of a system is only fully understandable in relation to the rest of the system.
• Any part of a system may itself be considered a subsystem with its own internal parts and interactions.
• The Earth system is composed of interacting subsystems of the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.
• Systems are not mutually exclusive: they may be so closely related that there is no way to separate all parts of one from all parts of the other.
• The elements that make up the molecules of living things are continually recycled.
• Materials within the Earth system have physical/chemical properties that make them useful in different ways.
• Although the various forms of energy appear very different, each can be measured in a way that makes it possible to keep track of how much of one form is converted into another.
• Almost all life on earth is ultimately maintained by transformation of energy from the sun.
• The wealth, power, and potential of people is greatly affected by their capacity to harness energy.
• Energy is responsible for changes to the Earth's/Universe's structures and systems.
• Development of new technology to make energy more accessible, powerful, and safe is one of the most critical global issues today.
• The capacity of available tools affects the quality and specificity of information that scientists can collect.
• Evidence gathered from the past is used to explain origination of an event, phenomenon, species, system and help predict the future.