Edison School District

Developing a desire for lifelong learning

These science standards challenge not only California’s students but also the entire K–12 education system. The elementary school standards call for early introduction of science facts and terms.

Physical Sciences

Elements and their combinations account for all the varied types of matter in the world. As a basis for understanding this concept:

Þ Students know that during chemical reactions the atoms in the reactants rearrange to form products with different properties.

Þ Students know all matter is made of atoms, which may combine to form molecules.

Þ Students know metals have properties in common, such as high electrical and thermal conductivity. Some metals, such as aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), silver (Ag), and gold (Au), are pure elements; others, such as steel and brass, are composed of a combination of elemental metals.

Þ Students know that each element is made of one kind of atom and that the elements are organized in the periodic table by their chemical properties.

Þ Students know scientists have developed instruments that can create discrete images of atoms and molecules that show that the atoms and molecules often occur in well-ordered arrays.

Þ Students know differences in chemical and physical properties of substances are used to separate mixtures and identify compounds.

Þ Students know properties of solid,

Þ liquid, and gaseous substances, such as sugar , helium , oxygen , water, and nitrogen.

Þ Students know living organisms and most materials are composed of just a few elements.

Þ Students know the common properties of salts, such as sodium        chloride .

Life Sciences

Plants and animals have structures for respiration, digestion, waste disposal, and transport of materials. As a basis for understanding this concept:

Þ Students know many multicellular organisms have specialized structures to support the transport of materials.

Þ Students know how blood circulates through the heart chambers, lungs,  and body and how carbon dioxide and oxygen are exchanged in the lungs and tissues.

Þ Students know the sequential steps of digestion and the roles of teeth and the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and colon in the function of the digestive system.

Þ Students know the role of the      kidney in removing cellular waste from blood and converting it into urine, which is stored in the bladder.

Þ Students know how sugar, water, and minerals are transported in a        vascular plant.

Þ Students know plants use carbon dioxide and energy from sunlight to build molecules of sugar and release oxygen.

Þ Students know plant and animal cells break down sugar to obtain energy, a process resulting in carbon dioxide and water (respiration).

Earth Sciences

Water on Earth moves between the oceans and land through the processes of evaporation and condensation. As a basis for understanding this concept:

Þ Students know most of Earth’s     water is present as salt water in the oceans, which cover most of Earth’s

Þ surface.

Þ Students know when liquid water evaporates, it turns into water vapor in the air and can reappear as a liquid when cooled or as a solid if cooled below the freezing

       point of water.

Þ Students know water vapor in the air moves from one place to       another and can form fog or clouds, which are tiny droplets of water or ice, and can fall to Earth as rain, hail, sleet, or snow.

Þ Students know that the amount of fresh water located in rivers, lakes, underground sources, and glaciers is limited and that its availability can be extended by recycling and decreasing the use of water.

Þ Students know the origin of the water used by their local         communities.

Energy from the Sun heats Earth   unevenly, causing air movements that result in changing weather patterns. As a basis for understanding this   concept:

Þ Students know uneven heating of Earth causes air movements (convection currents).

Þ Students know the influence that the ocean has on the weather and the role that the water cycle plays in weather patterns.

Þ Students know the causes and effects of different types of   severe weather.

Þ Students know how to use weather maps and data to predict local weather and know that weather forecasts depend on many variables.

Þ Students know that the Earth’s  atmosphere exerts a pressure that decreases with distance above Earth’s surface and that at any point it exerts this pressure equally in all directions.

The solar system consists of planets