Environmental Science

SCES: Environmental Science

SCES.A: Content

SCES.A.1: obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to investigate the flow of energy and cycling of matter within an ecosystem

SCES.A.2: obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to construct explanations of stability and change in Earth's ecosystems

SCES.A.3: obtain, evaluate and communicate information about the effects of human population growth, activities, and technology on global ecosystems

SCES.A.4: obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to understand how rock relationships and fossils are used to reconstruct Earth's past

SCES.A.5: obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to investigate the interaction of solar energy and Earth's systems to produce weather and climate

SCES.A.6: obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how life on Earth responds to and shapes Earth's systems

SCES.A.7: obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to analyze human impact on the conservation of biodiversity

SCES.A.8: obtain, evaluate, and communicate information regarding the use and conservation of the various forms of energy resources

SCES.A.1.a: develop and use a model to compare and analyze the levels of biological organization including organisms, populations, communities. ecosystems, and biosphere

SCES.A.1.b: develop and use a model based on the Laws of Thermodynamics to predict energy transfers throughout an ecosystem (food chains, food webs, and trophic levels)

SCES.A.1.c: analyze and interpret data to construct an argument of the necessity of biogeochemical cycles (hydrologic, nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon) to support a sustainable ecosystem

SCES.A.1.d: evaluate claims, evidence, and reasoning of the relationship between the physical factors (e.g., insolation, proximity to coastline, topography) and organismal adaptations (including the influence of evolutionary processes) within terrestrial biomes

SCES.A.2.a: analyze and interpret data related to short- term and long-term natural cyclic fluctuations associated with climate change

SCES.A.2.b: construct an argument to predict changes in biomass, biodiversity, and complexity within ecosystems, in terms of ecological succession

SCES.A.3.a: construct explanations about the quality of life and human impact on the environment in terms of population growth, education, and gross national product

SCES.A.3.b: analyze and interpret data on global patterns of population growth (fertility and mortality rates) and demographic transitions in developing and developed countries

SCES.A.3.c: construct explanations of the actual and potential effects of habitat destruction, erosion, and depletion of soil fertility associated with human activities

SCES.A.3.d: design and defend a sustainability plan to reduce your individual contribution to environmental impacts, taking into account how market forces and societal demands (including political, legal, social and economic) influence personal choices

SCES.A.4.a: use mathematics and computational thinking to calculate the absolute age of rocks using a variety of methods (e.g., radiometric dating, rates of erosion, rates of deposition, and varve count)

SCES.A.4.b: construct an argument applying principles of relative age (superposition, original horizontality, cross-cutting relations, and original lateral continuity) to interpret a geologic cross-section and describe how unconformities form

SCES.A.4.c: analyze and interpret data from rock and fossil succession in a rock sequence to interpret major events in Earth's history such as mass extinction, major climatic change, and tectonic events

SCES.A.4.d: construct an explanation applying the principle of uniformitarianism to show the relationship between sedimentary rocks and their fossils to the environments in which they were formed

SCES.A.4.e: construct an argument using spatial representations of Earth data that interprets major transitions in Earth's history from the fossil and rock record of geologically defined areas

SCES.A.5.a: develop and use models to explain how latitudinal variations in solar heating create differences in air pressure, global wind patterns, and ocean currents that redistribute heat globally

SCES.A.5.b: analyze and interpret data (e.g., maps, meteograms, and weather apps) that demonstrate how the interaction and movement of air masses creates weather

SCES.A.5.c: construct an argument that predicts weather patterns based on interactions among ocean currents, air masses, and topography

SCES.A.5.d: analyze and interpret data to show how temperature and precipitation produce the pattern of climate regions (zones) on Earth

SCES.A.5.e: construct an explanation that describes the conditions that generate extreme weather events (e.g., hurricanes, tornadoes, and thunderstorms) and the hazards associated with these events

SCES.A.5.f: construct an argument relating changes in global climate to variation in Earth/sun relationships and atmospheric composition

SCES.A.6.a: construct an argument from evidence that describes how life has responded to major events in Earth's history (e.g., major climatic change, tectonic events) through extinction, migration, and/or adaptation

SCES.A.6.b: construct an explanation that describes how biological processes have caused major changes in Earth's systems through geologic time (e.g., nutrient cycling, atmospheric composition, and soil formation)

SCES.A.6.c: ask questions to investigate and communicate how humans depend on Earth's land and water resources, which are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geological and environmental processes

SCES.A.6.d: analyze and interpret data that relates changes in global climate to natural and anthropogenic modification of Earth's atmosphere and oceans

SCES.A.7.a: investigate the historical perspective of the environmental conservation movement

SCES.A.7.b: construct an argument to support a claim about the value of biodiversity in ecosystem resilience including keystone, invasive, native, re-introduced, endemic, indicator, and endangered species

SCES.A.7.c: discuss the process of developing and instituting national and global environmental conservation standards

SCES.A.8.a: analyze and interpret data to communicate information on the origin and consumption of renewable forms of energy (wind, solar, geothermal, biofuel, and tidal) and non-renewable energy sources (fossils fuels and nuclear energy)

SCES.A.8.b: construct an argument based on data about the risks and benefits of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources

SCES.A.8.c: analyze and interpret data to predict the sustainability potential of renewable and non-renewable energy resources

SCES.A.8.d: design and defend a sustainable energy plan based on scientific principles for your Georgia school location

SCES.A.1.c1: ask questions (Science) & define problems (Engineering) in the role and importance of decomposers in the recycling process

SCES.A.1.d1: use models (to predict or provide evidence) of the plants (flora) and animals (fauna) in biomes

SCES.A.1.d2: analyze and interpret data of annual rainfall accumulations within the various biomes

SCES.A.2.a1: explain the relationship between temperature, pressure, humidity, and relative humidity of air masses and how it influences the climate in a region

SCES.A.2.a2: construct explanations of the causes and effects of El Nino on climate (drought/floods, etc.)

SCES.A.2.a3: construct explanations on the effect of Volcanic eruptions on climate (regional and global) and the possible effects on global temperatures

SCES.A.2.a4: engage in argument from evidence on glacial formation and evidence of Ice Ages and how it may be related to global climate change

SCES.A.2.b1: use models to describe/ illustrate the process of primary and secondary succession in various environmental settings, with an emphasis on changes in biomass, biodiversity, and complexity

SCES.A.2.b2: construct an explanation of how succession occurs after a traumatic event

SCES.A.3.a1: evaluate the effects of human activities and technology on ecosystems

SCES.A.3.a2: describe the impact of cultural revolutions on the environment and identify the factors which led to them

SCES.A.3.a3: identify the influence of human population changes on cultural revolutions

SCES.A.3.b1: analyze and interpret data on population growth factors between developed and developing countries

SCES.A.3.b2: examine factors which affect growth rates and the carrying capacity of the environment

SCES.A.3.b3: develop and use models projections using population determiners such as mortality, immigration, natality, and emigration

SCES.A.3.b4: ask questions and define problems of population growth on societal stability (demographic transitions, cultural differences, and emergent diseases)

SCES.A.3.c1: construct explanations and design solutions to understand a nation's goal in protecting the environment

SCES.A.3.c2: analyze and interpret data on the effect and potential implications of pollution and resource depletion on the environment at the local and global levels (e.g. solid waste disposal)

SCES.A.3.c3: identify the influence of human population changes on cultural revolutions

SCES.A.3.c4: construct an argument from evidence regarding of the benefits and ecological impacts of human innovation and technology

SCES.A.3.d1: discuss the process of developing national and global environmental standards

SCES.A.3.d2: engage in argument from evidence on how political, legal, social and economic decisions may affect global and local ecosystems

SCES.A.3.d3: describe the effects and potential implications of pollution and resource pollution and resource depletion on the environment at the local and global levels

SCES.A.7.c1: explain the role of the government agencies in setting standards for conservation

SCES.A.7.c2: analyze the role of global organizations in proposing and obtaining international environmental goals

SCES.A.7.c3: construct explanations to examine the values associated with environmental decision making

SCES.A.7.c4: construct explanations to describe how political, legal, social and economic decisions may affect global and local ecosystems

SCES.A.8.a1: ask question and define problems regarding forms of energy resources and the significance of conservation to the environment

SCES.A.8.a2: differentiate between renewable and non-renewable energy resources and the significance of their conservation

SCES.A.8.a3: distinguish between natural and produced resources

SCES.A.8.a4: describe resource production/renewal rates, rates of use and limitations of sources

SCES.A.8.a5: develop and use models (to communicate) to explain the carbon cycle and how fossil fuels are formed

SCES.A.8.b1: construct explanation (science) and design solutions (engineering) for identified problems associated with human dependence on fossil fuels

SCES.A.8.b2: explain the relationship between standards of living and resource utilization

SCES.A.8.b3: compare the utilization of resource usage between developed and developing countries

SCES.A.8.c1: compare the amount of electrical energy needed to operate various devices

SCES.A.8.c2: identify household devices with the energy star rating for energy efficiency

SCES.A.8.c3: describe how energy and other resource utilization impact the environment

SCES.A.8.d1: discuss the need for informed decision making regarding resource utilization (e.g., energy and water usage allocation, conservation, food and land and long-term depletion)

SCES.A.8.d2: develop and create models to communicate effective city planning and the sustainable management of energy resources