This resource has 65 correlations with the National Standards.  
[HIDE CORRELATIONS]

• Physical Science
  • Properties of objects and materials
    • Objects have many observable properties, including size, weight, shape, color, and temperature. (K-4)
    • The observable properties of objects can be measured using tools, such as rulers, balances, and thermometers. (K-4)
    • Objects can be described by the properties of the materials from which they are made. (K-4)
    • Materials can exist in different states--solid, liquid, and gas. (K-4)
    • Some common materials, such as water, can be changed from one state to another by heating or cooling. (K-4)
  • Properties and changes of properties in matter
    • A substance has characteristic properties, such as density, a boiling point, and solubility. (5-8)
    • A mixture of substances often can be separated into the original substances using one or more of the characteristic properties. (5-8)
    • Substances react chemically in characteristic ways with other substances to form new substances (compounds) with different characteristic properties. (5-8)
    • In chemical reactions, the total mass is conserved. (5-8)
  • Structure and properties of matter
    • A compound is formed when two or more kinds of atoms bind together chemically. (9-12)
    • The physical properties of compounds reflect the nature of the interactions among its molecules. (9-12)
    • The interactions among molecules are determined by the structure of the molecule, including the constituent atoms and the distances and angles between them. (9-12)
    • Solids, liquids, and gases differ in the distances and angles between molecules or atoms and therefore the energy that binds them together. (9-12)
    • In solids the structure is nearly rigid; in liquids molecules or atoms move around each other but do not move apart; and in gases molecules or atoms move almost independently of each other and are mostly far apart. (9-12)
  • Chemical Reactions
    • Radical reactions control many processes such as the presence of ozone and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, burning and processing of fossil fuels, the formation of polymers, and explosions. (9-12)
    • Reaction rates depend on how often the reacting atoms and molecules encounter one another, on the temperature, and on the properties--including shape--of the reacting species. (9-12)
  • Transfer of Energy
    • Energy is a property of many substances and is associated with heat, light, electricity, mechanical motion, sound, nuclei, and the nature of a chemical. (5-8)
    • Energy is transferred in many ways. (5-8)
  • Motion and Forces
    • Unbalanced forces will cause changes in the speed or direction of an object's motion. (Acceleration) (5-8)
    • An object that is not being subjected to a force will continue to move at a constant speed and in a straight line. (inertia) (5-8)
  • Conservation of energy and increase in disorder
    • All energy can be considered to be either kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion; potential energy, which depends on relative position; or energy contained by a field, such as electromagnetic waves. (9-12)

• Life Science
  • Diversity and adaptations of organisms
    • Millions of species of animals, plants, and microorganisms are alive today. (5-8)

• Earth Science
  • Energy in the earth system
    • The greenhouse effect is the warming effect on the air caused by heat rising from the surface of the Earth and being trapped by gases in the troposphere. (9-12)
  • Origin and evolution of the earth system
    • Geologic time can be estimated by observing rock sequences and using fossils to correlate the sequences at various locations. (9-12)
    • Current methods of measuring geologic time include using the known decay rates of radioactive isotopes present in rocks to measure the time since the rock was formed. (9-12)

• Science as Inquiry
  • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
    • Ask a question about objects, organisms, and events in the environment. (K-4)
    • Plan and conduct a simple investigation. (K-4)
    • Employ simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses. (K-4)
    • Communicate investigations and explanations.
    • Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence.
    • Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations.
    • Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and predictions.
    • Use mathematics in all aspects of scientific inquiry.
    • Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using logic and evidence. (9-12)
    • Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models. (9-12)
  • Understandings about scientific inquiry
    • Scientists develop explanations using observations (evidence) and what they already know about the world (scientific knowledge). Good explanations are based on evidence from investigations. (K-4)
    • Mathematics is important in all aspects of scientific inquiry. (5-8)
    • Scientific explanations emphasize evidence, have logically consistent arguments, and use scientific principles, models, and theories. (5-8)
    • The scientific community accepts and uses such explanations until displaced by better scientific ones. When such displacement occurs, science advances.
    • Historical and current scientific knowledge influence the design and interpretation of investigations and the evaluation of proposed explanations made by other scientists. (9-12)
    • Mathematics is essential in scientific inquiry. (9-12)

• Science and Technology
  • Understanding about science and technology
    • Scientific inquiry and technological design have similarities and differences. (5-8)

• Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
  • Personal health
    • Understandings include how communicable diseases, such as colds, are transmitted and some of the body's defense mechanisms that prevent or overcome illness.
    • Sex is also a prominent means of transmitting diseases. The diseases can be prevented through a variety of precautions. (5-8)
  • Natural hazards
    • Human activities can induce hazards through resource acquisition. Such activities accelerate many natural changes. (5-8)
    • Human activities also can induce hazards through urban growth. Such activities accelerate many natural changes. (5-8)
    • Landfill wastes can produce toxic chemicals which seep through the landfill presenting a hazard to the environment.
    • Natural hazards can present personal and societal challenges because misidentifying the change or incorrectly estimating the rate and scale of change may result in either too little attention and significant human costs or too much cost for unneeded preventive measures. (5-8)
  • Natural resources
    • Natural systems have the capacity to reuse waste, but that capacity is limited. (9-12)
  • Environmental quality
    • A basic process that affects humans is the maintenance of the quality of the atmosphere. (9-12)
  • Natural and human-induced hazards
    • Acquisition of resources, urban growth, and waste disposal can accelerate rates of natural change. (9-12)
    • The scale of events and the accuracy with which scientists and engineers can (and cannot) predict events are important considerations. (9-12)

• History and Nature of Science
  • Nature of science
    • Scientists formulate and test their explanations of nature using observation, experiments, and theoretical and mathematical models. Those ideas are not likely to change greatly in the future. (5-8)
    • Although all scientific ideas are tentative and subject to change and improvement in principle, for most major ideas in science, there is much experimental and observational confirmation. (5-8)
    • Scientists do and have changed their ideas about nature when they encounter new experimental evidence that does not match their existing explanations.
    • In areas where active research is being pursued and in which there is not a great deal of experimental or observational evidence and understanding, it is normal for scientists to differ with one another about the interpretation of the evidence or theory being considered. (5-8)
    • It is part of scientific inquiry to evaluate the results of scientific investigations, experiments, observations, theoretical models, and the explanations proposed by other scientists. As scientific knowledge evolves, major disagreements are eventually resolved through such interactions between scientists. (5-8)
    • Evaluation includes reviewing the experimental procedures, examining the evidence, identifying faulty reasoning, pointing out statements that go beyond the evidence, and suggesting alternative explanations for the same observations. (5-8)
    • Although scientists may disagree about explanations of phenomena, about interpretations of data, or about the value of rival theories, they do agree that questioning, response to criticism, and open communication are integral to the process of science. (5-8)
  • Nature of scientific knowledge
    • Science distinguishes itself from other ways of knowing and from other bodies of knowledge through the use of empirical standards, logical arguments, and skepticism, as scientists strive for the best possible explanations about the natural world. (9-12)
    • Scientific explanations must meet certain criteria. (9-12)
    • First and foremost, scientific explanations must be consistent with experimental and observational evidence about nature, and must make accurate predictions, when appropriate, about systems being studied. (9-12)
    • Scientific explanations should be logical, respect the rules of evidence, be open to criticism, report methods and procedures, and make knowledge public. (9-12)
    • Explanations on how the natural world changes based on myths, personal beliefs, religious values, mystical inspiration, superstition, or authority may be personally useful and socially relevant, but they are not scientific. (9-12)
    • Because all scientific ideas depend on experimental and observational confirmation, all scientific knowledge is, in principle, subject to change as new evidence becomes available. (9-12)