Science and Technology/Engineering | Grade : High School
Discipline - Earth and Space Sciences
Core Idea - Earth's Systems
[HS.ESS.2.5] - Describe how the chemical and physical properties of water are important in mechanical and chemical mechanisms that affect Earth materials and surface processes. Clarification Statements: Examples of mechanical mechanisms involving water include stream transportation and deposition, erosion using variations in soil moisture content, and frost wedging by the expansion of water as it freezes. Examples of chemical mechanisms involving water include chemical weathering and recrystallization (based on solubility of different materials) and melt generation (based on water lowering the melting temperature of most solids).
[HS.ESS.2.2] -
Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s hydrosphere can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems.
Clarification Statement: Examples can include how decreasing the amount of glacial ice reduces the amount of sunlight reflected from Earth’s surface, increasing surface temperatures and further reducing the amount of ice; how the loss of ground vegetation causes an increase in water runoff and soil erosion; how dammed rivers increase groundwater recharge, decrease sediment transport, and increase coastal erosion; and how the loss of wetlands causes a decrease in local humidity that further reduces the wetland extent.
[HS.ESS.2.3] -
Use a model based on evidence of Earth’s interior to describe the cycling of matter due to the outward flow of energy from Earth’s interior and gravitational movement of denser materials toward the interior. Clarification Statements: Emphasis is on both a two-dimensional model of Earth, with radial layers determined by density, and a three-dimensional model, which is controlled by gravity and thermal convection. Examples of evidence include maps of Earth’s three-dimensional structure obtained from seismic waves, records of the rate of change of Earth’s magnetic field (as constraints on convection in the outer core), and identification of the composition of Earth’s layers from high-pressure laboratory experiments.