Science and Technology/Engineering | Grade : High School
Discipline - Earth and Space Sciences
Core Idea - Earth's Systems
[HS.ESS.2.6] - Use a model to describe cycling of carbon through the ocean, atmosphere, soil, and biosphere and how increases in carbon dioxide concentrations due to human activity have resulted in atmospheric and climate changes.
[AI.N-Q.A.1] -
Use units as a way to understand problems and to guide the solution of multi-step problems; choose and interpret units consistently in formulas; choose and interpret the scale and the origin in graphs and data displays.*
[AI.N-Q.A.2] -
Define appropriate quantities for the purpose of descriptive modeling.*
[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.LS.2.5] -
Use a model that illustrates the roles of photosynthesis, cellular respiration, decomposition, and combustion to explain the cycling of carbon in its various forms among the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. Clarification Statements: The primary forms of carbon include carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, waste (dead organic matter), and biomass (organic materials of living organisms). Examples of models could include simulations and mathematical models. State Assessment Boundary: The specific chemical steps of respiration, decomposition, and combustion are not expected in state assessment.