Science

Unit 1

• Features and interrelationships of Earth’s hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere
• Fossils and Earth’s history
• Interactions that shape Earth’s history and future
• History and elements of plate tectonics
• Earth composition and energy flow
• Earth systems interactions
• Rocks and minerals
• Weathering and erosion from wind, water, and ice
• Natural resources

Unit 2

• Natural hazards
• Water movements and changes in land surface and underground
• Renewable and nonrenewable resources
• Uneven distribution of Earth’s resources
• History of natural hazards
• Geological forces that forecast natural hazards
• Plant processes (photosynthesis, transpiration, respiration) and their byproducts
• Chemical reactions in organisms to use food
• Biodiversity

Unit 3

• Interdependent relationships among organisms in ecosystems
• Energy transfer in ecosystems
• Cycle of matter in ecosystems
• Disruptions and changes in ecosystems over time
• Cell structure and function
• Human body tissues, organs, and systems
• Health and nutrition
• Homeostasis in the human body
• Structure of atoms and molecules

Unit 4

• Behavior of atoms and molecules in solids, liquids, and gases
• Elements and compounds
• Periodic Table
• Physical and chemical changes in matter
• Chemical reactions; new substances from chemical reactions
• Energy released or stored from chemical reactions
• Thermal energy
• Sound and light
• Wave behavior
• Changes in state of matter with variations in temperature or pressure
• Thermal energy and the transfer of thermal energy