National ScienceEducation Standards

Selected National Science EducationContent StandardsContent Standards K-4

The activities found in thisguide relate in part to thefollowing content standards:Life Science, Earth Science,Science and Technology,Science in Personal andSocial Perspectives, and theHistory and Nature ofScience. The concepts andprinciples outlined belowhave been transcribeddirectly from the NationalResearch Council'spublication NationalScience EducationStandards. Please be awarethat this is not a completelist of standards; only thoseaddressed by the activitiesin the guide are present.

Life Science - Content Standard C:As a result of activities in grades K-4,

all students should develop an

understanding of:

Organisms have basic needs.For example, animals need air,water, and food; plants require air,water, nutrients, and light.Organisms can survive only inenvironments in which their needscan bemet. The world has manydifferent environments, and distinctenvironments support the life ofdifferent types of organisms.

Each plant or animal has differentstructures that serve differentfunctions in growth, surviva~ and

reproduction. For example, humanshave distinct body structures forwalking, holding, seeing, and talking.

The behavior of individualorganisms is influenced by internalcues (such as hunger) and byexternal cues (such as a change in theenvironment). Humans and otherorganisms have senses that help themdetect internal and external cues.

Plants and animals have life cyclesthat include being born, developinginto adults, reproducing, andeventually dying. The details of thislife cycle are different for differentorganisms.

Plants and animals closely resembletheir parents.

Many characteristics of an organismare inherited from the parents of theorganisrY4but other characteristicsresult from an individual's

interactions with the environment.Inherited characteristics include the

color offlowers and the number oflimbs of an animal. Otherfeatures,such as the ability to ride a bicycle,are learned through interactions withthe environment and cannot bepassed on to the next generation.

All animals depend on plants. Someanimals eat plants for food. Otheranimals eat animals that eat

the plants.

An organism's patterns of behavior

are relJted to the nature of thatorganism 'senvironmen~ includingthe kinds and numbers of other

organisms presen~ the availability offood and resources, and the physicalcharacteristics of the environment.When the environment changes, someplants and animals survive and

reproduce, and others die or move tonew locations.

All organisms cause changes in theenvironment where they live. Someof these changes are detrimental tothe organism or other organisms,

whereas others are beneficiaL

Humans depend on their naturaland constructed environments.Humans change environments inways that can be either beneficial ordetrimental for themselves and otherorganisms.

Earth Science - Content Standard D:As a result of their activities in grades

K-4, all students should develop an

understanding of:

Earth materials are solid rocks andsoils, water, and gases of theatmosphere. The varied materialshave different physical and chemicalproperties which make them useful indifferent ways, for example, asbuilding materials, as sources offue4orfor growing the plants we use asfood. Earth materials provide many

of the resources that humans use.Soils have properties of color andtexture, capacity to retain water, andability to support the growth of manykinds afplants, including those inour food supply.

• Changes in earth and sky

The suiface of the earth changes.

Science and Technology-

Content Standard E:As a result of activities in grades K-4,all students should develop:

• Abilities to distinguish betweennatural objects and objects made

Some objects occur in nature; othershave been designed and made by

people to solve human problems andenhance the quality of life.

Objects can becategorized into twogroups, natural and designed.

Science in Personal and Social

Perspectives - Content Standard F:As a result of activities in grades K-4,all students should develop anunderstanding of:

• Characteristics and changes inpopulations

Human populations include groupsof individuals living in a particularlocation. One importantcharacteristic of a human populationis the population density- thenumber of individuals of a particularpopulation that lives in a givenamount of space.

The size of a human population canincrease or decrease. Populationswill increase unless other factorssuch as disease orfamine decreasethe population.

Resources are things that we getfromthe living and nonliving environmentto meet the needs and wants of apopulation.

Some resources are basic materials,such as air, water, and soi~ some areproduced from basic resources, such

asfood, fuel, and building materials;

and some resources are nonmaterial,such as quiet places, beauty, security,and safety.

The supply of many resources islimited. lfused, resources can beextended through recycling anddecreased use.

Environments are the space,conditions, and factors that affectan individual's and a population'sability to survive and their qualityof life.

Changes in environments can benatural or influenced by humans.Some changes are good, some arebad, and some are neither good norbad. Pollution is a change in theenvironment that can influence thehealth, survival, or activities oforganisms, including humans.

Some environmental changes occurslowly, and others occur rapidly.Students should understand the

different consequences of changingenvironments in small incrementsover long periods as compared withchanging environments in largeincrements over short periods.

History and Nature of Science -

Content Standard G:As a result of activities in grades K-4,all students should develop anunderstanding of:

Although men and women usingscientific inquiry have learnedmuch about the objects, events, andphenomena in nature, much moreremains to beunderstood. Sciencewill never befinished.

Many people choose science as acareer and devote their entire lives tostudying it. Many people derivegreat pleasure from doing science.

Content Standards 5-8

Life Science - Content Standard C:As a result of their activities in grades5-8, all students should develop anunderstanding of:

• Structure and function inliving systems

Living systems at all levels oforganization demonstrate thecomplementary nature of structureand function. Important levels oforganization for structure andfunction include cells, organs,tissues, organ systems, wholeorganisms, and ecosystems.

Reproduction is a characteristic ofall living systems; because noindividualorganismlivesforeve~reproduction is essential to thecontinuation of every species. Someorganisms produce asexually. Otherorganisms reproduce sexually.

All organisms must be able toobtain and use resources, grow,reproduce, and maintain stableinternal conditions while livingin a constantly changingexternal environment.

An organism's behaviorevolves through adaptation toits environment. How a speciesmoves, obtains food, reproduces,and responds to danger are basedin the species' evolutionary history.

A population consists of allindividuals of a species that occurtogether at a given place and time.All populations living together andthe physical factors with which theyinteract compose an ecosystem.

Populations of organisms can becategorized by thefunction they servein an ecosystem. Plants and somemicroorganisms are producers-

they make theirownfood. Allanimals, including humans, are

consumers, which obtain food byeating other organisms.

Decomposers, primarily bacteriaand fungi, are consumers that usewaste materials and dead organismsfor food. Food webs identify the

relationships among producers,consumers, and decomposers inan ecosystem.

For ecosystems, the major source ofenergy is sunlight. Energy enteringecosystems as sunlight is transferredby producers into chemical energythrough photosynthesis. That energythen passes from organism toorganism in food webs.

The number of organisms anecosystem can support depends onthe resources available and abioticfactors, such as quantity of light andwater, range of temperatures, andsoil composition. Given adequatebiotic and abiotic resources and nodisease or predators, populations(including humans) increase atrapid rates. Lack of resources andotherfactors, such as predationand climate, limit the growth ofpopulations in specific niches inthe ecosystem.

• Diversity and adaptations oforganisms

Millions of species of animals,plants, and microorganisms arealive today. Although differentspecies might look dissimilar, theunity among organisms becomesapparent from an analysis ofinternal structures, the similarityof their chemical processes, and theevidence of common ancestry.

Biological evolution accounts for thediversity of species developed throughgradual processes over manygenerations. Species acquire many oftheir unique characteristics throughbiological adaptation, which involvesthe selection of naturally occurring

variations in populations.Biological adaptations includechanges in structures, behaviors, orphysiology that enhance survival

and reproductive success in aparticular environment.

Extinction of a species occurswhen the environment changesand the adaptive characteristics of

a species are insufficient to allowits survival. Fossils indicate that

many organisms that lived longago are extinct. Extinction ofspecies is common; most of thespecies that have lived on the earthno longer exist.

Science in Personal and Social

Perspectives - Content Standard F:As a result of activities in grades 5-8,all students should develop anunderstanding of:

Natural environments may containsubstances (jor example, radon andlead) that are harmful to human

beings. Maintaining environmentalhealth involves establishing ormonitoring quality standards relatedto use of soil, water, and air.

• Populations, resources,and environments

When an area becomesoverpopulated, the environment willbecome degraded due to the increaseduse of resources.

Causes of environmentaldegradation and resource depletionvary from region to region and fromcountry to country.

Internal and external processes of theearth system cause natural hazards,events that change and destroyhuman and wildlife habitats, damageproperty, and harm or kill humans.Natural hazards include

earthquakes, landslides,

wildfires, vokanic eruptions,floods, storms, and even possibleimpacts of asteroids.

Human activities also can inducehazards through resourceacquisition, urban grawth, land-use

decisions, and waste disposal. Suchactivities can accelerate manynatural changes.

Natural hazards can presentpersonal and societal challengesbecause misidentifying the change orincorrectly estimating the rate andscale of change may result in eithertoo little attention and significanthuman costs or too much forunneeded preventive measures.

Students should understand the risksassociated with natural hazards(fires,floods, tornadoes, hurricanes,earth-quakes, and volcaniceruptions), with chemical hazards(pollutants in air, water, soi~ andfood), with biological hazards (pollen,viruses, bacteri~ and parasites),social hazards (occupational safetyand transportation), and withpersonal hazards (smoking, dieting,and drinking).

Important personal and socialdecisions are made based onperceptions of benefits and risks.

Science influences society through itsknowledge and world view. Scientificknowledge and the procedures usedby scientists influence the way manyindividuals in society think aboutthemselves, others, and the

environment. The effect of science onsociety is neither entirely beneficialnor entirely detrimental.

Societal challenges often inspirequestions for scientific research, andsocial priorities often influenceresearch priorities through theavailability offunding for research.

Science cannot answer all questionsand technology cannot solve allhuman problems or meet all humanneeds. Students should understandthe difference between scientific andother questions. They shouldappreciate what science andtechnology can reasonably contributeto society and what they cannot do.For example, new technologies oftenwill decrease some risks and increaseothers.