Science is a way of knowing, a process for gaining knowledge and understanding of the natural world. The Science Core Curriculum places emphasis on understanding and using skills. Students should be active learners. It is not enough for students to read about science; they must do science. They should observe, inquire, question, formulate and test hypotheses, analyze data, report, and evaluate findings. The students, as scientists, should have hands-on, active experiences throughout the instruction of the science curriculum.
The Science Core describes what students should know and be able to do at the end of each course. It was developed, critiqued, piloted, and revised by a community of Utah science teachers, university science educators, State Office of Education specialists, scientists, expert national consultants, and an advisory committee representing a wide diversity of people from the community. The Core reflects the current philosophy of science education that is expressed in national documents developed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Academies of Science. This Science Core has the endorsement of the Utah Science Teachers Association. The Core reflects high standards of achievement in science for all students.
The Core is designed to help teachers organize and deliver instruction. Elements of the Core include the following:
Reflects the Nature of Science: Science is a way of knowing, a process for gaining knowledge and understanding of the natural world. The Core is designed to produce an integrated set of Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) for students.
As described in these ILOs, students will:
Coherent: The Core has been designed so that, wherever possible, the science ideas taught within a particular grade level have a logical and natural connection with each other and with those of earlier grades. Efforts have also been made to select topics and skills that integrate well with one another and with other subject areas appropriate to grade level. In addition, there is an upward articulation of science concepts, skills, and content. This spiraling is intended to prepare students to understand and use more complex science concepts and skills as they advance through their science learning.
Developmentally Appropriate: The Core takes into account the psychological and social readiness of students. It builds from concrete experiences to more abstract understandings. The Core describes science language students should use that is appropriate to their grade level. A more extensive vocabulary should not be emphasized. In the past, many educators may have mistakenly thought that students understood abstract concepts (such as the nature of the atom) because they repeated appropriate names and vocabulary (such as “electron” and “neutron”). The Core resists the temptation to describe abstract concepts at inappropriate grade levels; rather, it focuses on providing experiences with concepts that students can explore and understand in depth to build a foundation for future science learning.
Encourages Good Teaching Practices: It is impossible to accomplish the full intent of the Core by lecturing and having students read from textbooks. The Science Core emphasizes student inquiry. Science process skills are central in each standard. Good science encourages students to gain knowledge by doing science: observing, questioning, exploring, making and testing hypotheses, comparing predictions, evaluating data, and communicating conclusions. The Core is designed to encourage instruction with students working in cooperative groups. Instruction should connect lessons with students’ daily lives. The Core directs experiential science instruction for all students, not just those who have traditionally succeeded in science classes. The vignettes listed on the Utah Science Home Page at http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/science for each of the Core standards provide examples, based on actual practice, that demonstrate that excellent teaching of the Science Core is possible.
Comprehensive: The Science Core does not cover all topics that have traditionally been in the science curriculum; however, it does provide a comprehensive background in science. By emphasizing depth rather than breadth, the Core seeks to empower students rather than intimidate them with a collection of isolated and forgettable facts. Teachers are free to add related concepts and skills, but they are expected to teach all the standards and objectives specified in the Core for their grade level.
Useful and Relevant: This curriculum relates directly to student needs and interests. It is grounded in the natural world in which we live. Relevance of science to other endeavors enables students to transfer skills gained from science instruction into their other school subjects and into their lives outside the classroom.
Encourages Good Assessment Practices: Student achievement of the standards and objectives in this Core is best assessed using a variety of assessment instruments. The purpose of an assessment should be clear to the teacher as it is planned, implemented, and evaluated. Performance tests are particularly appropriate to evaluate student mastery of science processes and problem-solving skills. Teachers should use a variety of classroom assessment approaches in conjunction with standard assessment instruments to inform their instruction. Sample test items, keyed to each Core Standard, may be located on the Utah Science Home Page http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/science. Observation of students engaged in science activities is highly recommended as a way to assess students’ skills as well as attitudes in science. The nature of the questions posed by students provides important evidence of students’ understanding of and interest in science.
The Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) describe the skills and attitudes students should learn as a result of science instruction. They are an essential part of the Science Core Curriculum and provide teachers with a standard for evaluation of student learning in science. Instruction should include significant science experiences that lead to student understanding using the ILOs.
The main intent of science instruction in Utah is that students will value and use science as a process of obtaining knowledge based upon observable evidence.
By the end of science instruction in high school, students will be able to:
1. Use Science Process and Thinking Skills
2. Manifest Scientific Attitudes and Interests
3. Demonstrate Understanding of Science Concepts, Principles and Systems
4. Communicate Effectively Using Science Language and Reasoning
5. Demonstrate Awareness of Social and Historical Aspects of Science
6. Demonstrate Understanding of the Nature of Science
| Science language students should use: |
generalize, conclude, hypothesis, theory, variable, measure, evidence, data, inference, infer, compare, predict, interpret, analyze, relate, calculate, observe, describe, classify, technology, experiment, investigation, tentative, assumption, ethical, replicability, precision, skeptical, methods of science |
The Physics Core Curriculum has two primary goals: (1) students will value and use science as a process of obtaining knowledge based on observable evidence, and (2) students’ curiosity will be sustained as they develop and refine the abilities associated with scientific inquiry.
The Physics Core has three major concepts for the focus of instruction: (1) motion of objects, (2) forces acting on objects, and (3) energy.
Not all possible physics topics are specified in the Core. Teachers may enhance their individual classes as they see opportunities to include more topics or more depth. The Physics Core is intended for teachers to help students understand basic physics concepts, develop scientific habits, and experience the process of scientific investigations. Good instruction requires hands-on investigations in which student inquiry is an important goal. Teachers should provide opportunities for all students to experience many things. Laboratory investigations should be frequent and meaningful components of physics instruction. Teachers should help students plan and conduct experiments in which they:
Students should enjoy science as a process of discovering and understanding the physical world.
Physics Core concepts should be integrated with concepts and skills from other curriculum areas. Reading, writing, and mathematics skills should be emphasized as integral to the instruction of science. Personal relevance of science in students’ lives is an important part of helping students to value science and should be emphasized at this grade level. Developing students' writing skills in science should be an important part of science instruction in physics. Students should regularly write descriptions of their observations and experiments. Lab journals are an effective way to emphasize the importance of writing in science.
Providing opportunities for students to gain insights into science related careers adds to the relevance of science learning. Physics provides students with an opportunity to investigate careers in physics, astronomy, engineering, aerospace, and energy. Resources related to careers in science may be found at the Utah Science Home Page at http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/science .
Value for honesty, integrity, self-discipline, respect, responsibility, punctuality, dependability, courtesy, cooperation, consideration, and teamwork should be emphasized as an integral part of science learning. These relate to the care of living things, safety and concern for self and others, and environmental stewardship. Honesty in all aspects of research, experimentation, data collection, and reporting is an essential component of science.
This Core was designed using the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Project 2061: Benchmarks For Science Literacy and the National Academy of Science’s National Science Education Standards as guides to determine appropriate content and skills.
The Physics Core has many online resources designed to help with classroom instruction. The Utah Science Home Page at http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/science is an ongoing report of resources available and aligned to the Physics Core Curriculum.
The hands-on nature of science learning increases the need for teachers to use appropriate precautions in the classroom and field. It is important that all students understand the rules for a safe classroom.
Science instruction should cultivate and build on students’ curiosity and sense of wonder. Effective science instruction engages students in enjoyable learning experiences. Science instruction should be as thrilling an experience for a student as designing, building and testing catapults, bridges and rockets. Science is not just for those who have traditionally succeeded in the subject, and it is not just for those who will choose science-related careers. In a world of rapidly expanding knowledge and technology, all students must gain the skills they will need to understand and function responsibly and successfully in the world. The Core provides skills in a context that enables students to experience the joy of doing science.
The motion of an object can be described by measurements of its position at different times. Velocity is a measure of the rate of change of position of an object. Acceleration is a measure of the rate of change of velocity of an object. This change in velocity may be a change in speed and/or direction. Motion is defined relative to the frame of reference from which it is observed. An object’s state of motion will remain constant unless unbalanced forces act upon the object. This is Newton’s first law of motion.
STANDARD I: Students will understand how to measure, calculate, and describe the motion of an object in terms of position, time, velocity, and acceleration.
Objective 1: Describe the motion of an object in terms of position, time, and velocity. (Related Internet Resources)
Objective 2: Analyze the motion of an object in terms of velocity, time, and acceleration. (Related Internet Resources)
Objective 3: Relate the motion of objects to a frame of reference. (Related Internet Resources)
Objective 4: Use Newton's first law to explain the motion of an object. (Related Internet Resources)
| Science language students should use: |
position, time, speed, velocity, acceleration, distance, displacement, rate, instantaneous velocity, average velocity, frame of reference, balanced forces |
Objects in the universe interact with one another by way of forces. Changes in the motion of an object are proportional to the sum of the forces, and inversely proportional to the mass. If one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object always exerts an equal and opposite force on the first object. Whenever a force is applied to an object there is an equal and opposite reaction force.
Any two objects in the universe with mass exert equal and opposite gravitational forces on one another. The electromagnetic force is manifested as an electric force, a magnetic force, or a combination. Any two objects in the universe with a net electric charge exert equal and opposite electric forces on one another. While gravitational forces are always attractive, electromagnetic forces can be either attractive or repulsive.
Friction, tension, compression, spring, gravitational, and normal forces are all common observable forces. The net force on an object is the vector sum of all the forces acting upon the object.
STANDARD II: Students will understand the relation between force, mass, and acceleration.
Objective 1: Analyze forces acting on an object. (Related Internet Resources)
Objective 2: Using Newton’s second law, relate the force, mass, and acceleration of an object. (Related Internet Resources)
Objective 3: Explain that forces act in pairs as described by Newton’s third law. (Related Internet Resources)
STANDARD III: Students will understand the factors determining the strength of gravitational and electric forces.
Objective 1: Relate the strength of the gravitational force to the distance between two objects and the mass of the objects (i.e., Newton’s law of universal gravitation). (Related Internet Resources)
Objective 2: Describe the factors that affect the electric force (i.e., Coulomb’s law). (Related Internet Resources)
| Science language students should use: |
force, electric force, electric charge, friction, gravitational force, mass, net force, normal force, weight, vector, vector diagram |
The total energy of the universe is constant; however, the total amount of energy available for useful transformation is almost always decreasing. Energy can be converted from one form to another and move from one system to another. Transformation of energy usually produces heat that spreads to cooler places by radiation, convection, or conduction. Energy can be classified as potential or kinetic energy. Potential energy is stored energy and includes chemical, gravitational, electrostatic, elastic, and nuclear. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion.
Moving electric charges produce magnetic forces and moving magnets produce electric forces. The interplay of electric and magnetic forces is the basis for electric motors, generators, and many other modern technologies, including the production of electromagnetic waves. Modern electric generators produce electricity by converting mechanical energy into electrical energy.
Sound and light transfer energy from one location to another as waves. Characteristics of waves include wavelength, amplitude, and frequency. Waves can combine with one another, bend around corners, reflect off surfaces, be absorbed by materials they enter, and change direction when entering a new material. All these effects vary with wavelength. Observable waves include mechanical and electromagnetic waves. Mechanical waves transport energy through a medium. Electromagnetic radiation is differentiated by wavelength or frequency, and includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, x-rays, and gamma rays. These wavelengths vary from radio waves (the longest) to gamma rays (the shortest). In empty space all electromagnetic waves move at the same speed, the “speed of light.”
STANDARD IV: Students will understand transfer and conservation of energy.
Objective 1: Determine kinetic and potential energy in a system. (Related Internet Resources)
Objective 2: Describe conservation of energy in terms of systems. (Related Internet Resources)
Objective 3: Describe common energy transformations and the effect on availability of energy. (Related Internet Resources)
STANDARD V: Students will understand the properties and applications of waves.
Objective 1: Demonstrate an understanding of mechanical waves in terms of general wave properties. (Related Internet Resources)
Objective 2: Describe the nature of electromagnetic radiation and visible light. (Related Internet Resources)
| Science language students should use: |
energy, potential energy, kinetic energy, law of conservation of energy, wave, mechanical wave, electromagnetic wave, electromagnetic spectrum, wavelength, frequency, amplitude, period, reflection, refraction, diffraction, Doppler effect, elastic potential energy, medium, radio wave, microwave, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-ray, gamma ray, conduction, convection, radiation |