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Middle School

Earth's Place in the Universe

 

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

Performance Expectations
 

 

Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system. MS-ESS1-2

Clarification Statement and Assessment Boundary

Clarification Statement: Emphasis for the model is on gravity as the force that holds together the solar system and Milky Way galaxy and controls orbital motions within them. Examples of models can be physical (such as the analogy of distance along a football field or computer visualizations of elliptical orbits) or conceptual (such as mathematical proportions relative to the size of familiar objects such as students' school or state).

Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include Kepler’s Laws of orbital motion or the apparent retrograde motion of the planets as viewed from Earth.

Science and Engineering Practices

Developing and Using Models

Modeling in 6–8 builds on K–5 experiences and progresses to developing, using, and revising models to describe, test, and predict more abstract phenomena and design systems.

Develop and use a model to describe phenomena. (MS-ESS1-2)

Disciplinary Core Ideas

ESS1.A:  The Universe and Its Stars

Earth and its solar system are part of the Milky Way galaxy, which is one of many galaxies in the universe. (MS-ESS1-2)

ESS1.B:  Earth and the Solar System

The solar system consists of the sun and a collection of objects, including planets, their moons, and asteroids that are held in orbit around the sun by its gravitational pull on them. (MS-ESS1-2)

The solar system appears to have formed from a disk of dust and gas, drawn together by gravity. (MS-ESS1-2)

Crosscutting Concepts

Systems and System Models

Models can be used to represent systems and their interactions. (MS-ESS1-2)

Connections to Nature of Science

Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems

Science assumes that objects and events in natural systems occur in consistent patterns that are understandable through measurement and observation. (MS-ESS1-2)

Common Core State Standards Connections

Mathematics
  • 6.EE.B.6 - Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions when solving a real-world or mathematical problem; understand that a variable can represent an unknown number, or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in a specified set. (MS-ESS1-2)
  • 6.RP.A.1 - Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. (MS-ESS1-2)
  • 7.EE.B.4 - Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world or mathematical problem, and construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities. (MS-ESS1-2)
  • 7.RP.A.2 - Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities. (MS-ESS1-2)
  • MP.4 - Model with mathematics. (MS-ESS1-2)