Poway Unified School District
Standards (DRAFT)
THE NATURE OF SCIENCE
Scientific World View
Scientists assume the universe is a vast single
system in which the basic rules are the same everywhere.
All natural objects, events, and processes, are connected to each
other in such a way that only a relatively few concepts are needed to make sense of them.
Science concepts are manifested in daily life.
Science is directed towards a progressively greater
understanding of the natural world.
Science develops rational decision making skills applicable to major
issues of personal and public concern.
UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES
Systems
A system is a collection of things and processes and
the interactions among them.
A system can include processes as well as things.
Thinking about things as systems means looking for
how every part relates to others. The output from one part of a system (which can include
material, energy, or information) can become the input to other parts. Such feedback can
serve to control what goes on in the system as a whole.
Any system is usually connected to other systems, both internally
and externally. Thus a system may be thought of as containing subsystems and as being a
subsystem of a larger system.
Critical Response
Recognizes that the use or misuse of supporting
evidence, the language used, and the logic of the argument presented are important
considerations in judging how seriously to take a claim or proposition.
Is skeptical of arguments based on very small samples of data,
biased samples, or samples for which there was no control sample.
Is aware that there may be more than one good way to interpret a
given set of findings.
Criticizes the reasoning in arguments in which fact and opinion are
intermingled or the conclusions do not follow logically from the evidence given.
Tool Usage
Identifies and manipulates appropriate tools.
Uses computer to access current scientific information
Communication
Communicates ideas, the problems, processes, and
solutions.
Presents information to different audiences using a variety of
formats.
THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT
Diversity of Life
There are patterns of similarities and differences
in living things.
Interdependence of Life
Living things depend on one another and the
environment for survival.
In all environments--freshwater, marine, forest,
desert, grassland, mountain, and others—organisms with similar needs may compete with
one another for resources, including food, space, water, air, and shelter.
In any particular environment, the growth and
survival of organisms depend on the physical conditions. Those organisms in turn,
influence their environment, to some extent.
Living things are a part of larger systems of
interaction.
Ecosystems tend to have cyclic fluctuations
around a state of equilibrium. In the long run, however, ecosystems always change when
climate changes or when one or more new species appear as a result of migration or local
evolution.
Human beings are part of the earth’s
ecosystems. Human activities can, deliberately or inadvertently, alter the equilibrium in
ecosystems.
Ecosystems can be reasonably stable over hundreds or
thousands of years. As any population of organisms grows, it is held in check by one or
more environmental (biotic or abiotic) factors. If a disaster such as flood or fire
occurs, the damaged ecosystem is likely to recover in stages that eventually result in a
system similar to the original one.
