High School (9-12)

Standards Pages (Living Earth)

High school standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Living Earth)

Highlighted Phenomena from High School Living Earth

• When a freeway is built that blocks a population from accessing half its territory, the population shrinks.
• Earth’s atmosphere began to decrease in CO2 and increase in O2 around the same time that plants first evolved.
• A famous fossil of two dinosaurs fighting formed when the animals were instantly buried by a sudden landslide.
• During the nineteenth century, tuberculous caused as many as 20 percent of all deaths some years. Today, fewer than 250 people in the entire state of California die of the disease in an average year.
• Small animals called pikas are so well adapted to the colder climates of higher elevation that they can overheat in certain temperatures and die in temperatures as low as 80 degrees after a few hours.

Introduction to High School Living Earth

This course centers on the biosphere and examines how it interacts with each of the other Earth systems. For example, students define the carrying capacity of an ecosystem in terms of the resources available due to the physical conditions in the geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Students investigate the evolution of Earth’s atmosphere, which changed dramatically when plants evolved due to photosynthesis and respiration. Students develop a model of how ancient life is recorded in the geosphere as fossils form through Earth’s surface processes. They then explain how fossils provide evidence of evolution. 

The framework also provides examples of how engineering is incorporated into an integrated Earth and space sciences and life science curriculum. In an engineering connection in IS2 (History of Earth’s Atmosphere: Photosynthesis and Respiration), students play the role of wastewater engineers to design a system for protecting the health of local waterways by adding bacteria to decompose organic waste. In another engineering connection, students explore how planting vegetation with root systems can stabilize hill slopes and reduce erosion. 

The example instructional sequence begins at the tangible, macroscopic scale of ecosystems in IS1 (Ecosystem Interactions and Energy) and then focuses on specific exchanges of matter and energy within ecosystems in IS2 (History of Earth’s Atmosphere: Photosynthesis and Respiration). Students develop models of how changes in the physical environment trigger evolutionary changes that are recorded in the fossil record in IS3 (Evidence of Evolution). Students develop macroscopic models of genetic inheritance in IS4 (Inheritance of traits). Finally in IS5 (Structure, Function, and Growth), students zoom into the detailed mechanisms that enable all the previous interactions to occur. They focus on how cells use DNA to construct proteins, build biomass, reproduce, and create complex multicellular organisms. As a capstone in IS6 (Ecosystem Stability and the Response to Climate Change), students return to the ecosystem scale and see how all these mechanisms interact in the face of Earth’s changing climate.

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 7 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Living Earth Instructional Segment 1: Ecosystem Interactions and Energy

High School Three-Course Model Living Earth Snapshot 7.1: Does Living as a Group or Individual Help You Survive?

Living Earth Instructional Segment 2: History of Earth's Atmosphere: Photosynthesis and Respiration

Living Earth Instructional Segment 3: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity

High School Three-Course Model Living Earth Snapshot 7.2: Simulating Evolution of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

High School Three-Course Model Living Earth Snapshot 7.3: Human Evolution

Living Earth Instructional Segment 4: Inheritance of Traits

Living Earth Instructional Segment 5: Structure, Function, and Growth (From Cells to Organisms)

High School Three-Course Model Living Earth Snapshot 7.4: How Did We Eradicate Diseases in the US?

Living Earth Instructional Segment 6: Ecosystem Stability and the Response to Climate Change

High School Three-Course Model Living Earth Snapshot 7.5: Food Diaries

High School Three-Course Model Living Earth Snapshot 7.6: Shrinking Pika Habitat

Living Earth Vignette 7.1: Analyzing the Past, Present, and Future of Marine Mammal Evolution

Standards Pages (Chemistry in the Earth System)

High school standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Chemistry in the Earth System)

Highlighted Phenomena from High School Chemistry in the Earth System

• A nut or other high-Calorie snack food can light on fire and heat water.
• In demonstration of the second law of thermodynamics, measurements from boreholes show the temperature of rocks is warmer as you probe deeper into Earth.
• Small substitutions of iron into the crystal structure of quartz can cause the normally colorless mineral to be purple. Similar substitutions can be predicted using the periodic table.
• A 2015–16 methane leak from a natural gas storage facility in California is considered “the largest climate disaster in U.S. history” because methane molecules absorb infrared energy and affect Earth’s climate.
• The shells of delicate sea creatures called pteropods are dissolving as the ocean has become almost 40 percent more acidic than it was 150 years ago.

Introduction to High School Chemistry in the Earth System

In this course, a range of phenomena on Earth motivate the investigation of fundamental principles in chemistry. The link between combustion and climate change is the theme that integrates the sciences in this course. Combustion exemplifies chemical changes, and the combustion of fossil fuels has profound impacts on Earth’s systems, including its climate and oceans. 

The framework provides examples of how engineering can be incorporated into an integrated chemistry and Earth and space sciences curriculum. Students focus on the chemistry of global energy supplies in an engineering connection IS5 (Chemistry of Climate Change). They define the problem of ocean acidification from the perspective of different stakeholders in IS6 (Dynamics of Chemical Reactions and Ocean Acidification) and propose specific policy solutions based on the results of computer simulations, hands-on experiments, and information they obtain from online resources.

The course begins with macroscopic observations of matter and chemical reactions in IS1 (Combustion). Students refine their model of the nature of matter by focusing on the level of particles and discussing thermodynamic principles in IS2 (Heat and Energy in the Earth System). They model the transfer of heat between microscopic particles and in macroscopic laboratory systems and then gather evidence that these same processes operate at the scale of the Earth system and drive plate motions. Students then concentrate on the internal structure of the atom and use it to make sense of the periodic table and chemical bonds in IS3 (Atoms, Elements, and Molecules). In IS4 (Chemical Reactions), they refine their models to include chemical energy so that they can explain how foods and fossil fuels can combust to unleash the energy we use in our bodies and machines. In IS5 (Chemistry of Climate Change), students explore the effects of combustion on the Earth system from the chemical perspective, treating Earth’s climate as a thermodynamic system and examining how molecules with certain structures can disrupt the flow of energy in this system. They end the course studying chemical equilibrium between the air, water, and carbonate shells of ocean creatures in IS6 (Dynamics of Chemical Reactions and Ocean Acidification). As humans combust more fossil fuels and emit more CO2, the ocean becomes more acidic. Students engage in a capstone research project to predict the impact of this change on all Earth’s systems, including humans who depend on ocean life for food. 

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 7 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Chemistry in the Earth System Instructional Segment 1: Combustion

Chemistry in the Earth System Instructional Segment 2: Heat and Energy in the Earth System

Chemistry in the Earth System Instructional Segment 3: Atoms, Elements, and Molecules

Chemistry in the Earth System Instructional Segment 4: Chemical Reactions

Chemistry in the Earth System Snapshot 7.7: Chemical Energetics

Chemistry in the Earth System Instructional Segment 5: Chemistry of Climate Change

Chemistry in the Earth System Snapshot 7.8: Structure and Function in Greenhouse Gases

Chemistry in the Earth System Snapshot 7.9: Trends and Patterns in Modern Atmospheric CO₂ Levels

Chemistry in the Earth System Snapshot 7.10: Letters to the Editor and Evaluating Climate Change Graphs

Chemistry in the Earth System Instructional Segment 6: The Dynamics of Chemical Reactions and Ocean Acidification

Chemistry in the Earth System Vignette 7.2: Ocean Acidification, A Systems-Based Approach to a Global Problem

Standards Pages (Physics of the Universe)

High school standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Physics of the Universe)

Highlighted Phenomena from High School Physics of the Universe

• The hood of a car crumples just as mountains form when two plates collide.
• Fossil fuel power plants do not convert 100 percent of the fuel’s chemical potential energy into electricity.
• According to radiometric dating, the oldest rocks on the ocean floor are only 280 million years, but the oldest rocks on land are about 4 billion years old.
• Earthquakes usually consist of two pulses of shaking, one which arrives first and is weak while a second arrives later but is usually stronger.
• Hydrogen and helium (atomic numbers 1 and 2) are the most common elements in the universe, yet lithium and beryllium (atomic numbers 3 and 4) are among the least common elements in the top six rows of the periodic table.

Introduction to High School Physics of the Universe

The framework emphasizes the synergy between physical science and Earth and space sciences by focusing on electricity production. The first part of this course builds the conceptual understandings in physics that students need to understand how various power plants work, including fossil fuel, nuclear, wind, hydroelectric, and solar photovoltaic. Students then discuss the impacts that each technology has on different Earth systems and use other Earth and space sciences phenomena to motivate further study of physical science.

In addition to this overall theme, the framework provides examples of engineering embedded in an integrated Earth and space sciences and physics curriculum. In an engineering connection in IS1 (Forces and Motion), students test the strength of different optimal materials to see how much force they can withstand before they break and try to select materials for different applications based on cost and other factors. As students learn about orbits of planetary bodies, they engage in an engineering connection to modify computer codes that calculate orbital paths to determine the initial launch speed and fuel cost for different size payloads.

Instructional segment 1 (Forces and Motion) begins with Newton’s laws and an emphasis on collisions caused by plate motions. Students further develop understanding of force in IS2 (Forces at a Distance) when they perform calculations involving gravity and electromagnetism. Instructional segment 3 (Renewable Energy) is the core of the course where students apply DCIs about energy conversion to understand electric power generation. In IS4 (Nuclear Processes and Earth History), students develop a model of how the internal structure of the atom changes during nuclear processes, how these changes release energy, and how these processes are the timekeepers of geologic history. Earthquakes are a tangible phenomenon that introduce the study of waves in IS5 (Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation). Building on this example of mechanical waves, students analyze stellar spectra to understand electromagnetic waves. Patterns in these spectra provide evidence about how stars work and the history of the universe in IS6 (Stars and the Origins of the Universe).

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 7 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Physics of the Universe Instructional Segment 1: Forces and Motion

Physics of the Universe Snapshot 7.11: Applying Newton's Laws to the Earth

Physics of the Universe Instructional Segment 2: Forces at a Distance

Physics of the Universe Snapshot 7.12: Coulomb's Law, Newton's Gravitation, and CA CCSSM Geometry

Physics of the Universe Instructional Segment 3: Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy

Physics of the Universe Snapshot 7.13: Evaluating Plans for Renewable Power Plants

Physics of the Universe Instructional Segment 4: Nuclear Processes and Earth History

Physics of the Universe Instructional Segment 5: Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation

Physics of the Universe Vignette 7.3: Seismic Waves

Physics of the Universe Instructional Segment 6: Stars and the Origins of the Universe

Physics of the Universe Snapshot 7.14: Asking Questions About Patterns in Stars

Standards Pages (Biology)

High school standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Biology)

Highlighted Phenomena from High School Life Science/Biology

• Skin cells are constantly dying, but we do not really notice because the new ones look identical to the old ones.
• A person’s internal temperature varies by only a few degrees even as the temperature outside spans as much as 40°C.
• There are many more deer than mountain lions in an ecosystem.
• Adenine and thymine are present in equal amounts in cells.
• Skin cancer is more common in people with a specific gene on chromosome 9.
• Several other species of hominin existed, but our species, homo sapiens, is the only one that survived to today.

Introduction to High School Life Science/Biology

The framework’s high school life science/biology section articulates the level of depth and complexity that the CA NGSS expect in high school. Compared to the middle grades, high school adds relatively few new concepts but instead provides a richer and deeper understanding of the topics that builds on students’ existing knowledge and abilities in all three dimensions of the CA NGSS. The biggest progression is the addition of DNA (middle grades DCIs refer to “genetic information” stored on chromosomes but middle grades students are not expected to be familiar with DNA). In high school, students revisit many of the same DCIs from the middle grades and ask, How does DNA act as a mechanism in this process? High school also assumes deeper engagement with the language of chemistry (especially as students discuss the mechanisms of photosynthesis, respiration, and protein synthesis) and tools of mathematics (e.g., probability in genetics and statistics of populations). High school students are also ready to address stability and change at a new level of sophistication (homeostasis in organisms and carrying capacity within ecosystems). Several activities engage students in algorithmic thinking and computational models of population dynamics. 

The framework also provides examples of how engineering fits into a biology curriculum. In an engineering connection in IS5 (Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems), students play the role of wastewater engineers to optimize conditions for bacteria to speed up wastewater treatment. They use sugars to represent organic waste, yeast to represent the waste-processing bacteria, and glucose test strips to measure the concentration of waste in the water. Is there an optimal amount of yeast to add? Does the treatment process speed up or slow down when students add air or seal the container? What techniques can they develop for efficiently adding air? This engineering task aids students’ understanding of HS-LS-2.B so that they can explain the flow of matter and energy in aerobic and anaerobic conditions (HS-LS2-3), but it also ties strongly to the EP&Cs. In another engineering connection in IS12 (Adaptation and Biodiversity), students play the role of conservation biologists. They design a captive breeding system for California condors, using a computer simulation to determine how many breeding pairs they will need to support and how quickly they expect the population to recover. 

The life science/biology course is divided into 12 instructional segments grouped into four sections. In the first section, From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes, students develop models of how molecules combine to build cells and organisms (IS1 [Structure and Function]; IS2 [Growth and Development of Organisms]; IS3 [Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms]). In the second section, Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics, students zoom out to the macroscopic scale to show how organisms interact (IS4 [Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems]; IS5 [Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems]; IS6 [Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience]; IS7 [Social Interactions and Group Behavior]). Students return to the role that DNA plays in inheritance during the third section, Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits (IS8 [Inheritance of Traits]; IS9 [Variation of Traits]). The class ends tying together interactions at all these scales by explaining evolution and natural selection in Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity (IS10 [Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity]; IS11 [Natural Selection]; IS12 [Adaptation and Biodiversity]). A vignette in IS12 illustrates the level of three-dimensional understanding students are expected to exhibit as a capstone of the course.

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 8 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Life Science/Biology Instructional Segment 1: Structure and Function

Life Science/Biology Instructional Segment 2: Growth and Development of Organisms

Life Science/Biology Instructional Segment 3: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms

Life Science/Biology Instructional Segment 4: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

Life Science/Biology Instructional Segment 5: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems

Life Science/Biology Snapshot 8.1: How Did We Eradicate Diseases in the US?

Life Science/Biology Instructional Segment 6: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience

Life Science/Biology Instructional Segment 7: Social Interactions and Group Behavior

Life Science/Biology Snapshot 8.2: Does Living as a Group or Individual Help You Survive?

Life Science/Biology Instructional Segment 8: Inheritance of Traits

Life Science/Biology Instructional Segment 9: Variation of Traits

Life Science/Biology Instructional Segment 10: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity

Life Science/Biology Snapshot 8.3: Human Evolution

Life Science/Biology Instructional Segment 11: Natural Selection

Life Science/Biology Snapshot 8.4: Simulating Evolution of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Life Science/Biology Instructional Segment 12: Adaptation and Biodiversity

High School Four-Course Model Life Science/Biology Vignette 8.1: Natural Selection

Standards Pages (Chemistry)

High school standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Chemistry)

Highlighted Phenomena from High School Chemistry

• The wick of a candle burns much slower than expected for a flammable string.
• Hot and cold packs look identical on the outside but use different ingredients to “spontaneously” change their temperature warmer or cooler.
• A flask of clear liquid spontaneously turns blue when swirled, but the color quickly fades.
• Chemical fertilizers use ammonia. Ammonia synthesis occurs slowly at room temperature but speeds up at low temperatures.
• Natural gas leaks out of pipelines and releases methane into the air.

Introduction to High School Chemistry

The high school chemistry course links the macroscopic nature of matter to the internal structure of the atom, which requires students to understand models of the internal structure of the atom and to be familiar with the periodic table. This section of the framework provides guidance about how to teach a rigorous high school chemistry course that builds this background in tandem with deeper understanding of the macroscopic behavior of matter. In high school, students revisit many of the same DCIs from the middle grades and ask such questions as, How does the internal structure of the atom affect this behavior? High school students are ready to address stability and change at a new level as they study equilibrium. The course also integrates concepts of heat transfer and thermodynamics, which are essential for building further understanding of reaction kinetics (HS-PS1-5) and the ideal gas laws. (The latter is a topic that teachers can either include in a high school course or simply lay a foundation for more advanced study.)

The framework also provides examples of how engineering fits into a chemistry curriculum. In an engineering connection in IS5 (Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer), students design a food calorimeter and iteratively improve the design so that it captures as much of the heat energy from the food as possible. As students engage in the engineering task, they enhance their understanding of energy transfer. In a vignette in IS4 (Modifying Chemical Reactions), students play the role of chemical engineers faced with the societal need to grow enough food to feed the world’s people. They improve the efficiency of a chemical reaction for making synthetic fertilizers by adjusting the physical conditions under which the chemical reaction occurs. The problem transcends disciplinary boundaries as students consider the environmental impacts of these synthetic fertilizers washing into local streams and propose solutions to that problem. 

The chemistry course is divided into five instructional segments organized around the relevant physical science DCIs following a conceptual flow that builds in complexity. Students begin with a macroscopic view of the properties of matter in IS1 (Properties of Matter). They explain those properties in terms of the internal structure of atoms and chemical bonding in IS2 (Structure of Matter). They investigate basic chemical reactions in IS3 (Understanding Chemical Reactions) and then further complexities of equilibrium and reaction kinetics in IS4 (Modifying Chemical Reactions). In IS5 (Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer), students explain energy transfer during chemical reactions and return to the macroscopic scale to discuss thermodynamics and heat transfer.

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 8 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Chemistry Instructional Segment 1: Properties of Matter

Chemistry Instructional Segment 2: Structure of Matter

Chemistry Instructional Segment 3: Understanding Chemical Reactions

High School Four-Course Model Chemistry Snapshot 8.5: Chemical Energetics

Chemistry Instructional Segment 4: Modifying Chemical Reactions

High School Four-Course Model Chemistry Vignette 8.2: Chemical Equilibrium

Chemistry Instructional Segment 5: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer

Standards Pages (Physics)

High school standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Physics)

Highlighted Phenomena from High School Physics

• Cars and mountains both “crumple” during collisions.
• A baseball changes directions when it collides with a bat.
• When a stone is thrown into a pond, ripples fade out as they move away from the central point where the stone sank.
• Four million people die each year in developing countries from illnesses related to inhaling smoke from indoor cooking fires.
• Ultraviolet (UV) light causes sunburn.

Introduction to High School Physics

The framework’s high school physics section articulates the level of depth and complexity that the CA NGSS expect in high school. It provides a richer and deeper understanding that builds on the knowledge and abilities in all three dimensions of the CA NGSS students achieved in the middle grades. Most notably, high school students quantify the observations and models they made in the middle grades. For example, in a snapshot in IS1 (Forces and Motion), students use frame-by-frame video analysis to measure the speed of a baseball and bat to determine the speed of the ball before and after the two collide. Can they predict the speed with which the ball will rebound? The framework describes how this quantification can be accomplished using different levels of mathematical rigor so that teachers could design a freshman physics class or a capstone physics class that equally meet the CA NGSS at a developmentally appropriate level. 

The framework also provides examples of the synergy between physics and engineering design. An engineering connection in IS1 (Forces and Motion) describes how to emphasize engineering design and the three dimensions of CA NGSS in a classic egg-drop challenge. Students revisit phenomena of objects colliding in every grade span during the CA NGSS, building more detailed understanding each time. The high school version explains the results in terms of momentum, includes explicit strategies for comparing multiple solutions during the engineering design process (including the environmental impacts of the materials), and could even include computer simulations of prototypes. Students depict their solution as a system in a pictorial model and analyze the forces within the system. Students then explicitly relate their solution to real-life technologies for reducing the impact of collisions such as helmets, air bags, catcher’s mitts, or parachutes. In high school, students use engineering to analyze global challenges. In a vignette in IS3 (Energy), students obtain information about the health and environmental impacts of indoor cooking fires in developing countries. They analyze the problem and develop a solar cooker as a replacement. As students engage in the engineering task and refine their design, they enhance their understanding of the forms of energy and energy transfer.

The physics course is divided into four instructional segments organized around the relevant physical science DCIs that follow a conceptual flow that builds in complexity. IS1 (Forces and Motion) starts with simple applications of Newton’s laws. In IS2 (Types of Interactions), students investigate gravitational and electromagnetic interactions. Instructional segment 3 (Energy) focuses on energy transfer in all types of interactions. Students then progress to studying the nature of light and applications of waves in IS4 (Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation).

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 8 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Physics Instructional Segment 1: Forces and Motion

High School Four-Course Model Physics Snapshot 8.6: Analyzing Motion in Video

High School Four-Course Model Physics Snapshot 8.7: Predicting Baseball Speeds

Physics Instructional Segment 2: Types of Interactions

High School Four-Course Model Physics Snapshot 8.8: Newton's Law of Gravitation and Coulomb's Law

Physics Instructional Segment 3: Energy

High School Four-Course Model Physics Vignette 8.3: Energy Conversion

Physics Instructional Segment 4: Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation

Standards Pages (Earth and Space Science)

High school standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Earth and Space Science)

Highlighted Phenomena from High School Earth and Space Sciences

• Deep red rocks called banded iron formations were deposited around the world at the time plants first evolved, but they do not form at all today.
• Global average temperatures have been rising over the last 150 years but remained roughly constant for more than a decade in the late 1990s before rising again to record highs.
• The 1994 Northridge earthquake in Southern California was about the same magnitude as a 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran. About 70 people died in California, but more than 25,000 died in Iran.
• Suburbs with trees can be as much as 40 degrees cooler than urban downtown areas.
• If you look closely enough at a rainbow, certain colors are much dimmer than others.

Introduction to High School Earth and Space Sciences

The framework’s high school Earth and space sciences section articulates the level of depth and complexity that the CA NGSS expect in high school. High school students integrate knowledge from physics, chemistry, and biology to understand the mechanisms by which Earth systems interact (e.g., combustion, photosynthesis, and respiration for the carbon cycle; nuclear processes for radiometric dating and stellar fusion; electromagnetic radiation for stellar spectra; gravity for orbital motion). High school also blurs the line between cause and effect as students investigate feedback mechanisms in climate, erosion, and star lifecycles. Students have been expanding the scale of their investigations continuously since kindergarten, and high school students are ready to contemplate and quantify deep timescales by focusing on the age of crustal rocks and the origin of the universe itself. 

The framework also provides examples of how engineering applies in an Earth and space sciences curriculum. In an engineering connection for IS2 (Climate), students evaluate how different renewable energy solutions meet society’s needs for energy, public health, and environmental protection. In an engineering connection in IS3 (Mountains, Valleys, and Coasts), students design a solution to reduce coastal erosion hazards. Their solution must account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics. Students then consider and evaluate the environmental impacts of their design and refine it to reduce those impacts. Students become launch engineers of a weather satellite and employ computer models to examine the tradeoffs between payload mass and fuel cost in IS8 (Motion in the Universe). Other engineering connections revisit challenges that students may have completed with less complex designs and conceptual understanding in earlier grades such as designing an effective water filter (IS4 Water and Farming) or reducing urban runoff (IS6 Urban Geosciences). 

The Earth and Space Sciences course is divided into seven instructional segments that follow a storyline framed around climate change. The course begins with the origin of fossil fuels in IS1 (Oil and Gas) to set up the exploration of climate and global warming in IS2 (Climate). Students consider the impact of climate change as they investigate different Earth system interactions in IS3 (Mountains, Valleys, and Coasts), IS4 (Water and Farming), and IS6 (Urban Geosciences). Students drill down into the solid Earth in IS5 (Causes and Effects of Earthquakes) and turn their eyes skyward in IS7 (Star Stuff) and IS8 (Motion in the Universe). A vignette about urban heat islands in IS6 (Urban Geosciences) illustrates how students can analyze remote sensing data, plan and conduct a hands-on investigation driven by their own research questions, apply what they have learned in an urban design challenge, and conceptualize their understanding in systems models.

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 8 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Earth and Space Sciences Instructional Segment 1: Oil and Gas

Earth and Space Sciences Instructional Segment 2: Climate

Earth and Space Science Snapshot 8.9: Letters to the Editor and Evaluating Climate Change Graphs

Earth and Space Sciences Instructional Segment 3: Mountains, Valleys, and Coasts

Earth and Space Sciences Instructional Segment 4: Water and Farming

Earth and Space Sciences Instructional Segment 5: Causes and Effects of Earthquakes

Earth and Space Sciences Instructional Segment 6: Urban Geoscience

Earth and Space Science Vignette 8.4: Keeping It Cool: Engineering Solutions to Urban Heat Islands

Earth and Space Sciences Instructional Segment 7: Star Stuff

Earth and Space Science Snapshot 8.10: Asking Questions About Patterns in Stars

Earth and Space Sciences Instructional Segment 8: Motion in the Universe