New Hope-Solebury School District



New Hope-Solebury School District

Course Title: Integrated Science

Proposed Name Change: Environmental Science

Grade: 9

Time Allotment/Credit:

• 5 periods per week

• 1 Credit

• 42 minute periods

• 126 total hours

Development/Revision Date: August 2005

Date of Adoption by School Board:

Course Description:

This course introduces students to the major concepts of ecology and environmental science. Students first develop laboratory and reasoning skills used by scientists to develop understandings about the structure and function of systems. Students will then apply those understandings to the study of basic physical laws that govern ecosystem dynamics. This is followed by an examination of how individuals, populations, and communities interact with their surroundings. Students will investigate the processes responsible for changing the earth and it ecosystems over time and gain a basic understanding of how humans interact with and have the ability to change their environment.

Author: Scott Seiple

Mission Statement:

The mission of the New Hope-Solebury School District is to meet students where they are and guide them to the acquisition of the knowledge, skills and habits they will need to function in a productive and fulfilling manner in their increasingly complex world.

I. Course Outline- Integrated Science

Unit 1: Introduction to the Science Skills and the Scientific Method

Enduring Understandings

• Science is experimental. Experiments are designed and observations are made to build models and understandings about the underlying functions of a system.

• Successfully performing an experiment requires:

o careful research and planning prior to the experiment,

o creative and innovative problem solving in designing and experiment,

o understanding what results might be expected,

o analyzing and drawing conclusions based on the observations made and the data collected, and

o questioning the reliability and reasonableness of one’s observations and conclusions.

• Scientists gain an understanding of any one topic through a variety of experimental and observational methods.

• There are a number of common practices that scientists use when performing experiments, collecting data and communicating information.

Essential Questions

• What is the purpose of scientific inquiry?

• What is a hypothesis?

• What can science tell us?

• What can science not tell us?

• What makes a good experiment?

• What are the basic units of measurement used in a science laboratory?

• What are the basic tools of a science laboratory and how are they used?

• What basic safety precautions must be followed in a laboratory setting?

Unit 2: Chemical Principles of Ecosystems

Enduring Understandings

• Matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction (Law of Conservation of Matter).

• Matter exists as either pure substances or mixtures.

• Pure substances exist as either elements or compounds. The basic unit of an element is an atom while the basic unit of a compound is called a molecule.

• Atoms are made up of subatomic particles.

• Atoms are classified into elements based on the characteristics of each atom.

• The elements are arranged on the periodic table in a way that shows similarities between the elements.

• Atoms combine in whole number ratios to form compounds.

• Electrons are the part of the atom involved in chemical reactions.

Essential Questions

• What is matter?

• What makes up matter?

• What are the three subatomic particles?

• What is the basic structure of an atom?

• What makes a specific atom an atom of a particular element?

• How are elements arranged on the periodic table?

• How do elements combine to form compounds?

• Is matter ever created or destroyed in a chemical reaction?

Unit 3: Physical Principles of Ecosystems

Enduring Understandings

• Energy is the ability to do work.

• There are two different forms of energy, potential and kinetic.

• Energy is stored in chemical bonds.

• Energy can neither be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. (First Law of Thermodynamics)

• Electromagnetic radiation carries energy.

• Any time energy is transformed from one form to another, the transfer is not 100% efficient. Some energy is always lost to heat or another form of unusable energy. (Second Law of Thermodynamics)

Essential Questions

• What is energy?

• What is the difference between kinetic energy and potential energy?

• How does energy change form?

• Is energy ever created or destroyed in a chemical reaction?

• What evidence is there that light carries energy?

• What evidence is there that energy is stored in chemical bonds?

• When energy changes form, is that change 100% efficient?

Unit 4: Energy in Ecosystems

Enduring Understandings

• The sun is the ultimate source of energy for most ecosystems.

• Producers are able to convert solar energy to stored chemical energy during the process of photosynthesis. Producers use this stored chemical energy from photosynthesis as the energy source for their life processes.

• Consumers are not able to perform photosynthesis. They must get their energy by either consuming producers or consumers that in some way obtained their energy from producers.

• Ecosystems are divided into trophic levels. Organisms are placed into trophic levels based the number of feeding levels they are away from the sun.

• Due to the second law of thermodynamics there is more energy stored in one trophic level than there is in the trophic levels above it.

• Food webs and food chains are diagrams that demonstrate how energy flows through an ecosystem.

• The more diverse an ecosystem is, the more stable it is.

Essential Questions

• What is the ultimate source of energy for most ecosystems?

• Why are plants and other photosynthesizers so vital to ecosystems?

• What is a trophic level? Why are trophic levels so important in studying ecosystems?

• What happens to the amount of stored energy and biomass as trophic level increases in an ecosystem?

• What is biomagnification? Why does it affect high-trophic-level consumers more than low-trophic-level consumers?

Unit 5: Ecosystem Structure

Enduring Understandings

• Ecosystems have a specific structure.

o Individuals are considered to be members of the same species if they have the ability to reproduce and have fertile offspring.

o Populations consist of members of the same species living in the same place at the same time. Members of a population can potentially interact.

o Communities consist of different populations who live in the same place at the same time. Those populations have the ability to interact.

o Ecosystems are composed of communities and their abiotic surroundings.

o A biome consists of ecosystems with similar characteristics.

• Resources are components of ecosystems that are used by living things. They can be used up.

• Conditions are components of ecosystems that are not used, but do influence individuals and populations.

• Abiotic factors are components of ecosystems that are nonliving but affect the dynamics of the ecosystem.

• Biotic factors are living components of ecosystems that affect ecosystem function.

Essential Questions

• What makes individuals members of the same species?

• How are ecosystems organized from the most specific to classification to most general?

• How are ecosystems different from communities?

• What is the difference between a condition and a resource? Why are the two concepts important in knowing how an ecosystem functions?

• What is the difference between a biotic and an abiotic factor in an ecosystem?

• What are some examples of conditions and resources in an ecosystem?

• What are some examples of abiotic and biotic factors in an ecosystem?

Unit 6: Population Dynamics

Enduring Understandings

• Populations have the ability to grow exponentially over time.

• Changing conditions or a lack of resources or limits a population’s growth.

• When resources limit a population’s growth, individuals in the population often compete for those resources.

• When conditions consistently limit a population’s growth, a high rate of reproduction is important for the population’s success.

• Human populations are subject to the same growth limits as all other populations.

Essential Questions

• What are some of the limits on population growth.

• What are the differences between density-dependent and density-independent population growth.

• What conditions cause boom-bust and logistical growth?

• How has the human population changed over time? What are some of the causes of this pattern of population growth?

• Is the current growth rate of humans sustainable?

Unit 7: Matter Cycling

Enduring Understandings

• All living things are made of matter. The amount of matter able to be used by living things is limited (Law of Conservation of Matter).

• Matter must be recycled in order for ecosystems to function over long periods of time. This pattern of matter recycling is called nutrient cycling.

• Some elements and compounds (especially water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon) are very important for living things. A lack of those resources is very important in determining the kind of organisms that can live in an area.

• The rate at which nutrients cycle is the main factor limiting population growth in many ecosystems.

• Excess nutrients introduced into an ecosystem can disrupt the ecosystem.

Essential Questions

• Why must matter be recycled in an ecosystem?

• How can a lack of matter/nutrients be considered a limiting factor in an ecosystem?

• How might adding nutrients to an ecosystem affect the area?

Unit 8: Watersheds

Enduring Understandings

• A watershed is all of the land that drains into a particular body of water.

• By monitoring the health of a watershed, a scientist can get an understanding of the surrounding ecosystem.

• A stream’s health can be determined by monitoring its chemical, biological, and physical characteristics.

• Watersheds can be delineated using a topographic map.

Essential Questions

• What is a watershed?

• How can a stream’s health be determined?

• What can monitoring a stream tell a person about a local ecosystem.

• How can you determine the borders of a watershed.

Unit 9: Community Dynamics

Enduring Understandings

• Populations in ecosystems can interact in different ways- predation, mutualism, parasitism, commensalism, and competition.

• Those interactions can influence population size and characteristics.

• A niche is the set of resources a population consumes and the conditions under which they can live. It’s often called the role of a population in an ecosystem.

• When two populations compete for the same niche, one population typically loses out to another. This phenomena is called the competitive exclusion principle

• A niche can usually be divided or expanded by a population to avoid head-to-head competition. If the niche is not divided or expanded, the population that unsuccessfully competes for the niche will go extinct.

Essential Questions

• In what ways do different populations interact in an ecosystem.

• What is a niche and why do ecologist often break ecosystems up into niches?

• What is the competitive exclusion principle? How does it relate to the concept of niche?

• How can organisms change the niche they occupy to avoid direct competition?

• How can competition for a niche lead to extinction.

Unit 10: Natural Selection and Evolution

Enduring Understandings

• The characteristics of a population change over time.

• Natural selection is a mechanism that acts to change the characteristics of a population.

• Populations are diverse and tend to have a number of variations for any one trait.

• Some organisms have heritable traits that allow them to survive and reproduce better than organisms without the trait will. Over time, traits that encourage survival will become more common in a population changing the population.

• Evolution of a population can happen under other circumstances as well.

• Evolution can only occur under specific circumstances.

Essential Questions

• What is evolution?

• How does natural selection operate?

• Under what conditions will natural selection occur?

• Under what conditions will natural selection not occur?

• What are mechanisms of evolution other than natural selection?

• What conditions must be met for evolution of a population to occur?

• Why is it said that individual never evolve while populations do?

Unit 11: Landforms

Enduring Understandings

• Landforms are shaped by continual geological processes.

• Three of the most important factors affecting landforms over time are volcanism, weathering, and erosion.

• The earth has undergone significant changes since its formation. Those changes have occurred slowly in terms of a human’s lifespan, but are profound over longer periods of time.

Essential Questions

• What are the main factors affecting how landforms are shaped?

• What are some significant geological changes that have occurred in the earth’s history?

• How is soil formed?

• What are the characteristics of different kinds of soil?

Unit 12: Weather and Climate

Enduring Understandings

• The ultimate source of energy for all weather is the sun.

• Unequal heating and cooling of the earth’s surface and atmosphere are the main causes of weather.

• Weather is day-to-day variations in temperature and rainfall. Climate is the long-term pattern of temperature and precipitation an area experiences.

• Climate is the longterm patterns of temperature and rainfall in an area over time.

Essential Questions

• What is the ultimate source of energy for weather systems?

• What is the difference between climate and weather?

• What causes the earth’s climatic patterns?

• What is the difference between a high pressure system and a low pressure system?

• Why do some areas receive large amounts of rain while others receive very little over time?

Unit 13: Ecological Succession and Biomes

Enduring Understandings

• The kinds of organisms that can live in a specific area is determined by the conditions and resources present.

• Lifeless land will go through a process of ecosystem development called primary succession.

• If an ecosystem is disrupted in it will recover in a process called secondary succession.

• A biome is the mature ecosystem that will form in an area based on that area’s climate.

Essential Questions

• What is ecological succession?

• What is the difference between primary and secondary succession?

• What patterns will appear over time in an ecosystem that has been disturbed?

• What is a biome?

• What kinds of biomes exist? Where are they found?

• In which biome is New Hope located?

Unit 14: Human Impacts on Ecosystems

Enduring Understandings

• Humans have the ability to substantially affect their surroundings.

• When humans change their surroundings, ecosystems are often affected. These changes can have either positive or negative effects on ecosystems.

• Past human actions have changed the conditions and resources available to human societies.

Essential Questions

• What are some ways that humans have changed ecosystems over time?

• What is the greenhouse effect?

• How have humans affected the greenhouse effect over time?

• How have human activities affected ecosystems over time?

Unit 15: Energy Sources for Human Societies

Enduring Understandings

• All human societies require energy.

• Even though energy cannot be destroyed, energy sources are considered resources for societies.

• The amount of energy consumed by societies has increased exponentially compared to both time and population size.

• Humans obtain energy from both renewable and nonrenewable sources.

• The kind of energy source a society uses impacts both the society and surrounding ecosystems.

Essential Quesiton

• How has the amount of energy human societies required changed over time?

• What are the main energy sources that power our society?

• How are energy sources transformed into electrical energy?

• What are some examples of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources?

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of energy sources?

Unit 16: Food Sources for Human Societies

Enduring Understandings

• Modern human societies require complex systems for producing and delivering food.

• Soil is a complex mixture created formed over long periods of time.

• The quantity of food an area can produce depends on the amount of nutrients in the soil and precipitation.

• Ecosystems must be altered to allow cultivation.

• Cultivating an area can dramatically affect local ecosystems.

• Not all forms of cultivation are sustainable over a long period of time.

• There are agricultural practices that can increase sustainability.

Essential Questions

• How is soil formed?

• What are the characteristics of soil that is suitable for cultivation?

• How can agriculture affect and ecosystem?

• What agricultural practices can increase sustainability?

Schedule for Integrated Science Curriculum

|Unit |Topic/Activities |Time Allotted |

|Introduction to Science Skills and|Introduction to class. |3 days |

|the Scientific Method |Laboratory safety. | |

| | | |

| | | |

| |Experimental design: |3 days |

| |Law of Conservation of Matter Lab and lab report formats | |

| | | |

| | | |

| |Measurement and metrics | |

| |Measurement and density lab |5 days |

| | | |

| |Lab Practical | |

| | |1 day |

| |Review of Law of Conservation Lab | |

| | |1 day |

|Introduction to Chemistry | | |

| |Matter Classification POGIL | |

| | |2 days |

| |Matter classification lab and notes | |

| | |3 days |

| |Identifying compounds through chemical and physical properties | |

| | |3 days |

| |Chemical and Physical Changes | |

| | | |

| |Atomic structure and flame tests |2 days |

| | | |

| |Element information |3 days |

| | | |

| |Lewis models of atoms and compounds |2 days |

| | | |

| |Chemistry test |3 days |

| | | |

| | |1 day |

|Unit |Topic/Activities |Time Allotted |

|Physical Principles of Ecosystems | Energy Stored in Chemical Bonds |3 days |

| |Calorimetry labs | |

| | | |

| |Calculating bond energy |2 days |

| | | |

| |Converting potential to kinetic energy |2 days |

| |Design challenge | |

| | | |

| |Solar energy |2 days |

| |PV cells to generate electricity | |

| | | |

| |Energy quiz |1 day |

| | | |

| | | |

|Energy in Ecosystems | | |

| |Photosynthesis- Converting solar energy to chemical energy |3 days |

| |Potato calorimetry | |

| |Starch testing in geraniums | |

| | | |

| |Cellular respiration- Converting chemical energy to kinetic | |

| |energy. |3 days |

| | | |

| |Snails and Elodea lab | |

| |Radish sprout lab report | |

| | | |

| |Energy flow in ecosystems | |

| | |2 days |

| | | |

| |Food web analysis and project | |

| | |3 days |

| | | |

| |Energy Unit test | |

| | |2 days |

|Unit |Topic/Activities |Time Allotted |

|Ecosystem Structure |Ecosystem structure notes |2 days |

| | | |

| |Analysis of ecosystem structure |3 days |

| | | |

| |Biotic and abiotic factors |2 days |

| |Environmental preference lab | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

|Population Dynamics |Population Growth Patterns |3 days |

| |Population simulation | |

| |Resources and population growth | |

| | | |

| |Human population debate |2 days |

| | | |

| |Ecosystem structure and population dynamics test |2 days |

| | | |

| | | |

| |Nitrogen cycle | |

|Nutrient cycling |Effects of nitrates and phosphates on algal growth |2 days |

| | | |

| |Water cycle | |

| |Groundwater simulation |3 days |

| | | |

| |Carbon cycle | |

| |Coal formation | |

| | |2 days |

| |Nonpoint source pollution | |

| | | |

| |Nutrient cycling test |2 days |

| | | |

| | |1 day |

|Unit |Topic/Activities |Time Allotted |

|Watersheds |Using topographic maps and mapping watersheds |3 days |

| | | |

| | | |

| |Indicators of stream health | |

| |Chemical indicator tests |3 days |

| |Macroinvertebrate tests | |

| |Physical tests | |

| | | |

| | | |

| |Human impacts on watersheds | |

| | |3 days |

| |Major watersheds in Pennsylvania | |

| | |2 days |

| |Watershed and Nutrient Cycling test | |

| | |2 days |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| |Legumes and symbiosis lab | |

|Ecological Relationships | |3 days |

| |Predator-Prey simulations | |

| | |1 day |

| |Tortoise tales activity | |

| | |1 day |

| |Notes | |

| | |3 days |

| | | |

| |Niche/Extinction simulation | |

| | |1 day |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

|Unit |Topic/Activities |Time Allotted |

| | | |

|Natural Selection and Evolution |Drug resistance video and discussion/response paper |2 days |

| | | |

| |Natural selection simulations | |

| | |3 days |

| |Notes | |

| | |3 days |

| |Evolution video and response | |

| | |1 day |

| |Bottle neck effect simulation | |

| | |2 days |

| |Natural selection and Evolution test | |

| | |1 day |

| | | |

| | | |

|Landforms |Weathering and Erosion lab | |

| | |2 days |

| |Sedimentation simulation | |

| | |1 day |

| |Notes | |

| | |3 days |

| |Epicenter triangulation | |

| | |1 day |

| |Fault model maker | |

| | |1 day |

| |Soil formation | |

| | |1 day |

| | | |

|Weather |Unequal heating lab | |

| | |1 day |

| |Weather web quest/PIM | |

| | |3 days |

| |Angle of the sun lab | |

| | |1 day |

| |Weather notes | |

| | |3 days |

| |Weather and Landforms test | |

| | |2 days |

|Unit |Topic/Activities |Time Allotted |

| | | |

|Biomes and Succession |Biome Notes |3 days |

| | | |

| |Webquest/PIM biome activity |3 days |

| | | |

| |Succession PowerPoint |2 days |

| | | |

| |Succession data analysis |1 day |

| | | |

| |Biomes and soil |2 days |

| | | |

| |Biome quiz |1 day |

|Energy and Human Societies | | |

| |Electricity generation lab |2 days |

| | | |

| |Notes |3 days |

| | | |

| |Energy source analysis |2 days |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

|Human Impacts on Ecosystems | | |

| | | |

| |Human Impacts Paper |3 days |

| | | |

| |Notes |4 days |

| | | |

| |Agricultural Practices notes and Reading |3 days |

| | | |

| |Design an area project |5 days |

| | | |

| |Ground cover and percolation lab |2 days |

| | | |

| |Test |1 day |

-----------------------

National and State Standards Guiding Program

4.4.10.A-D

4.4

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Enduring Understandings:

• Modern human societies require complex systems for producing and delivering food.

• Soil is a complex mixture created formed over long periods of time.

• The quantity of food an area can produce depends on the amount of nutrients in the soil and precipitation.

• Ecosystems must be altered to allow cultivation.

• Cultivating an area can dramatically affect local ecosystems.

• Not all forms of cultivation are sustainable over a long period of time.

• There are agricultural practices that can increase sustainability.

Essential Questions:

• What are the characteristics of soil that is suitable for cultivation?

• How can agriculture affect and ecosystem?

• What agricultural practices can increase sustainability?

Assessments

soil particle size lab

effects of plant cover on erosion lab

effects of plant cover on percolation lab

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Envirothon

Unit: Agriculture and Land Use

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Soil formation

Soil composition

Farming techniques

Data analysis

Lab technique

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

National and State Standards Guiding Program

4.3.10A-C

4.8.10A-D

4.9.10A

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Enduring Understandings:

• All human societies require energy.

• Even though energy cannot be destroyed, energy sources are considered resources for societies.

• The amount of energy consumed by societies has increased exponentially compared to both time and population size.

• Humans obtain energy from both renewable and nonrenewable sources.

• The kind of energy source a society uses impacts both the society and surrounding ecosystems.

Essential Questions:

• How has the amount of energy human societies required changed over time?

• What are the main energy sources that power our society?

• How are energy sources transformed into electrical energy?

• What are some examples of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources?

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of energy sources?

Assessments

Electrical energy generation lab.

Power source analysis.

Home energy audit

Test

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Envirothon

Environmental Club

Unit: Energy Sources for Human Societies

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Fossil fuel use

Nuclear power plants

Alternative energy sources

Note taking

Information analysis

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

National and State Standards Guiding Program

4.3.10A-C

4.8.10A-D

4.9.10A

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Enduring Understandings:

• Humans have the ability to substantially affect their surroundings.

• When humans change their surroundings, ecosystems are often affected. These changes can have either positive or negative effects on ecosystems.

• Past human actions have changed the conditions and resources available to human societies.

Essential Questions:

• What are some ways that humans have changed ecosystems over time?

• What is the greenhouse effect?

• How have humans affected the greenhouse effect over time?

• How have human activities affected ecosystems over time?

Assessments

Greenhouse effect debate

Plan an area project

Test

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Envirothon

Environmental club

Unit: Human Impacts on Ecosystems

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Greenhouse effect

Ozone depletion

Effects of conservation

Data analysis

Synthesizing information

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

National and State Standards Guiding Program

4.6.10B,C

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Enduring Understandings:

• The kinds of organisms that can live in a specific area is determined by the conditions and resources present.

• Lifeless land will go through a process of ecosystem development called primary succession.

• If an ecosystem is disrupted in it will recover in a process called secondary succession.

• A biome is the mature ecosystem that will form in an area based on that area’s climate.

Essential Questions:

• What is ecological succession?

• What is the difference between primary and secondary succession?

• What patterns will appear over time in an ecosystem that has been disturbed?

• What is a biome?

• What kinds of biomes exist? Where are they found?

• In which biome is New Hope located?

Assessments

Biome webquest

Mini-pond succession lab

Succession analysis sheet

Examples of succession minipaper

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Envirothon

Unit: Succession and Biomes

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Primary Succession

Secondary Succesion

Niches

Data analysis

Modeling

Information synthesis

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

National and State Standards Guiding Program

3.5.10C

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Enduring Understandings:

• The ultimate source of energy for weather is the sun.

• Unequal heating and cooling of the earth’s surface and atmosphere are the main causes of weather.

• Weather is day-to-day variations in temperature and rainfall. Climate is the long-term pattern of temperature and precipitation an area experiences.

• Climate is the longterm patterns of temperature and rainfall in an area over time.

Essential Questions:

• What is the ultimate source of energy for weather systems?

• What is the difference between climate and weather?

• What causes the earth’s climatic patterns?

• What is the difference between a high pressure system and a low pressure system?

• Why do some areas receive large amounts of rain while others receive very little over time?

Assessments

Weather phenomena presentation

Angle of the sun lab

Unequal heating lab

Test

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Unit: Weather

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Seasonal climate patterns

Modeling

Data analysis

Laboratory skills

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

National and State Standards Guiding Program

3.5.10.A

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Enduring Understandings:

• Landforms are shaped by continual geological processes.

• Three of the most important factors affecting landforms over time are volcanism, weathering, and erosion.

• The earth has undergone significant changes since its formation. Those changes have occurred slowly in terms of a human’s lifespan, but are profound over longer periods of time.

Essential Questions:

• What are the main factors affecting how landforms are shaped?

• What are some significant geological changes that have occurred in the earth’s history?

• How is soil formed?

• What are the characteristics of different kinds of soil?

Assessments

fault model maker.

epicenter triangulation activity.

weathering and erosion lab

test

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Envirothon

Unit: Landforms

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Weathering

Erosion

Volcanism

Plate movement

Laboratory skills

Data analysis

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

National and State Standards Guiding Program

3.3.10.D

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Enduring Understandings:

• The characteristics of a population change over time.

• Natural selection is a mechanism that acts to change the characteristics of a population.

• Populations are diverse and tend to have a number of variations for any one trait.

• Some organisms have heritable traits that allow them to survive and reproduce better than organisms without the trait will. Over time, traits that encourage survival will become more common in a population changing the population.

• Evolution of a population can happen under other circumstances as well.

• Evolution can only occur under specific circumstances.

Essential Questions:

• What is evolution?

• How does natural selection operate?

• Under what conditions will natural selection occur?

• Under what conditions will natural selection not occur?

• What are mechanisms of evolution other than natural selection?

• What conditions must be met for evolution of a population to occur?

• Why is it said that individual never evolve while populations do?

Assessments

Natural selection simulation activities (2)

Responses to questions from Evolution video

Evolution test

Genetic Drift simulation

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Unit: Natural Selection and Evolution

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Natural selection

Evolution

Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium

Data analysis

Modeling

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

Essential Questions:

• In what ways do different populations interact in an ecosystem.

• What is a niche and why do ecologist often break ecosystems up into niches?

• What is the competitive exclusion principle? How does it relate to the concept of niche?

• How can organisms change the niche they occupy to avoid direct competition?

• How can competition for a niche lead to extinction.

National and State Standards Guiding Program

4.6.10A

4.7.10A-C

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Assessments

Ecological relationships reading and analysis

Symbiosis lab

Extinction/Niche identification paper

Test

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Envirothon

Unit: Community Dynamics

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Ecological relationships

Niche structures

Extinction

Data analysis

Organize information

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

Enduring Understandings:

• Populations in ecosystems can interact in different ways- predation, mutualism, parasitism, commensalism, and competition.

• Those interactions can influence population size and characteristics.

• A niche is the set of resources a population consumes and the conditions under which they can live. It’s often called the role of a population in an ecosystem.

• When two populations compete for the same niche, one population typically loses out to another. This phenomena is called the competitive exclusion principle

• A niche can usually be divided or expanded by a population to avoid head-to-head competition. If the niche is not divided or expanded, the population that unsuccessfully competes for the niche will go extinct.

National and State Standards Guiding Program

4.1.10A-E

4.6.10A-B

3.5.10D

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Enduring Understandings:

• A watershed is all of the land that drains into a particular body of water.

• By monitoring the health of a watershed, a scientist can get an understanding of the surrounding ecosystem.

• A stream’s health can be determined by monitoring its chemical, biological, and physical characteristics.

• Watersheds can be delineated using a topographic map.

Essential Questions:

• What is a watershed?

• How can a stream’s health be determined?

• What can monitoring a stream tell a person about a local ecosystem.

• How can you determine the borders of a watershed.

Assessments

Watershed analysis project

Chemical testing lab practical

Local watershed mapping activity

Test

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Unit: Watersheds

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Watershed dynamics

Data analysis

Field techniques

Laboratory techniques

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

National and State Standards Guiding Program

4.6.10A

4.2.10A,B

4.3.10

4.6.10.B

3.5.10D

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Enduring Understandings:

• All living things are made of matter. The amount of matter able to be used by living things is limited (Law of Conservation of Matter).

• Matter must be recycled in order for ecosystems to function over long periods of time. This pattern of matter recycling is called nutrient cycling.

• Some elements and compounds (especially water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon) are very important for living things. A lack of those resources is very important in determining the kind of organisms that can live in an area.

• The rate at which nutrients cycle is the main factor limiting population growth in many ecosystems.

Essential Questions:

• Why must matter be recycled in an ecosystem?

• How can a lack of matter/nutrients be considered a limiting factor in an ecosystem?

• How might adding nutrients to an ecosystem affect the area?

Assessments

Nitrogen fixation lab

Eutrophication lab

Transpiration lab

Matter cycling test

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Envirothon

Unit: Matter Cycling

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Biogeochemical cycles

Energy flow

Experimental design

Laboratory techniques

Use of technology to collect and analyze data

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

National and State Standards Guiding Program

4.6.10A-C

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Enduring Understandings:

• Populations have the ability to grow exponentially over time.

• Changing conditions or a lack of resources or limits a population’s growth.

• When resources limit a population’s growth, individuals in the population often compete for those resources.

• When conditions consistently limit a population’s growth, a high rate of reproduction is important for the population’s success.

• Human populations are subject to the same growth limits as all other populations.

Essential Questions:

• What are some of the limits on population growth.

• What are the differences between density-dependent and density-independent population growth.

• What conditions cause boom-bust and logistical growth?

• How has the human population changed over time? What are some of the causes of this pattern of population growth?

• Is the current growth rate of humans sustainable?

Assessments

Population growth simulation lab.

Population analysis debate

Population growth test

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Envirothon

Unit: Population Dynamics

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Population growth

Factors affecting population growth

Data analysis

Modeling

Experimental design

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

National and State Standards Guiding Program

3.1.10.C

4.3.10.B-C

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Enduring Understandings:

• Ecosystems have a specific structure.

• Resources are components of ecosystems that are used by living things. They can be used up.

• Conditions are components of ecosystems that are not used, but do influence individuals and populations.

• Abiotic factors are components of ecosystems that are nonliving but affect the dynamics of the ecosystem.

• Biotic factors are living components of ecosystems that affect ecosystem function.

Essential Questions:

• What makes individuals members of the same species?

• How are ecosystems organized from the most specific to classification to most general?

• How are ecosystems different from communities?

• What is the difference between a condition and a resource? Why are the two concepts important in knowing how an ecosystem functions?

• What is the difference between a biotic and an abiotic factor in an ecosystem?

• What are some examples of conditions and resources in an ecosystem?

• What are some examples of abiotic and biotic factors in an ecosystem?

Assessments

Environmental preferences lab

Ecosystem analysis project

Ecosystem structure quiz

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Unit: Ecosystem Structure

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Ecosystem structure

Needs of living things and ecosystems

Data analysis

Laboratory skills

Organizing information

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

Essential Questions:

• What is the ultimate source of energy for most ecosystems?

• Why are plants and other photosynthesizers so vital to ecosystems?

• What is a trophic level? Why are trophic levels so important in studying ecosystems?

• What happens to the amount of stored energy and biomass as trophic level increases in an ecosystem?

• What is biomagnification? Why does it affect high-trophic-level consumers more than low-trophic-level consumers?

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Assessments

Energy flow test

Galapagos food web analysis

Starch test lab

Radish sprout lab report

Snails and Elodea Lab

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Envirothon

Unit: Energy in Ecosystems

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Energy flow in ecosystems

Food chains

Food webs

Biodiversity

Data analysis

Modeling

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

Enduring Understandings:

• The sun is the ultimate source of energy for most ecosystems.

• Producers are able to convert solar energy to stored chemical energy during the process of photosynthesis. Producers use this stored chemical energy from photosynthesis as the energy source for their life processes.

• Consumers are not able to perform photosynthesis. They must get their energy by either consuming producers or consumers that in some way obtained their energy from producers.

• Due to the second law of thermodynamics there is more energy stored in one trophic level than there is in the trophic levels above it.

• Food webs and food chains are diagrams that demonstrate how energy flows through an ecosystem.

• The more diverse an ecosystem is, the more stable it is.

National and State Standards Guiding Program 3.1.10.A-C

3.3.10A-B

4.3.10B-C

4.6.10A

National and State Standards Guiding Program

3.4.10 A,B,C

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Enduring Understandings:

• Energy is the ability to do work.

• There are two different forms of energy, potential and kinetic.

• Energy is stored in chemical bonds.

• Energy can neither be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. (First Law of Thermodynamics)

• Electromagnetic radiation carries energy.

• Any time energy is transformed from one form to another, the transfer is not 100% efficient. Some energy is always lost to heat or another form of unusable energy. (Second Law of Thermodynamics)

Essential Questions:

• What is energy?

• What is the difference between kinetic energy and potential energy?

• How does energy change form?

• Is energy ever created or destroyed in a chemical reaction?

• What evidence is there that light carries energy?

• What evidence is there that energy is stored in chemical bonds?

• When energy changes form, is that change 100% efficient?

Assessments

Solar cell lab

Energy transfer lab

Energy flow presentation

Energy quiz

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Envirothon

Unit: Physical Principles of Ecosystems

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Laws of thermodynamics

Laboratory work

Data analysis

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

Laboratory safety

Equipment use

Data analysis

Modeling

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

National and State Standards Guiding Program

3.4.10A

3.1.10A

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Enduring Understandings:

• Matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction (Law of Conservation of Matter).

• Matter exists as either pure substances or mixtures.

• Pure substances exist as either elements or compounds. The basic unit of an element is an atom while the basic unit of a compound is called a molecule.

• Atoms are made up of subatomic particles.

• The elements are arranged on the periodic table in a way that shows similarities between the elements.

• Atoms combine in whole number ratios to form compounds.

• Electrons are the part of the atom involved in chemical reactions.

Essential Questions:

• What is matter?

• What makes up matter?

• What are the three subatomic particles?

• What is the basic structure of an atom?

• What makes a specific atom an atom of a particular element?

• How are elements arranged on the periodic table?

• How do elements combine to form compounds?

• Is matter ever created or destroyed in a chemical reaction?

Assessments

Chemistry and Science methods test

Matter classification labs

Compounds identification labs

Chemical reactions lab

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Unit: Chemical Principles of Ecosystems

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

Atomic structure

Chemical and physical properties of matter

Scientific method

Lab safety

Lab procedure

Critical Problem solving

Graphic analysis

Inquiry acivities

Laboratory work

Graphical representation of data

Use of technology

New Hope-Solebury School District

Curriculum Framework

National and State Standards Guiding Program

3.2.10A-D

3.7.10A-B

3.1.10C

District

Content Topics Key Skills

Enduring Understandings:

• Science is experimental. Experiments are designed and observations are made to build models and understandings about the underlying functions of a system.

• Successfully performing an experiment requires:

o careful research and planning prior to the experiment,

o creative and innovative problem solving in designing and experiment,

o understanding what results might be expected,

o analyzing and drawing conclusions based on the observations made and the data collected, and

o questioning the reliability and reasonableness of one’s observations and conclusions.

• Scientists gain an understanding of any one topic through a variety of experimental and observational methods.

There are a number of common practices that scientists use when performing experiments, collecting data and communicating information.

Essential Questions:

• What is the purpose of scientific inquiry?

• What is a hypothesis?

• What can science tell us?

• What can science not tell us?

• What makes a good experiment?

• What are the basic units of measurement used in a science laboratory?

• What are the basic tools of a science laboratory and how are they used?

• What basic safety precautions must be followed in a laboratory setting?

Assessments

Chemistry and science methods test

Conservation of mass lab investigation

Lab skills practical

Graphing activities

Density lab

Homework

Connected Co-Curricular Support Activities/Experiences

Unit: Introduction to Science Skills and the Scientific Method

Course Title: Integrated Science

Grade: 9

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