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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