South Dakota State Science Standards
Middle School Physical Science Standards
The Core Ideas of the Middle School Physical Science standards include:
Middle School Physical Science Conceptual Understanding:
Matter is composed of atoms and molecules that can be used to explain the physical and chemical properties of substances, diversity of materials, states of matter, phase changes, and conservation of matter and energy. Reacting substances rearrange to form different molecules, but the number of atoms is conserved. Some reactions release energy and others absorb energy. The role of the mass of an object must be qualitatively accounted for in any change of motion due to the application of an attractive or repulsive force. Gravitational, electrical, and magnetic forces occur through collisions and over distances. Forces that act at a distance involve fields that can be mapped by their relative strength and effect on an object. Kinetic energy can be distinguished from the various forms of potential energy. Energy changes, to and from each type, can be tracked through physical or chemical interactions. The relationship between the temperature and the total energy of a system depends on the types, states, and amounts of matter. When two objects interact, each one exerts a force on the other, and these forces can transfer energy between them. Energy is transferred in chemical processes and everyday life. A simple wave model has a repeating pattern with a specific wavelength, frequency, and amplitude, and mechanical waves need a medium through which they are transmitted. This model can explain many phenomena including sound and light. Waves can transmit energy and digital information.
MS-PS1-1 Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.
MS-PS1-2 Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
MS-PS1-3 Obtain and evaluate information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
MS-PS1-4 Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.
MS-PS1-5 Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved. MS-PS1-6 Design, construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes.
MS-PS2-1 Design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects that illustrates Newton’s Third Law.
MS-PS2-2 Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
MS-PS2-3 Ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.
MS-PS2-4 Construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects.
MS-PS2-5 Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.
MS-PS3-1 Construct and analyze graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.
MS-PS3-2 Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.
MS-PS3-3 Design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.
MS-PS3-4 Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample.
MS-PS3-5 Engage in argument from evidence to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.
MS-PS4-1 Use mathematical representations to describe a simple model for waves that includes how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave.
MS-PS4-2 Develop and use a model to describe how waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.
MS-PS4-3 Obtain, evaluate and communicate information to support the claim that digitized signals are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information than analog signals.
Middle School Life Science Standards
The Core Ideas of the Middle School Life Science standards include:
Middle School Life Science Conceptual Understanding:
All living things are made of cells. In organisms, cells work together to form tissues and organs that are specialized for particular body functions. Animals engage in behaviors that increase the odds of reproduction. An organism’s growth is affected by both genetic and environmental factors. Plants use resources from the environment and energy from light to make sugars through photosynthesis. Within individual organisms, food is broken down through a series of chemical reactions that rearrange molecules and release energy. Organisms and populations are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors, any of which can limit their growth. Competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial interactions vary across ecosystems but the patterns are shared. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem. Food webs model how matter and energy are transferred among producers, consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact within an ecosystem. Ecosystem characteristics vary over time. Disruptions to any part of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all of its populations. The completeness or integrity of an ecosystem’s biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health.
Genes chiefly regulate a specific protein, which affect an individual’s traits. In sexual reproduction, each parent contributes half of the genes acquired by the offspring resulting in variation between parent and offspring. Genetic information can be altered because of mutations, which may result in beneficial, negative, or no change to proteins in or traits of an organism. The fossil record documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms and their environments through Earth’s history. The fossil record and comparisons of anatomical similarities between organisms enables the inference of lines of evolutionary descent. Both natural and artificial selection result from certain traits giving some individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing, leading to predominance of certain traits in a population. Species can change over time in response to changes in environmental conditions through adaptation by natural selection acting over generations. Traits that support successful survival and reproduction in the new environment become more common. Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’ resources and ecosystem services they rely on. Students must also understand the necessity of adaptation and survival to creating biodiversity.
MS-LS1-1 Plan and carry out an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells; either one cell or many different types and numbers of cells.
MS-LS1-2 Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function.
MS-LS1-3 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells.
MS-LS1-4 Construct an argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.
MS-LS1-5 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
MS-LS1-6 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.
MS-LS1-7 Develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions forming new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as this matter moves through an organism.
MS-LS1-8 Gather and synthesize information that sensory receptors respond to stimuli by sending messages to the brain for immediate behavior or storage as memories.
MS-LS2-1 Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-2 Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
MS-LS2-3 Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
MS-LS2-5 Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.
MS-LS3-1 Develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.
MS-LS3-2 Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.
MS-LS4-1 Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth.
MS-LS4-2 Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.
MS-LS4-4 Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.
MS-LS4-5 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how technological advances have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.
MS-LS4-6 Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time.
Middle School Earth and Space Standards
The Core Ideas of the Middle School Earth and Space Science standards include:
Middle School Earth and Space Science Conceptual Understanding:
The Earth is a part of the solar system which is held together by gravity. The solar system is a part of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is one of billions of galaxies in the universe. The position of Earth’s place in the solar system, Milky Way Galaxy, and the universe can be used to explain astronomical patterns such as eclipses, tides, and seasons. By exploring objects in the solar system and universe, theories have been formed and supported that explain the formation of the universe. Rock strata and the fossil record can be used as evidence to organize the relative occurrence of major historical events in Earth’s history. Materials in and on Earth’s crust change over time as result of the flow within and among different systems and the cycling of matter, including the sun and Earth’s interior as primary energy sources. Plate tectonics is the unifying theory that explains movements of rocks at the Earth’s surface and through geological history. Water influences weather and weather patterns through oceanic, atmospheric and land circulation. Water movement causes weathering and erosion as well as changing landscape features. Humans depend on Earth’s land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for different renewable and nonrenewable resources. The availability of natural resources, such as land, energy, minerals and water, is unevenly distributed. This can affect human activities and impact the development of surroundings in a positive or negative way. Human use of resources can have an impact on the Earth and its systems. Decisions to reduce the impact on Earth and its systems depend on understanding climate, science, engineering capabilities, and social dynamics. Natural hazards can impact resource availability and development. By mapping the history of natural hazards in a region, an understanding of geological forces can be reached.
MS-ESS1-1 Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.
MS-ESS1-2 Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
MS-ESS1-3 Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.
MS-ESS2-1 Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.
MS-ESS2-2 Construct an explanation based on evidence for how Geo-science processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.
MS-ESS2-3 Analyze and interpret data on the age of the Earth, distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions.
MS-ESS2-4 Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.
MS-ESS2-5 Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions. MS-ESS2-6 Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.
MS-ESS3-1 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth’s mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current Geo-science processes.
MS-ESS3-2 Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.
MS-ESS3-3 Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
MS-ESS3-4 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems.
MS-ESS3-5 Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that may have caused a change in global temperatures over the past century.
Middle School Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science
MS-ETS1-1 Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account scientific relative principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
MS-ETS1-2 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
MS-ETS1-3 Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.
MS-ETS1-4 Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed project, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
Middle School Physical Science Standards
The Core Ideas of the Middle School Physical Science standards include:
- Matter and Its Interactions (MS-PS1)
- Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions (MS PS2)
- Energy (MS-PS3)
- Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer (MS-PS4)
Middle School Physical Science Conceptual Understanding:
Matter is composed of atoms and molecules that can be used to explain the physical and chemical properties of substances, diversity of materials, states of matter, phase changes, and conservation of matter and energy. Reacting substances rearrange to form different molecules, but the number of atoms is conserved. Some reactions release energy and others absorb energy. The role of the mass of an object must be qualitatively accounted for in any change of motion due to the application of an attractive or repulsive force. Gravitational, electrical, and magnetic forces occur through collisions and over distances. Forces that act at a distance involve fields that can be mapped by their relative strength and effect on an object. Kinetic energy can be distinguished from the various forms of potential energy. Energy changes, to and from each type, can be tracked through physical or chemical interactions. The relationship between the temperature and the total energy of a system depends on the types, states, and amounts of matter. When two objects interact, each one exerts a force on the other, and these forces can transfer energy between them. Energy is transferred in chemical processes and everyday life. A simple wave model has a repeating pattern with a specific wavelength, frequency, and amplitude, and mechanical waves need a medium through which they are transmitted. This model can explain many phenomena including sound and light. Waves can transmit energy and digital information.
MS-PS1-1 Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.
MS-PS1-2 Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
MS-PS1-3 Obtain and evaluate information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
MS-PS1-4 Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.
MS-PS1-5 Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved. MS-PS1-6 Design, construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes.
MS-PS2-1 Design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects that illustrates Newton’s Third Law.
MS-PS2-2 Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
MS-PS2-3 Ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.
MS-PS2-4 Construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects.
MS-PS2-5 Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.
MS-PS3-1 Construct and analyze graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.
MS-PS3-2 Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.
MS-PS3-3 Design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.
MS-PS3-4 Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample.
MS-PS3-5 Engage in argument from evidence to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.
MS-PS4-1 Use mathematical representations to describe a simple model for waves that includes how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave.
MS-PS4-2 Develop and use a model to describe how waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.
MS-PS4-3 Obtain, evaluate and communicate information to support the claim that digitized signals are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information than analog signals.
Middle School Life Science Standards
The Core Ideas of the Middle School Life Science standards include:
- From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes (MS-LS1)
- Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (MS-LS2)
- Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits (MS-LS3)
- Biological Unity and Diversity (MS-LS4)
Middle School Life Science Conceptual Understanding:
All living things are made of cells. In organisms, cells work together to form tissues and organs that are specialized for particular body functions. Animals engage in behaviors that increase the odds of reproduction. An organism’s growth is affected by both genetic and environmental factors. Plants use resources from the environment and energy from light to make sugars through photosynthesis. Within individual organisms, food is broken down through a series of chemical reactions that rearrange molecules and release energy. Organisms and populations are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors, any of which can limit their growth. Competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial interactions vary across ecosystems but the patterns are shared. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem. Food webs model how matter and energy are transferred among producers, consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact within an ecosystem. Ecosystem characteristics vary over time. Disruptions to any part of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all of its populations. The completeness or integrity of an ecosystem’s biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health.
Genes chiefly regulate a specific protein, which affect an individual’s traits. In sexual reproduction, each parent contributes half of the genes acquired by the offspring resulting in variation between parent and offspring. Genetic information can be altered because of mutations, which may result in beneficial, negative, or no change to proteins in or traits of an organism. The fossil record documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms and their environments through Earth’s history. The fossil record and comparisons of anatomical similarities between organisms enables the inference of lines of evolutionary descent. Both natural and artificial selection result from certain traits giving some individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing, leading to predominance of certain traits in a population. Species can change over time in response to changes in environmental conditions through adaptation by natural selection acting over generations. Traits that support successful survival and reproduction in the new environment become more common. Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’ resources and ecosystem services they rely on. Students must also understand the necessity of adaptation and survival to creating biodiversity.
MS-LS1-1 Plan and carry out an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells; either one cell or many different types and numbers of cells.
MS-LS1-2 Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function.
MS-LS1-3 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells.
MS-LS1-4 Construct an argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.
MS-LS1-5 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
MS-LS1-6 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.
MS-LS1-7 Develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions forming new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as this matter moves through an organism.
MS-LS1-8 Gather and synthesize information that sensory receptors respond to stimuli by sending messages to the brain for immediate behavior or storage as memories.
MS-LS2-1 Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-2 Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
MS-LS2-3 Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
MS-LS2-5 Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.
MS-LS3-1 Develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.
MS-LS3-2 Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.
MS-LS4-1 Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth.
MS-LS4-2 Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.
MS-LS4-4 Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.
MS-LS4-5 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how technological advances have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.
MS-LS4-6 Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time.
Middle School Earth and Space Standards
The Core Ideas of the Middle School Earth and Space Science standards include:
- Earth’s Place in the Universe (MS-ESS1)
- Earth’s Systems (MS-ESS2)
- Earth and Human Activity (MS-ESS3)
Middle School Earth and Space Science Conceptual Understanding:
The Earth is a part of the solar system which is held together by gravity. The solar system is a part of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is one of billions of galaxies in the universe. The position of Earth’s place in the solar system, Milky Way Galaxy, and the universe can be used to explain astronomical patterns such as eclipses, tides, and seasons. By exploring objects in the solar system and universe, theories have been formed and supported that explain the formation of the universe. Rock strata and the fossil record can be used as evidence to organize the relative occurrence of major historical events in Earth’s history. Materials in and on Earth’s crust change over time as result of the flow within and among different systems and the cycling of matter, including the sun and Earth’s interior as primary energy sources. Plate tectonics is the unifying theory that explains movements of rocks at the Earth’s surface and through geological history. Water influences weather and weather patterns through oceanic, atmospheric and land circulation. Water movement causes weathering and erosion as well as changing landscape features. Humans depend on Earth’s land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for different renewable and nonrenewable resources. The availability of natural resources, such as land, energy, minerals and water, is unevenly distributed. This can affect human activities and impact the development of surroundings in a positive or negative way. Human use of resources can have an impact on the Earth and its systems. Decisions to reduce the impact on Earth and its systems depend on understanding climate, science, engineering capabilities, and social dynamics. Natural hazards can impact resource availability and development. By mapping the history of natural hazards in a region, an understanding of geological forces can be reached.
MS-ESS1-1 Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.
MS-ESS1-2 Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
MS-ESS1-3 Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.
MS-ESS2-1 Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.
MS-ESS2-2 Construct an explanation based on evidence for how Geo-science processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.
MS-ESS2-3 Analyze and interpret data on the age of the Earth, distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions.
MS-ESS2-4 Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.
MS-ESS2-5 Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions. MS-ESS2-6 Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.
MS-ESS3-1 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth’s mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current Geo-science processes.
MS-ESS3-2 Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.
MS-ESS3-3 Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
MS-ESS3-4 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems.
MS-ESS3-5 Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that may have caused a change in global temperatures over the past century.
Middle School Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science
MS-ETS1-1 Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account scientific relative principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
MS-ETS1-2 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
MS-ETS1-3 Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.
MS-ETS1-4 Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed project, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.