Resource Detail: NSTA Press Book

This resource has 178 correlations with the National Standards.  
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• Physical Science
  • Properties of objects and materials
    • The observable properties of objects can be measured using tools, such as rulers, balances, and thermometers. (K-4)
  • Properties and changes of properties in matter
    • A substance has characteristic properties, such as density, a boiling point, and solubility. (5-8)
    • The characteristic properties of a substance are independent of the amount of the sample. (5-8)
    • Substances react chemically in characteristic ways with other substances to form new substances (compounds) with different characteristic properties. (5-8)
  • Structure and properties of matter
    • Atoms interact with one another by transferring or sharing electrons that are furthest from the nucleus. (9-12)
    • Outer shell electrons govern the chemical properties of the element. (9-12)
    • An element is composed of a single type of atom. (9-12)
    • When elements are listed in order according to the number of protons (called the atomic number), repeating patterns of physical and chemical properties identify families of elements with similar properties. (9-12)
    • Bonds between atoms are created when electrons are paired up by being transferred or shared. (9-12)
    • Atoms may be bonded together into molecules or crystalline solids. (9-12)
    • A compound is formed when two or more kinds of atoms bind together chemically. (9-12)
    • The physical properties of compounds reflect the nature of the interactions among its molecules. (9-12)
    • The interactions among molecules are determined by the structure of the molecule, including the constituent atoms and the distances and angles between them. (9-12)
    • Solids, liquids, and gases differ in the distances and angles between molecules or atoms and therefore the energy that binds them together. (9-12)
    • In solids the structure is nearly rigid; in liquids molecules or atoms move around each other but do not move apart; and in gases molecules or atoms move almost independently of each other and are mostly far apart. (9-12)
    • Carbon atoms can bond to one another in chains, rings, and branching networks to form a variety of structures, including synthetic polymers, oils, and the large molecules essential to life. (9-12)
  • Structure of atoms
    • Matter is made of minute particles called atoms, and atoms are composed of even smaller components. (9-12)
    • The components of atoms have measurable properties, such as mass and electrical charge. (9-12)
    • Each atom has a positively charged nucleus surrounded by negatively charged electrons. (9-12)
    • The electric force between the nucleus and electrons holds the atom together. (9-12)
    • The atom's nucleus is composed of protons and neutrons, which are much more massive than electrons. (9-12)
    • When an element has atoms that differ in the number of neutrons, these atoms are called different isotopes of the element. (9-12)
    • The nuclear forces that hold the nucleus of an atom together, at nuclear distances, are usually stronger than the electric forces that would make it fly apart. (9-12)
    • Fission is the splitting of a large nucleus into smaller pieces. (9-12)
    • Fusion is the joining of two nuclei at extremely high temperature and pressure, and is the process responsible for the energy of the sun and other stars. (9-12)
  • Chemical Reactions
    • Chemical reactions occur all around us, for example in health care, cooking, cosmetics, and automobiles. (9-12)
    • Chemical reactions may release or consume energy. (9-12)
    • A large number of important reactions involve the transfer of electrons (oxidation/reduction reactions). (9-12)
    • A large number of important reactions involve the transfer of hydrogen ions (acid/base reactions) between reacting ions, molecules, or atoms. (9-12)
    • In some reactions, chemical bonds are broken by heat or light to form very reactive radicals with electrons ready to form new bonds. (9-12)
    • Reaction rates depend on how often the reacting atoms and molecules encounter one another, on the temperature, and on the properties--including shape--of the reacting species. (9-12)
    • Catalysts, such as metal surfaces, accelerate chemical reactions. (9-12)
    • Chemical reactions in living systems are catalyzed by protein molecules called enzymes. (9-12)
  • Transfer of Energy
    • Energy is a property of many substances and is associated with heat, light, electricity, mechanical motion, sound, nuclei, and the nature of a chemical. (5-8)
    • Energy is transferred in many ways. (5-8)
    • Heat moves in predictable ways, flowing from warmer objects to cooler ones, until both reach the same temperature. (5-8)
    • In most chemical and nuclear reactions, energy is transferred into or out of a system. (5-8)
  • Conservation of energy and increase in disorder
    • The total energy of the universe is constant. (9-12)
    • Energy can be transferred by collisions in chemical and nuclear reactions, by light waves and other radiations, and in many other ways. (9-12)
    • Energy can never be destroyed. (9-12)
    • As energy transfers occur, the matter involved becomes steadily less ordered. (9-12)
    • All energy can be considered to be either kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion; potential energy, which depends on relative position; or energy contained by a field, such as electromagnetic waves. (9-12)
    • Heat consists of random motion and the vibrations of atoms, molecules, and ions. (9-12)
    • The higher the temperature, the greater the atomic or molecular motion. (9-12)
    • Everything tends to become less organized and less orderly over time. (9-12)

• Life Science
  • Structure and function in living systems
    • Living systems at all levels of organization demonstrate the complementary nature of structure and function (5-8)
    • All organisms are composed of cells--the fundamental unit of life (5-8)
    • Most organisms are single cells; other organisms, including humans, are multicellular. (5-8)
    • Cells carry on the many functions needed to sustain life. They grow and divide, thereby producing more cells. (5-8)
  • Reproduction and heredity
    • Reproduction is a characteristic of all living systems; because no individual organism lives forever, reproduction is essential to the continuation of every species. (5-8)
    • Some organisms reproduce asexually (5-8)
    • Some organisms reproduce sexually. (5-8)
  • Regulation and behavior
    • All organisms must be able to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment. (5-8)
  • Populations and ecosystems
    • Decomposers, primarily bacteria and fungi, are consumers that use waste materials and dead organisms for food. (5-8)
  • The cell
    • Cells have particular structures that underlie their functions. (9-12)
    • Every cell is surrounded by a membrane that separates it from the outside world. (9-12)
    • Inside the cell is a concentrated mixture of thousands of different molecules which form a variety of specialized structures that carry out such cell functions as energy production, transport of molecules, waste disposal, synthesis of new molecules, and the storage of genetic material. (9-12)
    • Most cell functions involve chemical reactions. (9-12)
    • Food molecules taken into cells react to provide the chemical constituents needed to synthesize other molecules. (9-12)
    • Both breakdown and synthesis are made possible by a large set of protein catalysts, called enzymes. (9-12)
    • The breakdown of some of the food molecules enables the cell to store energy in specific chemicals that are used to carry out the many functions of the cell. (9-12)
  • Interdependence of organisms
    • The atoms and molecules on the earth cycle among the living and nonliving components of the biosphere. (9-12)
    • Energy flows through ecosystems in one direction, from photosynthetic organisms to herbivores to carnivores and decomposers. (9-12)
    • Organisms both cooperate and compete in ecosystems. (9-12)
  • Matter, energy, and organization in living systems
    • Energy stored in bonds between the atoms (chemical energy) can be used as sources of energy for life processes. (9-12)
    • The chemical bonds of food molecules contain energy. (9-12)

• Science as Inquiry
  • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
    • Ask a question about objects, organisms, and events in the environment. (K-4)
    • Plan and conduct a simple investigation. (K-4)
    • Employ simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses. (K-4)
    • Use data to construct a reasonable explanation.
    • Communicate investigations and explanations.
    • Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations.
    • Design and conduct a scientific investigation.
    • Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data.
    • Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence.
    • Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations.
    • Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and predictions.
    • Communicate scientific procedures and explanations.
    • Use mathematics in all aspects of scientific inquiry.
    • Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations. (9-12)
    • Use technology and mathematics to improve investigations and communications. (9-12)
    • Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using logic and evidence. (9-12)
    • Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models. (9-12)
    • Communicate and defend a scientific argument. (9-12)
  • Understandings about scientific inquiry
    • Scientific investigations involve asking and answering a question and comparing the answer with what scientists already know about the world. (K-4)
    • Scientists use different kinds of investigations depending on the questions they are trying to answer.
    • Types of investigations include describing objects, events, and organisms; classifying them; and doing a fair test (experimenting).
    • Simple instruments, such as magnifiers, thermometers, and rulers, provide more information than scientists obtain using only their senses.
    • Scientists develop explanations using observations (evidence) and what they already know about the world (scientific knowledge). Good explanations are based on evidence from investigations. (K-4)
    • Scientists make the results of their investigations public; they describe the investigations in ways that enable others to repeat the investigations. (K-4)
    • Scientists review and ask questions about the results of other scientists' work. (K-4)
    • Different kinds of questions suggest different kinds of scientific investigations. Some investigations involve observing and describing objects, organisms, or events; some involve collecting specimens; some involve experiments; some involve seeking more information; some involve discovery of new objects and phenomena; and some involve making models. (5-8)
    • Current scientific knowledge and understanding guide scientific investigations. (5-8)
    • Different scientific domains employ different methods, core theories, and standards to advance scientific knowledge (5-8)
    • Mathematics is important in all aspects of scientific inquiry. (5-8)
    • Technology used to gather data enhances accuracy and allows scientists to analyze and quantify results of investigations. (5-8)
    • Scientific explanations emphasize evidence, have logically consistent arguments, and use scientific principles, models, and theories. (5-8)
    • The scientific community accepts and uses such explanations until displaced by better scientific ones. When such displacement occurs, science advances.
    • Science advances through legitimate skepticism. Asking questions and querying other scientists' explanations is part of scientific inquiry. (5-8)
    • Scientists evaluate the explanations proposed by other scientists by examining evidence, comparing evidence, identifying faulty reasoning, pointing out statements that go beyond the evidence, and suggesting alternative explanations for the same observations. (5-8)
    • Scientific investigations sometimes result in new ideas and phenomena for study, generate new methods or procedures for an investigation, or develop new technologies to improve the collection of data. All of these results can lead to new investigations. (5-8)
    • Scientists usually inquire about how physical, living, or designed systems function. (9-12)
    • Conceptual principles and knowledge guide scientific inquiries. (9-12)
    • Historical and current scientific knowledge influence the design and interpretation of investigations and the evaluation of proposed explanations made by other scientists. (9-12)
    • Scientists conduct investigations for a wide variety of reasons. For example, they may wish to discover new aspects of the natural world, explain recently observed phenomena, or test the conclusions of prior investigations or the predictions of current theories. (9-12)
    • Scientists rely on technology to enhance the gathering and manipulation of data. (9-12)
    • New techniques and tools provide new evidence to guide inquiry and new methods to gather data, thereby contributing to the advance of science. (9-12)
    • The accuracy and precision of the data, and therefore the quality of the exploration, depends on the technology used. (9-12)
    • Mathematics is essential in scientific inquiry. (9-12)
    • In presenting data, graphs are used to convey comparisons or trends. (9-12)
    • Mathematical tools and models guide and improve the posing of questions, gathering data, constructing explanations and communicating results. (9-12)
    • Scientific explanations must adhere to criteria such as: a proposed explanation must be logically consistent; it must abide by the rules of evidence; it must be open to questions and possible modification; and it must be based on historical and current scientific knowledge. (9-12)
    • Results of scientific inquiry--new knowledge and methods--emerge from different types of investigations and public communication among scientists. (9-12)
    • In communicating and defending the results of scientific inquiry, arguments must be logical and demonstrate connections between natural phenomena, investigations, and the historical body of scientific knowledge. (9-12)
    • In addition, the methods and procedures that scientists used to obtain evidence must be clearly reported to enhance opportunities for further investigation. (9-12)

• Science and Technology
  • Abilities of technological design
    • Design a solution or product.
    • Propose designs and choose between alternative solutions. (9-12)
    • Implement a proposed solution. (9-12)
    • Communicate the problem, process, and solution. (9-12)
  • Understanding about science and technology
    • Scientists and engineers often work in teams with different individuals doing different things that contribute to the results. This understanding focuses primarily on teams working together and secondarily, on the combination of scientist and engineer teams.
    • Tools help scientists make better observations, measurements, and equipment for investigations. They help scientists see, measure, and do things that they could not otherwise see, measure, and do.
    • Scientists propose explanations for questions about the natural world, and engineers propose solutions relating to human problems, needs, and aspirations. (5-8)
    • Science helps drive technology, as it addresses questions that demand more sophisticated instruments and provides principles for better instrumentation and technique. (5-8)
    • Technology is essential to science, because it provides instruments and techniques that enable observations of objects and phenomena that are otherwise unobservable due to factors such as quantity, distance, location, size, and speed. (5-8)
    • Technology provides tools for investigations, inquiry, and analysis.
    • Creativity, imagination, and a good knowledge base are all required in the work of science and engineering. (9-12)
    • Scientific inquiry is driven by the desire to understand the natural world, and technological design is driven by the need to meet human needs and solve human problems. (9-12)

• Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
  • Personal health
    • Student understandings include following safety rules for home and school, preventing abuse and neglect, avoiding injury, knowing whom to ask for help, and when and how to say no.
    • Individuals have some responsibility for their own health. Students should engage in personal care--dental hygiene, cleanliness, and exercise--that will maintain and improve health.
    • Nutrition is essential to health.
    • Students should understand how the body uses food and how various foods contribute to health.
    • Recommendations for good nutrition include eating a variety of foods, eating less sugar, and eating less fat.
    • Different substances can damage the body and how it functions. Such substances include tobacco, alcohol, over-the-counter medicines, and illicit drugs.
    • Food provides energy and nutrients for growth and development (5-8)
  • Risks and benefits
    • Students should understand the risks associated with chemical hazards (pollutants in air, water, soil, and food). (5-8)
    • Students should understand the risks associated, with biological hazards (pollen, viruses, bacterial, and parasites). (5-8)
    • Students should understand the risks associated with personal hazards (smoking, dieting, and drinking). (5-8)
    • Important personal and social decisions are made based on perceptions of benefits and risks. (5-8)
  • Science and technology in society
    • Science influences society through its knowledge and world view. (5-8)
    • Scientific knowledge and the procedures used by scientists influence the way many individuals in society think about themselves, others, and the environment. (5-8)
    • The effect of science on society is neither entirely beneficial nor entirely detrimental. (5-8)
    • Technology influences society through its products and processes. (5-8)
    • Technology influences the quality of life and the people act and interact. (5-8)
    • Social needs, attitudes, and values influence the direction of technological development ways. (5-8)
    • Students should appreciate what science and technology can reasonably contribute to society and what they cannot do. For example, new technologies often will decrease some risks and increase others.
  • Personal and community health
    • Personal choice concerning fitness and health involves multiple factors. (9-12)
    • Selection of foods and eating patterns determine nutritional balance. (9-12)
    • Nutritional balance has a direct effect on growth and development and personal well-being. (9-12)
  • Population growth
    • Populations can increase through linear or exponential growth, with effects on resource use and environmental pollution. (9-12)
  • Sci and Tech in local, natl, and global challenges
    • Science and technology are essential social enterprises, but alone they can only indicate what can happen, not what should happen. The latter involves human decisions about the use of knowledge. (9-12)

• History and Nature of Science
  • Science as a human endeavor
    • Science and technology have been practiced by people for a long time.
    • Men and women have made a variety of contributions throughout the history of science and technology.
    • Although men and women using scientific inquiry have learned much about the objects, events, and phenomena in nature, much more remains to be understood. Science will never be finished.
    • Many people choose science as a career and devote their entire lives to studying it.
    • Many people derive great pleasure from doing science.
    • Women and men of various social and ethnic backgrounds--and with diverse interests, talents, qualities, and motivations--engage in the activities of science, engineering, and related fields such as the health professions. (5-8)
    • Some scientists work in teams, and some work alone, but all communicate extensively with others. (5-8)
    • Science requires different abilities, depending on such factors as the field of study and type of inquiry. (5-8)
    • Science is very much a human endeavor, and the work of science relies on basic human qualities, such as reasoning, insight, energy, skill, and creativity--as well as on scientific habits of mind, such as intellectual honesty, tolerance of ambiguity, skepticism, and openness to new ideas. (5-8)
    • Individuals and teams have contributed and will continue to contribute to the scientific enterprise. (9-12)
    • Doing science or engineering can be as simple as an individual conducting field studies or as complex as hundreds of people working on a major scientific question or technological problem. (9-12)
    • Pursuing science as a career or as a hobby can be both fascinating and intellectually rewarding. (9-12)
    • Scientists have ethical traditions. (9-12)
    • Scientists value peer review, truthful reporting about the methods and outcomes of investigations, and making public the results of work. Violations of such norms do occur, but scientists responsible for such violations are censured by their peers. (9-12)
    • Scientists are influenced by societal, cultural, and personal beliefs and ways of viewing the world. (9-12)
    • Science is not separate from society but rather science is a part of society. (9-12)
  • Nature of science
    • Scientists formulate and test their explanations of nature using observation, experiments, and theoretical and mathematical models. Those ideas are not likely to change greatly in the future. (5-8)
    • Although all scientific ideas are tentative and subject to change and improvement in principle, for most major ideas in science, there is much experimental and observational confirmation. (5-8)
    • Scientists do and have changed their ideas about nature when they encounter new experimental evidence that does not match their existing explanations.
    • It is part of scientific inquiry to evaluate the results of scientific investigations, experiments, observations, theoretical models, and the explanations proposed by other scientists. As scientific knowledge evolves, major disagreements are eventually resolved through such interactions between scientists. (5-8)
    • Evaluation includes reviewing the experimental procedures, examining the evidence, identifying faulty reasoning, pointing out statements that go beyond the evidence, and suggesting alternative explanations for the same observations. (5-8)
  • Nature of scientific knowledge
    • Science distinguishes itself from other ways of knowing and from other bodies of knowledge through the use of empirical standards, logical arguments, and skepticism, as scientists strive for the best possible explanations about the natural world. (9-12)
    • Scientific explanations must meet certain criteria. (9-12)
    • First and foremost, scientific explanations must be consistent with experimental and observational evidence about nature, and must make accurate predictions, when appropriate, about systems being studied. (9-12)
    • Scientific explanations should be logical, respect the rules of evidence, be open to criticism, report methods and procedures, and make knowledge public. (9-12)
    • Explanations on how the natural world changes based on myths, personal beliefs, religious values, mystical inspiration, superstition, or authority may be personally useful and socially relevant, but they are not scientific. (9-12)
    • Because all scientific ideas depend on experimental and observational confirmation, all scientific knowledge is, in principle, subject to change as new evidence becomes available. (9-12)
  • Historical perspectives
    • In history, diverse cultures have contributed scientific knowledge and technologic inventions. Modern science began to evolve rapidly in Europe several hundred years ago. During the past two centuries, it has contributed significantly to the industrialization of Western and non-Western cultures. However, other, non-European cultures have developed scientific ideas and solved human problems through technology. (9-12)(Inventors/Inventions)