Knows that scientific inquiry includes evaluating results of scientific investigations, experiments, observations, theoretical and mathematical models, and explanations proposed by other scientists (e.g., reviewing experimental procedures, examining evidence, identifying faulty reasoning, identifying statements that go beyond the evidence, suggesting alternative explanations).

Knows possible outcomes of scientific investigations (e.g., some may result in new ideas and phenomena for study; some may generate new methods or procedures for an investigation; some may result in the development of new technologies to improve the collection of data; some may lead to new investigations).

Grade level:9-12
Subject area:space science
Standard:
Understands essential ideas about the composition and structure of the universe and the Earth’s place in it.
Benchmarks:
Knows that evidence suggests that our universe is expanding (e.g., the Doppler shift of light from distant galaxies reaching telescopes on Earth suggests that galaxies are moving away from the Earth; the relationship of the redshift to the big bang theory of the origin of the universe).

Knows that although the origin of the universe remains one of the greatest questions in science, current scientific evidence supports the big bang theory, which states that between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago, the entire contents of the universe expanded explosively into existence from a single, hot, dense chaotic mass; our solar system formed from a nebular cloud of dust and gas about 4.6 billion years ago.

Knows the ongoing processes involved in star formation and destruction (e.g., stars condense by gravity out of clouds of molecules of the lightest elements; nuclear fusion of light elements into heavier ones occurs in the stars’ extremely hot, dense cores, releasing great amounts of energy; some stars eventually explode, producing clouds of material from which new stars and planets condense).

Grade level:9-12
Subject area:technology
Standard:
Understands the nature and operation of systems.
Benchmarks:
Knows that complex systems are subject to failure and are designed with various elements and procedures (e.g., performance testing, overdesign, redundancy, more controls) that help reduce system failure.

Grade level:9-12
Subject area:technology
Standard:
Understands the relationships among science, technology, society, and the individual.
Benchmarks:
Knows ways in which social and economic forces influence which technologies will be developed and used (e.g., personal values, consumer acceptance, patent laws, availability of risk capital, the federal budget, local and national regulations, media attention, economic competition, tax incentives).

Grade level:9-12
Subject area:science
Standard:
Understands the nature of scientific knowledge.
Benchmarks:
Understands how scientific knowledge changes and accumulates over time (e.g., all scientific knowledge is subject to change as new evidence becomes available; some scientific ideas are incomplete and opportunity exists in these areas for new advances; theories are continually tested, revised, and occasionally discarded).

Grade level:9-12
Subject area:science
Standard:
Understands the nature of scientific inquiry.
Benchmarks:
Knows that scientists conduct investigations for a variety of reasons (e.g., to discover new aspects of the natural world, to explain recently observed phenomena, to test the conclusions of prior investigations, to test the predictions of current theories).

Knows that conceptual principles and knowledge guide scientific inquiries; historical and current scientific knowledge influences the design and interpretation of investigations and the evaluation of proposed explanations made by other scientists.

Grade level:9-12
Subject area:science
Standard:
Understands the major responsibilities of the national government for domestic and foreign policy, and understands how government is financed through taxation.
Benchmarks:
Understands the tensions that result from citizens’ desire for government services and benefits and their unwillingness to pay taxes for them.