Next Generation Science Standards: Weathering and Erosion

For our assessment of this unit, we will look at several standards from the Next Generation Science Standards. Our test at the end of the unit will address each theme covered below.

Next Generation Science Standards
Core
Resource availability has guided the development of human society and use of natural resources has associated costs, risks, and benefits.

How has weathering and erosion impacted human society?

Natural hazards and other geological events have shaped the course of human history at local, regional, and global scales.

How have natural hazards such as floods, earthquakes, avalanches and landforms shaped the course of human history?

Sustainability of human societies requires responsible management of natural resources, including the development of technologies.

How has human activity impacted weathering, erosion and landforms?

Crosscutting
Patterns. Observed patterns of forms and events guide organization and classification, and
they prompt questions about relationships and the factors that influence them.

What patterns can be seen in weathering and erosion by wind, water, mass movement and chemical weathering?

Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation. Events have causes, sometimes simple,
sometimes multifaceted.

How are specific patterns and landforms created by weathering and erosion?

Systems and system models. Defining the system under study—specifying its boundaries and making explicit a model of that system—provides tools for understanding and testing ideas that are applicable throughout science and engineering.

How can we model and observe the patterns, systems and causes created by weathering and erosion?