Cosmology

Students will:

• Understand the Big Bang theory and the solar nebular theory are supported by evidence.  
• Understand that stars are born from gas and dust, and their mass dictates their lifespan, evolution, and the elements they create through nuclear fusion.  
• Understand that the universe is vast and contains dynamic interconnected systems.
• Explain that our understanding of the solar system and universe is constantly refined through ground- and space-based observations across the electromagnetic spectrum, as well as space exploration missions.  

Astronomy

Students will:

• Explain that the solar system consists of interconnected components linked by the flow of matter and energy. Characteristics of these components are defined by their composition.
• Understand that Earth’s proximity to the Sun and Moon influences its systems and the ability to support life.
• Explore how the Sun, Earth, and Moon's interactions create patterns seen in tides, seasons, eclipses, and moon phases.
• Understand that locations on Earth are plotted on maps and analyzed using lines of longitude and latitude. 

Weather on Earth

Students will:

• Understand that weather is driven by the interaction of energy between the atmosphere, oceans, and land due to differences in density and transfer of heat.
• Create models based on patterns in atmospheric conditions allow us to be able to predict future weather events.
• Explore how extreme imbalances in energy distribution in the oceans, atmosphere, and land may lead to severe weather conditions.  

Global Climate

Students will:

• Earth’s atmosphere is composed of interacting elements that are subject to change in response to changes in energy and matter.
• Understand how the composition of the atmosphere has changed over time due to evolutionary processes.
• Explain that climate change is accelerated by human activities, supported by evidence and demonstrates how complex system interactions can lead to substantial changes.

Earth’s Materials

Students will:

• Explain that the transfer of energy drives the cycling of matter through the geosphere and plays a role in the formation of different materials.
• Understand that minerals are the building blocks of rocks and can be identified and classified by their specific chemical and physical properties.
• Explain the processes by which rocks are formed and how they define the three major groups of rocks: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic.
• Explain the similarities and differences in chemical and physical properties of rocks that can be used to sort and classify rocks.

Plate Tectonics

Students will:

• Explain how plate tectonic theory helps us understand how Earth's surface changed over time.
• Explain how the process of convection affects the surface by creating mountains, earthquakes, and volcanoes.
• Understand that rocks and other materials on Earth give us clues about how the land has changed over time.
• Explore the systems of the Earth that work together and change when energy and matter move through them.

The Earth Through Time

Students will:

• Explain how Earth’s history can be investigated by examining rocks and fossils.
• Explain that rocks and fossils can show diversity, extinction, and change of species and their environments over geologic time.
• Demonstrate how rock layers, radiological studies, and other technological advances help to determine relative and absolute ages and timelines of Earth’s rocks and fossils.
• Explain how the characteristic structures, features, and fossils in Virginia’s provinces are evidence of tectonic and geologic history over more than a billion years.

Earth’s Resources

Students will:

• Explain that natural resource use is complex and each resource has unique environmental and economic benefits and liabilities.
• Explain that the use and overuse of natural resources over time has led to environmental changes throughout the world.
• Explore the variety of natural resources found in Virginia that help sustain Virginia’s economy.

Surface Processes

Students will:

• Explain how water is continuously being passed through the water cycle.
• Explain that fresh water, which is necessary for survival and most human activities, is stored on Earth’s surface in rivers and lakes, and underground in permeable sediments as groundwater.
• Understand the flow of surface water weathers and erodes rock materials, shapes landforms, and causes changes to topography over time.
• Explain how geological processes and human activities can pollute water supplies.

The Dynamic Ocean

Students will:

• Understand that ocean systems are made up of connected parts that depend on each other and change when energy and matter move in and out.
• Explore how natural and human-caused events as well as geological activities can cause changes in how the ocean moves and behaves.
• Identify the differences in temperature and energy flow in the oceans that help shape Earth's weather facts.