AAAS Benchmarks
- Scientific investigations usually involve the collection of relevant data, the use of logical reasoning, and the application of imagination in devising hypotheses and explanations to make sense of the collected data. 1B/M1b
- What people expect to observe often affects what they actually do observe. Strong beliefs about what should happen in particular circumstances can prevent them from detecting other results. 1B/M3ab
- Computers have become invaluable in science, mathematics, and technology because they speed up and extend people's ability to collect, store, compile, and analyze data; prepare research reports; and share data and ideas with investigators all over the world. 1C/M6*
- Light from the sun is made up of a mixture of many different colors of light, even though to the eye the light looks almost white. 4F/M1
- Something that can be “seen” when light waves emitted or reflected by it enter the eye-just as something can be “heard” when sound waves from it enter the ear. 4F/M2
- Human eyes respond to only a narrow range of wavelengths of electromagnetic waves-visible light. Differences of wavelength within that range are perceived as differences of color. 4F/M5
- Wave behavior can be described in terms of how fast the disturbance spreads, and in terms of the distance between successive peaks of the disturbance (the wavelength). 4F/M7
- There are a great variety of electromagnetic waves: radio waves, microwaves, infrared waves, visible light, ultraviolet rays, X-rays, and gamma rays. These wavelengths vary from radio waves, the longest, to gamma rays, the shortest. 4F/M8
ISBE Standards
- 11.A.3a Formulate hypotheses that can be tested by collecting data.
- 11.A.3e Use data manipulation tools and quantitative (e.g., mean, mode, simple equations) and representational methods (e.g., simulations, image processing) to analyze measurements.
National Science Education Standards
- 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. 8ASI2.1
- The sun is a major source of energy for changes on the earth's surface. The sun loses energy by emitting light. A tiny fraction of that light reaches the earth, transferring energy from the sun to the earth. The sun's energy arrives as light with a range of wavelengths, consisting of visible light, infrared, and ultraviolet radiation. 8BPS3.6