Earth’s Structure and Processes
Unit Plan
Earth’s Structure and Processes
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Grade Levels
8th Grade
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Related Academic Standards
- Assessment Anchors
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Eligible Content
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Big Ideas
- A technological world requires that humans develop capabilities to solve technological challenges and improve products for the way we live.
- An object’s motion is the result of all forces acting on it.
- Each area of technology has a set of characteristics that separates it from others; however, many areas overlap in order to meet human needs and wants.
- Matter has observable physical properties and the potential to mix and form new materials.
- Technological design is a creative process that anyone can do which may result in new inventions and innovations.
- Technological literacy is the ability to use, assess and manage technology around us.
- Technology is created, used and modified by humans.
- Environmental laws and regulations impact humans, the environment, and the economy in both positive and negative ways.
- Humans depend upon the management and practices of agricultural systems.
- People acting individually and/or as groups influence the environment.
- Sustainable use of natural resources is essential to provide for the needs and wants of all living things now and in the future.
- The health of all living things is directly related to the quality of the environment.
- The survival of living things is dependent upon their adaptations and ability to respond to natural changes in and human influences on the environment.
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Concepts
- A substance has characteristic properties such as density, boiling point, freezing point, solubility, all of which are independent of the mass or volume of the sample.
- A technological design & problem solving process changes ideas into a final product or system.
- All matter is made up of building blocks called atoms. Atoms are characterized by their parts including protons, electrons, and neutrons.
- All matter is made up of particles, which are far too small to see directly through a microscope.
- An object will stay at rest or continue at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external, unbalanced force.
- Bio-related technologies are the processes of using biological mater to make or modify products.
- Bio-related technologies are the processes of using biological organisms to make or modify products.
- Changing a substance’s state of matter may change its density but not its composition.
- Communication is the process of composing, sending, and receiving messages through technology.
- Communication is the process of composing, sending, and receiving messages using technological devices.
- Compounds may only be broken down into simpler types of matter (elements) by chemical means.
- Construction is the process of turning materials into useful structures.
- Construction is the process of turning raw materials into useful structures.
- Creating optimal solutions under constraints are a primary component of technological problem solving (e.g., tools/machines, materials, information, people, capital, energy, and time).
- Decisions about the use of products and systems can result in expected and unexpected consequences.
- Decisions about the use of products and systems can result in known and unexpected consequences.
- Elements are the basic building blocks of matter that cannot be broken down chemically and are made up all of the same type of atoms.
- Energy and power technologies are the processes of converting energy sources into useful power.
- Energy and power technologies use processes to convert energy into power.
- Friction is an example of an electromagnetic force that opposes motion between two surfaces.
- Human decision making (e.g. Human needs and wants plus cultural considerations) drives the selection and/or use of technologies.
- In a technological world, inventions and innovations must be carefully assessed by individuals and society as a whole.
- Innovation is the process of improving an existing product, process, or system.
- Innovation is the process of modifying an existing product, process, or system to improve it.
- Invention is a process of creating new products, processes, or systems.
- Invention is a process of turning ideas and imagination into new products, processes, or systems.
- Inventions and innovations must be carefully assessed by individuals and society.
- Manufacturing is the process of turning materials into useful products.
- Manufacturing is the process of turning raw materials into useful products.
- Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object.
- Materials are characterized by having a specific amount of mass in each unit of volume (density).
- Mechanical advantage, using less force over a greater distance, allows the same work to be performed with less effort.
- Models (graphs) of an object’s velocity versus time can be used to infer the presence of absence of unbalanced forces.
- Moving electric charges produce magnetic forces and moving magnets produce electric forces.
- Particles are always in motion with the smallest motion in solids progressing to the largest motion in gases.
- People select, create, and use technology.
- Safety is a preeminent concern for all technological development and use.
- Safety is one of the most important concerns for all technological development and use.
- Science and technology are interconnected.
- Science is the study of the natural world and technology is the study of the human designed world but both are inextricably connected.
- Simple machines help accomplish a task with less effort by either changing the direction of motion or increasing the mechanical advantage.
- Technological design & problem solving follows many steps.
- Technological design & problem solving includes both formative and summative analysis.
- Technological design & problem solving includes clearly communicated solutions.
- Technological design & problem solving includes frequent checking.
- Technological design & problem solving requires hands-on applications.
- Technological design & problem solving requires the ability to clearly communicate engineered solutions.
- Technological design & problem solving requires the application of hands-on abilities such as sketching, prototyping, and fabricating.
- Technological design & problem solving transforms an idea into a final product or system.
- Technological design & problem solving utilizes a series of steps that take place in a well-defined sequence.
- Technological literacy is necessary for a productive workforce.
- Technological literacy is necessary for all citizens.
- Technological literacy is the ability to understand, use, assess, design, and create technology.
- Technological literacy requires lifelong learning.
- Technology and society impact each other.
- The abilities required in a technological world include diagnosing, troubleshooting, analyzing and maintaining systems.
- The abilities required in a technological world include understanding, fixing, and maintaining systems.
- The goal of technology is to meet human needs and wants.
- The gravitational force is a universal force that depends on how much mass the objects have and how far apart they are.
- The magnitude of the gravitational force is weight (oz, lb, newtons).
- The study of the impacts of technological systems enables us to plan and direct technological developments.
- The use of technology involves weighing the trade-offs of the positive and negative effects.
- There are over one hundred known elements each with characteristic properties from which all other matter is made.
- Transportation is the process of safely and efficiently moving people and products.
- Two of the fundamental forces that exist in the universe are gravity and electromagnetism.
- Unbalanced forces acting on an object cause changes in its velocity.
- Understanding technological systems help us plan and control technological developments.
- When two or more substances are combined, they may form a mixture and maintain their original properties or they may react chemically to form a new substance with new properties.
- While science is the study of the natural world, technology is the study of the human designed world.
- Adaptations develop over time and are passed from one generation to the next.
- Agricultural changes have been made to meet society's needs.
- Agricultural production, cost, and, quality are related to environmental conditions.
- Animal populations change over time.
- Conservation and best management practices can affect continued availability of resources.
- Environmental health is directly related to resource use, reuse and recycling.
- Environmental laws and regulations exist to protect the environment.
- Human actions can result in the loss of habitat and species.
- Human actions related to agricultural systems affect the health of the environment.
- Human land use practices can affect the health of the environment.
- Improvement in knowledge and technology allows humans to better mange their environment.
- Natural resources and technological changes affect the development of civilizations through the advancement of agricultural production.
- Natural resources are an integral component for survival in different parts of the world.
- Natural resources are found in specific locations on the earth.
- One species may adapt to environmental change while another may not, making it more susceptible to becoming endangered.
- Pennsylvania agencies exist to develop and enforce environmental laws and regulations.
- Plants and animals are uniquely adapted to their environment.
- Raw materials come from natural resources.
- Recycling and waste management have an effect on the available resources.
- Renewable and non-renewable resources provide for human needs (energy, food, water, clothing and shelter).
- Residential and industrial pollution can affect environmental health.
- Resources are either renewable or nonrenewable.
- Some diseases are associated with poor environmental quality.
- Species can be classified as threatened, endangered, and extinct.
- Sustainable use of natural resources is essential for the survival of humans and other organisms.
- Technological advancements impact our use of resources.
- The environment is impacted by the consumption of resources and generation of waste.
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Competencies
- Clearly communicate technological solutions.
- Create a new product, process, or system.
- Demonstrate how technological progress promotes the advancement of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
- Describe how science and technology work together.
- Describe how technology impacts society.
- Describe the complementary roles of scientific knowledge and technological application.
- Describe the nature of technology and the consequences of technological activity which impact society and the world.
- Describe the nature of technology.
- Describe the relationships among the parts of a system, the ways that they work together, the flow of matter or energy through the system, and the feedback and control mechanism present in the system.
- Design and develop the ability to create and send messages using technological devices.
- Design and develop the ability to safely and effectively use tools and materials to build structures.
- Design and develop the ability to safely and effectively use tools and materials to convert energy into power.
- Design and develop the ability to safely and effectively use tools and materials to create bio-related products and systems using technology.
- Design and develop the ability to safely and effectively use tools and materials to create vehicles that transport people and products.
- Design and develop the ability to safely and effectively use tools and materials to manufacture products.
- Design, implement, record, explain, and justify safe and effective laboratory procedures to determine the relationship between two variables, controlling for other factors that might also affect the relationship.
- Differentiate between the study of science and technology.
- Explain how making informed decisions about the development and use of technology may have known and unexpected consequences.
- Explain how making informed decisions using technology may have expected and unexpected consequences.
- Explain how people select, create and use technology.
- Explain how technology has and can change the human condition throughout time.
- Explain how technology has and can change the world.
- Improve an existing product, process, or system.
- Recognize technological literacy requires lifetime learning.
- Use appropriate technologies to make precise quantitative measurements and observations and to organize and analyze the data.
- Use design and problem solving skills to solve technological challenges.
- Use hands-on skills to create useful products.
- Verify that engineering design is influenced by personal characteristics, such as creativity, resourcefulness and the ability to visualize and think abstractly.
- Analyze the effects of management practices on natural resources.
- Analyze the ways in which societal needs have prompted agricultural changes.
- Compare and contrast organisms with very specific needs with those organisms that have more general requirements.
- Compare and contrast the cost and quality of a product in agricultural production as related to environmental conditions.
- Discuss how one species may adapt to environmental change while another may not.
- Explain how a dynamically changing environment provides for the sustainability of living systems.
- Explain how the development of civilization has been affected by natural resources and technological changes.
- Explain how the wise use and misuse of resources affects the environment.
- Explain society’s standard of living in terms of technological advancements and how these advancements impact our use of resources (e.g., agriculture, transportation, energy, production).
- Explain the role of local and state agencies in enforcing environmental laws and regulations.
- Identify alternative actions that are used to reduce pollution (air, water, land).
- Identify and explain environmental laws and regulations.
- Identify environmental issues and explain their potential long term health effect (e.g., agriculture land use, urban sprawl, pest controls, pollution).
- Identify how the use of resources used to provide humans with energy, food, housing and clothing has changed.
- Identify human impacts that cause habitat loss.
- Identify the locations of different concentrations of fossil fuels and mineral resources, their time spans for renewability and how consumption affects their availability.
- Investigate the effects of local residential and industrial pollution on environmental health (e.g., point and non-point).
- Use evidence to explain factors that affect changes in populations. (e.g., deforestation, disease, land use).
Objectives
- In this unit, students will understand that features on Earth’s surface are constantly changing through a combination of slow and rapid processes. Students will:
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identify the causes of features on Earth’s surface.
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compare and contrast between chemical and physical weathering.
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understand slow processes such as tectonic plate movement, weathering, erosion, and sediment deposition.
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understand rapid processes such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes.
Essential Questions
Related Unit and Lesson Plans
Related Materials & Resources
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Materials haven't been entered into the unit plan.Formative Assessment
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Multiple Choice Questions:
- What was the name of Earth’s land surfaces prior to the plates breaking away into separate continents?
- Pangaea
- Continental Drift
- Gargantuan
- Jurassic
- Which best describes the volume of water when it has been frozen?
- It increases.
- It decreases.
- It stays the same.
- All of the above.
- Which location is most likely to experience an earthquake?
- A major city
- Near a volcano
- Along a fault line
- In an ocean
- Which characteristic of natural disasters is most common during an earthquake?
- Pollution
- Lava damage
- fires
- ground shaking
- What happened to the copper penny when mixed with vinegar?
- No change.
- It fizzled.
- It turned green.
- It deteriorated.
- Which of the following types of erosion leave large scars on the Earth’s surface
- glacial
- wind
- soil
- sea
Multiple Choice Answer Key:
1. A
2. A
3. C
4. D
5. C
6. A
Short Answer Items:
- 7. What caused Pangaea to break up?
- 8. Why do you think you find similar fossils in different continents even though those continents aren’t connected?
- 9. What can we do to prevent certain types of erosion to help improve our Earth?
Short-Answer Key:
7. Answers will vary. Possible answer includes:
Earth’s tectonic forces slowly moved Pangaea in a different direction as a result of rising magma and sinking crust. Over time, this continental drift separated and moved the giant land mass across the planet.
8. Answers will vary. Possible answer includes:
- Similar fossils may be found on distant continents today because at some point in Earth’s history, they were connected. Tectonic plate movement separated them over millions of years. The fossil remains are evidence that these continents were once connected
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- 9. Answers will vary. Possible answer includes:
- Erosion can be prevented by planting trees to strengthen soil and adding chemicals to products in order to prevent erosion from salt water and acidic rain.
Performance Assessment:
- Part I
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- Imagine if you were to see into the future and the continents had come back together again to form a Pangaea.
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- What would the new Pangaea look like? Make a drawing showing where the seven continents would end up and what the new Pangaea would look like.
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- Explain in three paragraphs why your new Pangaea would look like this considering the plate movement.
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- You will also be graded on your illustration and neatness.
Scoring Rubric for Part I:
Points
Description
3
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Drawing demonstrates an accurate direction of movement found in modern plates.
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Drawing is decorated with neatness and includes titles of all seven continents and major Earth geographical features.
- Essay response explains the reasons for plate movement, taken from the lesson, and the predicted direction of drift by the continents.
2
- Two of the three components are completed.
1
- One of the three components is completed.
0
- Student does not show any examples from the lesson or complete any of the required components.
- Part II
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- Again, imagine the continents coming back together to form a new Pangaea. You will write a three page paper based on the following questions:
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During the process of the continents coming together, what do you think is going to happen when the tectonic plates collide?
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What types of natural disasters are going to happen?
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Will there be any new formations created?
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Do you think anything will change as far as pollution in the air?
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If there are humans or animals (including birds and sea life), how will their lifestyles change? What hazards will they deal with?
Scoring Rubric for Part II:
Points
Description
4
- Answers all questions using examples from the lessons and discussions in the classroom. Goes above and beyond by using real-world examples from outside of class.
3
- Answers all questions using examples from the lessons and discussions in class.
2
- Answers all questions and uses some examples to answer questions. Mostly gives opinions without support from the lessons.
1
- Answers all questions, but uses mainly opinions with no support from the lessons or discussions.
0
- Doesn’t complete the questions or show any examples from the lessons or class discussions.
- Part III
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- Present your ideas of the new Pangaea to the class and turn in your paper to the teacher.
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Scoring Rubric for Part III:
Points
Description
4
- Student explains Pangaea and reads his/her paper with exceptional voice level, clarity, fluency in speaking, and eye contact. No errors in speaking or presentation.
3
- Student explains Pangaea and reads his/her paper with exceptional voice level, clarity, fluency in speaking, and eye contact. Minimal errors.
2
- Student explains Pangaea and reads his/her paper with changing voice level, reduced clarity, varied fluency in speaking, and minimal eye contact. Errors and pauses in presentation.
1
- Student explains Pangaea and reads his/her paper with low voice level, minimal clarity of words and fluency in speaking, and no eye contact. Teacher has to help student with presentation.
0
- Student doesn’t present or does not have his/her presentation ready for class.
DRAFT 11/19/2010
