ESS1: Earth's Place in the Universe

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ESS1: Earth's Place in the Universe by Mind Map: ESS1: Earth's Place in the Universe

1. Earth & the Solar System

1.1. By 2nd Grade

1.1.1. Seasonal patterns of sunrise and sunset can be

1.1.1.1. Observed

1.1.1.2. Described

1.1.1.3. Predicted

1.2. By 5th Grade

1.2.1. Earth's rotation & its axis cause observable patterns, including:

1.2.1.1. Day & Night

1.2.1.2. Daily & seasonal change in shadows

1.2.1.3. Phases of the moon

1.2.1.4. Positions of the sun, moon, & stars daily, monthly, & yearly

1.2.2. Some objects in the solar system can be seen with the naked eye.

1.2.3. Planets in the night sky change positions and are not always visible from Earth.

1.2.4. Stars appear in patterns called constellations, which:

1.2.4.1. Can be used for navigation

1.2.4.2. Appear to move because of Earth's rotation

1.3. By 8th Grade

1.3.1. The Solar System includes objects held in gravitational orbit:

1.3.1.1. the sun

1.3.1.2. planets

1.3.1.3. planetary moons

1.3.1.4. asteroids

1.3.2. The Solar System model explains:

1.3.2.1. tides

1.3.2.2. solar & lunar eclipses

1.3.2.3. the motion of the planets relative to stars

1.3.3. The Earth's axial tilt:

1.3.3.1. is fixed in direction & tilted relative to the sun

1.3.3.2. causes the seasons (by different intensities of sunlight)

1.4. By 12th Grade

1.4.1. Orbiting objects

1.4.1.1. Can be described by Kepler's Laws

1.4.1.2. May change (gravitational pull or collision)

1.4.2. Earth's orbital change:

1.4.2.1. Caused changes in sunlight

1.4.2.2. Caused ice ages

2. The Universe and its Stars

2.1. By 2nd Grade

2.1.1. Patterns of the sun, moon, stars & planets can be:

2.1.1.1. Observed

2.1.1.2. Described

2.1.1.3. Predicted

2.1.2. Telescopes make it possible to see more detail in the night sky than our eyes

2.2. By 5th Grade

2.2.1. The sun is a star that appears larger and brighter than other stars because it is closer.

2.2.2. Stars range greatly in their size and distance from Earth.

2.3. By 8th Grade

2.3.1. Patterns of the apparent motion of the sun, the moon, and stars in the sky can be:

2.3.1.1. Observed

2.3.1.2. Described

2.3.1.3. Predicted

2.3.1.4. Explained with models

2.3.2. The universe began with a period of extreme and rapid expansion known as the Big Bang.

2.3.3. Earth and its solar system are part of the Milky Way galaxy, which is one of many galaxies in the universe.

2.4. By 12th Grade

2.4.1. The Sun:

2.4.1.1. is changing and will burn out over a life span of approximately 10 billion years.

2.4.1.2. is just one of more than 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy

2.4.2. The Galaxy

2.4.2.1. is just one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe

2.4.3. The study of stars’ light spectra and brightness is used to identify:

2.4.3.1. compositional elements of stars

2.4.3.2. star movements

2.4.3.3. the distance a star is from earth

3. The History of Planet Earth

3.1. By 2nd Grade

3.1.1. Events on Earth

3.1.1.1. Can be cyclical or terminal

3.1.1.2. Can happen quickly or over a long period of time

3.2. By 5th Grade

3.2.1. Earth has changed over time.

3.2.2. We can infer the history of Earth by observing:

3.2.2.1. How landforms develop

3.2.2.2. How land weathers

3.2.2.3. How land erodes

3.2.3. Patterns reveal Earth's history:

3.2.3.1. Rock formations

3.2.3.2. Fossil history

3.2.3.3. Tree rings

3.2.3.4. Glaciers

3.3. By 8th Grade

3.3.1. Geological time scale interpreted from rock strata provides a way to (generally) organize Earth’s history, including:

3.3.1.1. formation of mountain chains and ocean basins

3.3.1.2. evolution and extinction of particular living organisms

3.3.1.3. volcanic eruptions

3.3.1.4. glaciation and water erosion

3.4. By 12th Grade

3.4.1. Geologic time is fixed and dated by:

3.4.1.1. Radioactive decay lifetimes

3.4.1.2. Isotopic decay in rocks

3.4.2. Active Geological Processes:

3.4.2.1. Generate new rocks at the sea floor (200 million years old)

3.4.2.2. Destroy old, continental rock (4 billion years old)

3.4.2.3. Are not present in the rest of solar system; other objects can be used to explore earth's early history