Printable Alabama Courses of Study High School Earth Science Worksheets and Answer Keys, Study Guides and Vocabulary Sets.

AL.HS.PS. PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Matter and Its Interactions

HS.PS.1. Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties and trends (e.g., reactivity of metals; types of bonds formed, including ionic, covalent, and polar covalent; numbers of bonds formed; reactions with oxygen) of main group elements based on the patterns of valence electrons in atoms.

HS.PS.2. Plan and carry out investigations (e.g., squeezing a balloon, placing a balloon on ice) to identify the relationships that exist among the pressure, volume, density, and temperature of a confined gas.

HS.PS.6. Develop models to illustrate the concept of half-life for radioactive decay.

HS.PS.6.a. Research and communicate information about types of naturally occurring radiation and their properties.

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

HS.PS.7. Analyze and interpret data for one- and two-dimensional motion applying basic concepts of distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration (e.g., velocity versus time graphs, displacement versus time graphs, acceleration versus time graphs).

HS.PS.9. Use mathematical equations (e.g., (m1v1 + m2v2) before = (m1v1 + m2v2) after) and diagrams to explain that the total momentum of a system of objects is conserved when there is no net external force on the system.

HS.PS.9.a. Use the laws of conservation of mechanical energy and momentum to predict the result of one-dimensional elastic collisions.

HS.PS.10. Construct simple series and parallel circuits containing resistors and batteries and apply Ohm’s law to solve typical problems demonstrating the effect of changing values of resistors and voltages.

Energy

HS.PS.12. Design, build, and test the ability of a device (e.g., Rube Goldberg devices, wind turbines, solar cells, solar ovens) to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.

Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

HS.PS.13. Use mathematical representations to demonstrate the relationships among wavelength, frequency, and speed of waves (e.g., the relation v = λ f) traveling in various media (e.g., electromagnetic radiation traveling in a vacuum and glass, sound waves traveling through air and water, seismic waves traveling through Earth).

AL.HS.B. BIOLOGY

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

HS.B.2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to describe the function and diversity of organelles and structures in various types of cells (e.g., muscle cells having a large amount of mitochondria, plasmids in bacteria, chloroplasts in plant cells).

HS.B.3. Formulate an evidence-based explanation regarding how the composition of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) determines the structural organization of proteins.

HS.B.3.a. Obtain and evaluate experiments of major scientists and communicate their contributions to the development of the structure of DNA and to the development of the central dogma of molecular biology.

HS.B.3.b. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information that explains how advancements in genetic technology (e.g., Human Genome Project, Encyclopedia of DNA Elements [ENCODE] project, 1000 Genomes Project) have contributed to the understanding as to how a genetic change at the DNA level may affect proteins and, in turn, influence the appearance of traits.

HS.B.3.c. Obtain information to identify errors that occur during DNA replication (e.g., deletion, insertion, translocation, substitution, inversion, frame-shift, point mutations).

HS.B.4. Develop and use models to explain the role of the cell cycle during growth and maintenance in multicellular organisms (e.g., normal growth and/or uncontrolled growth resulting in tumors).

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

HS.B.7. Develop and use models to illustrate examples of ecological hierarchy levels, including biosphere, biome, ecosystem, community, population, and organism.

HS.B.8. Develop and use models to describe the cycling of matter (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, water) and flow of energy (e.g., food chains, food webs, biomass pyramids, ten percent law) between abiotic and biotic factors in ecosystems.

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

HS.B.11. Analyze and interpret data collected from probability calculations to explain the variation of expressed traits within a population.

HS.B.11.a. Use mathematics and computation to predict phenotypic and genotypic ratios and percentages by constructing Punnett squares, including using both homozygous and heterozygous allele pairs.

HS.B.11.c. Analyze and interpret data (e.g., pedigree charts, family and population studies) regarding Mendelian and complex genetic disorders (e.g., sickle-cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, type 2 diabetes) to determine patterns of genetic inheritance and disease risks from both genetic and environmental factors.

Unity and Diversity

HS.B.13. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain how organisms are classified by physical characteristics, organized into levels of taxonomy, and identified by binomial nomenclature (e.g., taxonomic classification, dichotomous keys).

HS.B.13.a. Engage in argument to justify the grouping of viruses in a category separate from living things.

HS.B.14. Analyze and interpret data to evaluate adaptations resulting from natural and artificial selection that may cause changes in populations over time (e.g., antibiotic-resistant bacteria, beak types, peppered moths, pest-resistant crops).

AL.HS.C. CHEMISTRY

Matter and Its Interactions

HS.C.2. Develop and use models of atomic nuclei to explain why the abundance-weighted average of isotopes of an element yields the published atomic mass.

HS.C.3. Use the periodic table as a systematic representation to predict properties of elements based on their valence electron arrangement.

HS.C.3.a. Analyze data such as physical properties to explain periodic trends of the elements, including metal/nonmetal/metalloid behavior, electrical/heat conductivity, electronegativity and electron affinity, ionization energy, and atomic-covalent/ionic radii, and how they relate to position in the periodic table.

HS.C.3.c. Use the periodic table as a model to derive formulas and names of ionic and covalent compounds.

HS.C.4. Plan and conduct an investigation to classify properties of matter as intensive (e.g., density, viscosity, specific heat, melting point, boiling point) or extensive (e.g., mass, volume, heat) and demonstrate how intensive properties can be used to identify a compound.

HS.C.5. Plan and conduct investigations to demonstrate different types of simple chemical reactions based on valence electron arrangements of the reactants and determine the quantity of products and reactants.

HS.C.5.a. Use mathematics and computational thinking to represent the ratio of reactants and products in terms of masses, molecules, and moles.

HS.C.5.b. Use mathematics and computational thinking to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during a chemical reaction.

HS.C.6. Use mathematics and computational thinking to express the concentrations of solutions quantitatively using molarity.

HS.C.6.a. Develop and use models to explain how solutes are dissolved in solvents.

HS.C.6.d. Use the concept of pH as a model to predict the relative properties of strong, weak, concentrated, and dilute acids and bases (e.g., Arrhenius and Brønsted-Lowry acids and bases).

HS.C.7. Plan and carry out investigations to explain the behavior of ideal gases in terms of pressure, volume, temperature, and number of particles.

HS.C.7.a. Use mathematics to describe the relationships among pressure, temperature, and volume of an enclosed gas when only the amount of gas is constant.

HS.C.7.b. Use mathematical and computational thinking based on the ideal gas law to determine molar quantities.

HS.C.8. Refine the design of a given chemical system to illustrate how LeChâtelier’s principle affects a dynamic chemical equilibrium when subjected to an outside stress (e.g., heating and cooling a saturated sugar-water solution).

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

HS.C.9. Analyze and interpret data (e.g., melting point, boiling point, solubility, phase-change diagrams) to compare the strength of intermolecular forces and how these forces affect physical properties and changes.

Energy

HS.C.10. Plan and conduct experiments that demonstrate how changes in a system (e.g., phase changes, pressure of a gas) validate the kinetic molecular theory.

HS.C.10.a. Develop a model to explain the relationship between the average kinetic energy of the particles in a substance and the temperature of the substance (e.g., no kinetic energy equaling absolute zero [0K or -273.15°C]).

HS.C.11. Construct an explanation that describes how the release or absorption of energy from a system depends upon changes in the components of the system.

HS.C.11.a. Develop a model to illustrate how the changes in total bond energy determine whether a chemical reaction is endothermic or exothermic.

HS.C.11.b. Plan and conduct an investigation that demonstrates the transfer of thermal energy in a closed system (e.g., using heat capacities of two components of differing temperatures).

AL.HS.P. PHYSICS

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

HS.P.1. Investigate and analyze, based on evidence obtained through observation or experimental design, the motion of an object using both graphical and mathematical models (e.g., creating or interpreting graphs of position, velocity, and acceleration versus time graphs for one- and two-dimensional motion; solving problems using kinematic equations for the case of constant acceleration) that may include descriptors such as position, distance traveled, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration.

HS.P.3. Evaluate qualitatively and quantitatively the relationship between the force acting on an object, the time of interaction, and the change in momentum using the impulse-momentum theorem.

HS.P.4. Identify and analyze forces responsible for changes in rotational motion and develop an understanding of the effect of rotational inertia on the motion of a rotating object (e.g., merry-go-round, spinning toy, spinning figure skater, stellar collapse [supernova], rapidly spinning pulsar).

Energy

HS.P.5. Construct models that illustrate how energy is related to work performed on or by an object and explain how different forms of energy are transformed from one form to another (e.g., distinguishing between kinetic, potential, and other forms of energy such as thermal and sound; applying both the work-energy theorem and the law of conservation of energy to systems such as roller coasters, falling objects, and spring-mass systems; discussing the effect of frictional forces on energy conservation and how it affects the motion of an object).

HS.P.6. Investigate collisions, both elastic and inelastic, to evaluate the effects on momentum and energy conservation.

HS.P.7. Plan and carry out investigations to provide evidence that the first and second laws of thermodynamics relate work and heat transfers to the change in internal energy of a system with limits on the ability to do useful work (e.g., heat engine transforming heat at high temperature into mechanical energy and low-temperature waste heat, refrigerator absorbing heat from the cold reservoir and giving off heat to the hot reservoir with work being done).

HS.P.7.b. Engage in argument from evidence regarding how the second law of thermodynamics applies to the entropy of open and closed systems.

Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

HS.P.8. Investigate the nature of wave behavior to illustrate the concept of the superposition principle responsible for wave patterns, constructive and destructive interference, and standing waves (e.g., organ pipes, tuned exhaust systems).

HS.P.8.a. Predict and explore how wave behavior is applied to scientific phenomena such as the Doppler effect and Sound Navigation and Ranging (SONAR).

HS.P.12. Use the principles of Ohm’s and Kirchhoff’s laws to design, construct, and analyze combination circuits using typical components (e.g., resistors, capacitors, diodes, sources of power).

AL.HS.HAP. HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

HS.HAP.2. Analyze characteristics of tissue types (e.g., epithelial tissue) and construct an explanation of how the chemical and structural organizations of the cells that form these tissues are specialized to conduct the function of that tissue (e.g., lining, protecting).

HS.HAP.4. Use models to identify the structure and function of the skeletal system (e.g., classification of bones by shape, classification of joints and the appendicular and axial skeletons).

HS.HAP.4.a. Obtain and communicate information to demonstrate understanding of the growth and development of the skeletal system (e.g., bone growth and remodeling).

HS.HAP.4.b. Obtain and communicate information to demonstrate understanding of the pathology of the skeletal system (e.g., types of bone fractures and their treatment, osteoporosis, rickets, other bone diseases).

HS.HAP.5. Develop and use models to illustrate the anatomy of the muscular system, including muscle locations and groups, actions, origins and insertions.

HS.HAP.5.a. Plan and conduct investigations to explain the physiology of the muscular system (e.g., muscle contraction/relaxation, muscle fatigue, muscle tone), including pathological conditions (e.g., muscular dystrophy).

HS.HAP.12. Obtain and communicate information to explain the lymphatic organs and their structure and function.

HS.HAP.12.a. Develop and use a model to explain the body’s lines of defense and immunity.

AL.HS.ESS. EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE

Earth’s Place in the Universe

HS.ESS.1. Develop and use models to illustrate the lifespan of the sun, including energy released during nuclear fusion that eventually reaches Earth through radiation.

HS.ESS.2. Engage in argument from evidence to compare various theories for the formation and changing nature of the universe and our solar system (e.g., Big Bang Theory, Hubble’s law, steady state theory, light spectra, motion of distant galaxies, composition of matter in the universe).

HS.ESS.3. Evaluate and communicate scientific information (e.g., Hertzsprung-Russell diagram) in reference to the life cycle of stars using data of both atomic emission and absorption spectra of stars to make inferences about the presence of certain elements.

HS.ESS.4. Apply mathematics and computational thinking in reference to Kepler’s laws, Newton’s laws of motion, and Newton’s gravitational laws to predict the orbital motion of natural and man-made objects in the solar system.

HS.ESS.5. Use mathematics to explain the relationship of the seasons to the tilt of Earth’s axis (e.g., zenith angle, solar angle, surface area) and its revolution about the sun, addressing intensity and distribution of sunlight on Earth’s surface.

HS.ESS.6. Obtain and evaluate information about Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, and Einstein to communicate how their findings challenged conventional thinking and allowed for academic advancements and space exploration.

Earth’s Systems

HS.ESS.7. Analyze and interpret evidence regarding the theory of plate tectonics, including geologic activity along plate boundaries and magnetic patterns in undersea rocks, to explain the ages and movements of continental and oceanic crusts.

HS.ESS.8. Develop a time scale model of Earth’s biological and geological history to establish relative and absolute age of major events in Earth’s history (e.g., radiometric dating, models of geologic cross sections, sedimentary layering, fossilization, early life forms, folding, faulting, igneous intrusions).

HS.ESS.9. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain how constructive and destructive processes (e.g., weathering, erosion, volcanism, orogeny, plate tectonics, tectonic uplift) shape Earth’s land features (e.g., mountains, valleys, plateaus) and sea features (e.g., trenches, ridges, seamounts).

HS.ESS.10. Construct an explanation from evidence for the processes that generate the transformation of rocks in Earth’s crust, including chemical composition of minerals and characteristics of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks.

HS.ESS.12. Develop a model of Earth’s layers using available evidence to explain the role of thermal convection in the movement of Earth’s materials (e.g., seismic waves, movement of tectonic plates).

HS.ESS.13. Analyze and interpret data of interactions between the hydrologic and rock cycles to explain the mechanical impacts (e.g., stream transportation and deposition, erosion, frost-wedging) and chemical impacts (e.g., oxidation, hydrolysis, carbonation) of Earth materials by water’s properties.

HS.ESS.14. Construct explanations from evidence to describe how changes in the flow of energy through Earth’s systems (e.g., volcanic eruptions, solar output, ocean circulation, surface temperatures, precipitation patterns, glacial ice volumes, sea levels, Coriolis effect) impact the climate.

HS.ESS.15. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to verify that weather (e.g., temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, dew point, adiabatic cooling, condensation, precipitation, winds, ocean currents, barometric pressure, wind velocity) is influenced by energy transfer within and among the atmosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere.

HS.ESS.15.a. Analyze patterns in weather data to predict various systems, including fronts and severe storms.

HS.ESS.15.b. Use maps and other visualizations to analyze large data sets that illustrate the frequency, magnitude, and resulting damage from severe weather events in order to predict the likelihood and severity of future events.

AL.HS.ES. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Earth and Human Activity

HS.ES.1. Investigate and analyze the use of nonrenewable energy sources (e.g., fossil fuels, nuclear, natural gas) and renewable energy sources (e.g., solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal) and propose solutions for their impact on the environment.

HS.ES.2. Use models to illustrate and communicate the role of photosynthesis and cellular respiration as carbon cycles through the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.

HS.ES.7. Analyze and interpret data to investigate how a single change on Earth’s surface may cause changes to other Earth systems (e.g., loss of ground vegetation causing an increase in water runoff and soil erosion).

HS.ES.9. Develop and use models to trace the flow of water, nitrogen, and phosphorus through the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere.

HS.ES.10. Design solutions for protection of natural water resources (e.g., bioassessment, methods of water treatment and conservation) considering properties, uses, and pollutants (e.g., eutrophication, industrial effluents, agricultural runoffs, point and nonpoint pollution resources).

HS.ES.11. Engage in argument from evidence to defend how coastal, marine, and freshwater sources (e.g., estuaries, marshes, tidal pools, wetlands, beaches, inlets, rivers, lakes, oceans, coral reefs) support biodiversity, economic stability, and human recreation.

HS.ES.12. Analyze and interpret data and climate models to predict how global or regional climate change can affect Earth’s systems (e.g., precipitation and temperature and their associated impacts on sea level, glacial ice volumes, and atmosphere and ocean composition).

HS.ES.13. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information based on evidence to explain how key natural resources (e.g., water sources, fertile soils, concentrations of minerals and fossil fuels), natural hazards, and climate changes influence human activity (e.g., mass migrations).

HS.ES.16. Obtain and evaluate information from published results of scientific computational models to illustrate the relationships among Earth’s systems and how these relationships may be impacted by human activity (e.g., effects of an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide on photosynthetic biomass, effect of ocean acidification on marine populations).

AL.RH.9-10. Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects

Craft and Structure

RH.9-10.4. Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to Grades 9-10 texts and topics.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

RH.9-10.7. Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.

AL.RH.9-10. Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

RH.9-10.7. Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.

AL.RH.11-12. Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects

Craft and Structure

RH.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to Grades 11-12 texts and topics.