HS-ESS1-1 | The Sun and Its Energy

From NY Science Standards Wiki
HS-ESS1-2 →

Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the Sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the Sun’s core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on the energy transfer mechanisms that allow energy from nuclear fusion in the Sun’s core to reach Earth. Examples of evidence for the model could include observations of the masses and lifetimes of other stars, as well as the ways that the Sun’s radiation varies due to sudden solar flares (“space weather”), the 11-year sunspot cycle, and non-cyclic variations over centuries.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include details of the atomic and sub-atomic processes involved with the Sun’s nuclear fusion.

Note: this is a NYSED-specific performance expectation that is different from the Next Generation Science Standards.

Assessment

What assessment of HS-ESS1-1 might look like on a NY state exam.

Exam Cluster Question
August 2026 Stars and Elements in the Universe Question 48
June 2026 Stars and Stellar Evolution Question 7
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Question 22
Planetary Transits Question 44
August 2025 Energy in the Sun Question 1
Energy in the Sun Question 2
Energy in the Sun Question 3
Energy in the Sun Question 4
June 2025 Our Sun – A Star Question 1
Our Sun – A Star Question 2
Stars and the Big Bang Question 16
Stars and the Big Bang Question 18

Performance Level Descriptions

PLDs communicate the knowledge and skills expected of students to demonstrate proficiency in each Learning Standard. NYS assessments classify student performance into one of five levels.

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Level 1: Given a model, and/or information, identify the evidence, from those provided, that determines the lifespan of the Sun or illustrates the role of nuclear fusion in the Sun’s core to release energy or identify the correct pattern, from those provided, that shows variation in solar output.
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Level 2: Given a model, and/or information, describe the evidence that determines the lifespan of the Sun or illustrates the role of nuclear fusion in the Sun’s core to release energy or ways that the Sun’s radiation varies.
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Level 3: Complete a model based on evidence to illustrate the lifespan of the Sun and/or the role of nuclear fusion in the Sun’s core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth (in the form of radiation).
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Level 4: Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the lifespan of the Sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the Sun’s core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation.
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Level 5: Develop and critique models, based on evidence, that illustrate the lifespan of the Sun, the role of nuclear fusion, and how energy from the Sun reaches Earth in the form of electromagnetic radiation, using scale, proportion, and quantity to evaluate the models’ validity and limitations in order to revise them.

Vocabulary

Terms from the Earth & Space Science Glossary that come from this standard or from the released exam questions that assess it.

From this standard
  • Earth
  • electromagnetic radiation
  • energy transfer
  • energy transfer mechanisms
  • life span of the sun
  • lifetimes of other stars
  • mass
  • model
  • non-cyclic variations
  • nuclear fusion
  • observations
  • radiation
  • release energy
  • solar flares
  • solar output
  • space weather
  • stars
  • sun’s core
  • sunspot cycle
  • universe
From released exam questions

Resources

Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of HS-ESS1-1.

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NGSS Dimensions

Performance expectation HS-ESS1-1 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices
  • Developing and Using Models
    • Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the relationships between systems or between components of a system.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
  • ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars
    • The star called the sun is changing and will burn out over a lifespan of approximately 10 billion years.
  • PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life
    • Nuclear Fusion processes in the center of the sun release the energy that ultimately reaches Earth as radiation. (secondary to HS-ESS1-1)
Crosscutting Concepts
  • Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
    • The significance of a phenomenon is dependent on the scale, proportion, and quantity at which it occurs.
Page contributors: Conrad Richman, Caroline Leonard
Earth and Space Science | HS. Space Systems
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