HS-ESS2-2 | Feedbacks in Earth’s Systems

From NY Science Standards Wiki
← HS-ESS2-1
HS-ESS2-3 →

Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to Earth’s systems.

Clarification statement: Examples should include climate feedbacks, such as how an increase in greenhouse gases causes a rise in global temperatures that melts glacial ice, which reduces the amount of sunlight reflected from Earth’s surface, increasing surface temperatures and further reducing the amount of ice. Examples could also be taken from other system interactions, such as how the loss of ground vegetation causes an increase in water runoff and soil erosion; how dammed rivers increase groundwater recharge, decrease sediment transport, and increase coastal erosion; or how the loss of wetlands causes a decrease in local humidity that further reduces the wetland extent.

Assessment

What assessment of HS-ESS2-2 might look like on a NY state exam.

Exam Cluster Question
August 2026 The Aral Sea Region Question 29
The Aral Sea Region Question 31
The Gulf Question 34
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’pai Volcano Question 42
June 2026 The Influence of Volcanoes on Earth’s Systems Question 25
The Siberian Traps Question 49
January 2026 Evolution of Early Earth Systems Question 12
Doggerland Question 24
Greenland's Glacial Ice Question 29
Energy and Mineral Resources Question 42
The Carboniferous Period Question 47
August 2025 The Power of Water Question 9
How Did Earth Get Its Water? Question 24
Dams and Flood Mitigation Question 38
June 2025 Modeling Earth Systems to Understand Global Climate Question 9
The Carbon Cycle Question 11
The Carbon Cycle Question 14
New York State's Hudson River Question 22
New York State's Hudson River Question 25
Ghost Forests Question 36
Human Impact on Earth Question 43
Human Impact on Earth Question 44
Sample clusters (Fall 2024) Earth's Climate Question 3
Earth's Climate Question 5
Sample clusters (Spring 2024) Plate Tectonics Question 6

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.

☐
Level 1: Using geoscience data/information, identify one change in Earth’s surface or an Earth system and how it will result in a change to another Earth system.
☐
Level 2: Identify the geoscience data/information that provides evidence for a given claim that a change to Earth’s surface or an Earth system results in a change to another Earth system or provides evidence to support/refute a given claim that a change to an Earth’s surface or one Earth system results in a change to another Earth system.
☐
Level 3: Analyze geoscience data/information to support the claim that a change to Earth’s surface or an Earth system can create a feedback that cause changes to one or more Earth’s system(s).
☐
Level 4: Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to Earth’s systems.
☐
Level 5: Compare and contrast various geoscience data sets to examine consistency of measurements and observations in order to make the claim that changes to Earth’s surface can create feedbacks that influence the stability of Earth’s systems over time.

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
  • absorption
  • atmosphere
  • climate feedback
  • climate system
  • coastal erosion
  • costs and benefits
  • dammed rivers
  • design solution
  • Earth
  • Earth materials
  • Earth’s surface
  • Earth’s systems
  • electromagnetic radiation
  • feedback
  • geoscience data
  • glacial ice
  • global temperatures
  • greenhouse gases
  • ground vegetation
  • groundwater recharge
  • humidity
  • ice
  • model
  • negative feedback
  • new technologies
  • observations
  • ocean
  • positive feedback
  • radiation
  • reflection
  • river
  • runoff
  • sediment transport
  • soil erosion
  • surface temperature
  • system feedback
  • wetland extent
  • wetland loss
  • wetlands
From released exam questions
Implied by this standard
  • greenhouse effect – implied by "how an increase in greenhouse gases causes a rise in global temperatures"

Resources

Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of HS-ESS2-2.

Pixel beaver This section could be expanded upon. You can help out by adding to this section.


NGSS Dimensions

Performance expectation HS-ESS2-2 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices
  • Analyzing and interpreting data: Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (e.g., computational, mathematical) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims or determine an optimal design solution.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
  • Earth Materials and Systems: Earth’s systems, being dynamic and interacting, cause feedback effects that can increase or decrease the original changes.
  • Weather and climate: The foundation for Earth’s global climate systems is the electromagnetic radiation from the sun, as well as its reflection, absorption, storage, and redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and land systems, and this energy’s re-radiation into space.
Crosscutting Concepts
  • Stability and change: Feedback (negative or positive) can stabilize or destabilize a system.
  • Influence of engineering, technology, and science on society and the natural world: New technologies can have deep impacts on society and the environment, including some that were not anticipated. Analysis of costs and benefits is a critical aspect of decisions about technology.
Page contributors: Conrad Richman, Caroline Leonard
Earth and Space Science | HS. Earth's Systems
Retrieved from "https://nyssls.info/index.php?title=HS-ESS2-2&oldid=5752"

About Us • Privacy Policy • Contact Us • Terms of Use