HS-ESS1-6

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Apply scientific reasoning and evidence from ancient Earth materials, meteorites, and other planetary surfaces to construct an account of Earth’s formation and early history.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on using available evidence within the solar system to reconstruct the early history of Earth, which formed along with the rest of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. Examples of evidence include the absolute ages of ancient materials (obtained by radiometric dating of meteorites, moon rocks, and Earth’s rocks and minerals), the sizes and compositions of solar system objects, and the impact cratering record of planetary surfaces.

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 5Level 4Level 3Level 2Level 1

Analyze empirical evidence from multiple sources, to construct an explanation of Earth's formation and early history, based upon the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.

Apply scientific reasoning and evidence from ancient Earth materials, meteorites, and other planetary surfaces to construct an account of Earth's formation and early history.

Using evidence and scientific reasoning from ancient Earth materials, or meteorites, or other planetary surfaces, construct an account of Earth's formation and/or early history, or use evidence from radiometric dating of rocks and/or other materials to construct an account of the formation or early history of objects in the solar system.

Using evidence from ancient Earth materials, or meteorites, or other planetary surfaces (other objects in the solar system) to support/refute a given explanation of Earth's formation and/or early history, or use evidence from radiometric dating to support/refute a given explanation of the formation of a solar system object.

Identify the evidence (radiometric dating, impact cratering), from those provided, that supports/refutes a given explanation of Earth's or another planetary surface's formation or early history.

Resources

Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of HS-ESS1-6.

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Assessment

What assessment of HS-ESS1-6 might look like on a NY state exam.

• Plate Tectonics Q2
• Theia and the Moon Q2
• Theia and the Moon Q3
• Theia and the Moon Q5

NGSS Dimensions

Performance expectation HS-ESS1-6 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices

• Constructing explanations and designing solutions: Apply scientific reasoning to link evidence to the claims to assess the extent to which the reasoning and data support the explanation or conclusion.
• Science models, laws, mechanisms, and theories explain natural phenomena: A scientific theory is a substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment and the science community validates each theory before it is accepted. If new evidence is discovered that the theory does not accommodate, the theory is generally modified in light of this new evidence.
• Science models, laws, mechanisms, and theories explain natural phenomena: Models, mechanisms, and explanations collectively serve as tools in the development of a scientific theory.

Disciplinary Core Ideas

• The history of planet Earth: Although active geologic processes, such as plate tectonics and erosion, have destroyed or altered most of the very early rock record on Earth, other objects in the solar system, such as lunar rocks, asteroids, and meteorites, have changed little over billions of years. Studying these objects can provide information about Earth’s formation and early history.
• Nuclear processes: Spontaneous radioactive decay follows a characteristic exponential decay law allowing an element’s half-life to be used for radiometric dating of rocks and other materials.

Crosscutting Concepts

• Stability and change: Much of science deals with constructing explanations of how things change and how they remain stable.

Page contributors: Conrad Richman, Caroline Leonard

Earth and Space Science | HS. History of the Earth