HS-ESS3-6

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Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.

Clarification statement: Examples of Earth systems to be considered are the hydrosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, and/or biosphere. An example of the far-reaching impacts from a human activity is how an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide results in an increase in photosynthetic biomass on land and an increase in ocean acidification, with resulting impacts on sea organism health and marine populations.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include running computational representations but is limited to using the published results of scientific computational models.

Regents Exam Questions

Released New York State Regents exam questions that assess HS-ESS3-6 are listed here by exam and question cluster. Each link opens the question with its answer key.

Exam	Cluster	Question
August 2026 Earth and Space Sciences Regents	Earth’s Oceans–A Climate Change Indicator	Question 16
	Carbon Emissions in Industry	Question 25
	The Gulf	Question 33
June 2026 Earth and Space Sciences Regents	New York’s Concrete Industry	Question 29
	New York’s Concrete Industry	Question 30
January 2026 Earth and Space Sciences Regents	Doggerland	Question 27
August 2025 Earth and Space Sciences Regents	Dams and Flood Mitigation	Question 37
	Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide	Question 47
	Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide	Question 48
	Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide	Question 49
June 2025 Earth and Space Sciences Regents	Mining and Use of Lithium	Question 34

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

• atmosphere
• biosphere
• carbon dioxide
• climate change
• computational representation
• computer simulation
• cryosphere
• design solution
• Earth
• geosphere
• global climate models
• global temperatures
• greenhouse gases
• human activity
• hydrosphere
• marine populations
• model
• ocean
• ocean acidification
• photosynthetic biomass
• regional climate change
• sea organism health

From released exam questions

• acidic – Aug 2025
• agricultural runoff – Aug 2026
• algal bloom – Aug 2025
• alkaline – Aug 2025
• aquifer – Aug 2025
• basin – Aug 2026
• biodiversity – Aug 2025
• brine – June 2025
• carbon – Jan 2026
• carbon emissions – June 2026, Jan 2026
• carbon footprint – June 2026
• carbonate ions – Aug 2025
• delta – Aug 2025
• dissolved oxygen – Aug 2026
• dredging – Aug 2026
• drinking water – Aug 2025
• emissions – June 2026
• erosion – Aug 2026
• evaporation – June 2025
• evapotranspiration – June 2026
• groundwater – Aug 2025
• hydrogen – Aug 2025
• hypoxia – Aug 2026
• hypoxic zone – Aug 2026
• impermeable – June 2026
• infiltration – June 2026
• irrigation – Aug 2025
• lakes – Aug 2026
• land use – June 2025
• lithosphere – Aug 2026, June 2025
• marine calcifiers – Aug 2025
• migration – Aug 2025
• mining – Aug 2026
• ocean heat content – Aug 2026
• oxygen – Aug 2026, Aug 2025
• peninsula – Aug 2026
• pH scale – Aug 2025
• river – Aug 2026, Aug 2025
• runoff – June 2026
• sand mining – Aug 2026
• sea level – Aug 2026
• sediment transport – Aug 2025
• surface temperature – Aug 2026
• tributary – Aug 2026
• urbanization – June 2026
• water cycle – June 2026
• water table – Aug 2025
• watershed – Aug 2026
• wetlands – Aug 2026, Aug 2025

Performance Level Descriptions

Every Regents exam question on HS-ESS3-6 is written to match one of the performance level descriptions (PLDs) below.

Level 1: Given data and/or a model (computational/ graphic representation), identify how one Earth system is being modified due to human activity. June 2025 Question 34

Level 2: Given data and/or a model (computational representation), identify the relationship between two Earth systems that are being modified due to human activity. June 2026 Question 29

Level 3: Given data and/or a model (computational representation), describe a relationship among Earth systems and how that relationship is being modified due to human activity. August 2026 Question 33

Level 4: Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.

Level 5: Create a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and make a claim using empirical data about how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.

Notice: PLD levels!

Resources

Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of HS-ESS3-6.

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

NGSS Dimensions

Performance expectation HS-ESS3-6 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices

• Using mathematics and computational thinking: Use a computational representation of phenomena or design solutions to describe and/or support claims and/or explanations.

Disciplinary Core Ideas

• Weather and climate: Current models predict that, although future regional climate changes will be complex and varied, average global temperatures will continue to rise. The outcomes predicted by global climate models strongly depend on the amounts of human-generated greenhouse gases added to the atmosphere each year and by the ways in which these gases are absorbed by the ocean and biosphere.
• Global climate change: Through computer simulations and other studies, important discoveries are still being made about how the ocean, the atmosphere, and the biosphere interact and are modified in response to human activities.

Crosscutting Concepts

• Systems and system models: When investigating or describing a system, the boundaries and initial conditions of the system need to be defined and their inputs and outputs analyzed and described using models.

Page contributors: Conrad Richman, Caroline Leonard

Earth and Space Science | HS. Human Sustainability