HS-ESS3-4

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Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.

Clarification statement: Examples of data on the impacts of human activities could include the quantities and types of pollutants released, changes to biomass and species diversity, or areal changes in land surface use (such as for urban development, agriculture and livestock, or surface mining). Examples for limiting future impacts could range from local efforts (such as reducing, reusing, and recycling resources) to large-scale geoengineering design solutions (such as altering global temperatures by making large changes to the atmosphere or ocean).

Regents Exam Questions

Released New York State Regents exam questions that assess HS-ESS3-4 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	Dams on the Colorado River	Question 22
June 2026 Earth and Space Sciences Regents	The Slow Carbon Cycle	Question 13
	Lake Nyos	Question 36
January 2026 Earth and Space Sciences Regents	Mined and Mineral Resources of New York State	Question 16
	Mined and Mineral Resources of New York State	Question 18
August 2025 Earth and Space Sciences Regents	The Power of Water	Question 8
	Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide	Question 50
June 2025 Earth and Space Sciences Regents	New York State's Hudson River	Question 24
	Tectonics of the Hawaiian Islands	Question 50

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
• biomass
• complex real-world problem
• constraints
• cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics
• criteria
• design solution
• Earth
• ecosystem degradation
• feedback
• geoengineering
• geoscience problem
• global temperatures
• human activity
• human impacts
• impacts of human activities
• land surface use
• livestock
• natural systems
• ocean
• pollutants
• pollution
• prioritized criteria
• recycling
• social, cultural, and environmental impacts
• species diversity
• surface mining
• technological solution
• urban development

From released exam questions

• alkaline – June 2026
• atmospheric oxygen – Aug 2025
• blending ratio – Jan 2026
• canyon – Aug 2026
• carbon – Aug 2025
• carbon dioxide – June 2026, Aug 2025
• carbon emissions – Jan 2026
• carbon mineralization – June 2026
• contaminated sediments – June 2025
• dams – Aug 2026
• degassing pipes – June 2026
• deposition – Jan 2026
• dredging – June 2025
• drinking water – Jan 2026
• enhanced rock weathering – June 2026
• erosion – June 2025
• fossil fuels – June 2026, Aug 2025
• geologic time – Aug 2025
• global warming – Jan 2026
• hydrogen – Aug 2025
• hydrosphere – Aug 2025
• mafic – June 2026
• magma – June 2026
• mineral weathering – Aug 2025
• minerals – June 2026
• model – Aug 2026, June 2026, Aug 2025, June 2025
• ocean acidification – Aug 2025
• ocean floor – Aug 2025
• outgassing – June 2026
• pumped storage reservoir – Aug 2025
• reclamation – Jan 2026
• renewable resource – Aug 2025
• river – Aug 2026, Jan 2026, Aug 2025, June 2025
• runoff – Jan 2026
• sea level rise – June 2025
• seawall – June 2025
• sediment – Jan 2026, Aug 2025, June 2025
• shoreline – Aug 2025, June 2025
• Superfund site – June 2025
• ultramafic – June 2026
• volcanic eruptions – June 2026
• water quality – June 2025
• water vapor – Aug 2025

Performance Level Descriptions

Every Regents exam question on HS-ESS3-4 is written to match one of the performance level descriptions (PLDs) below.

Level 1: Given a technological solution, identify the natural system that is being impacted by human activity or identify how the solution reduces the impact on a natural system. Aug 2025 · Q8

Level 2: Given a technological solution to a geoscience problem, identify how the solution reduces impacts of human activities on the natural system or identify how the solution reduces the impact on humans. Aug 2026 · Q22 Jan 2026 · Q16 Jan 2026 · Q18 Aug 2025 · Q50

Level 3: Given a technological solution, describe the geoscience problem being addressed and how the solution reduces the impact of human activities on a natural system. June 2025 · Q50

Level 4: Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems. June 2026 · Q36 June 2026 · Q13 June 2025 · Q24

Level 5: Use scientific information to generate a number of possible refinements to a technological solution. Describe and quantify the criteria, constraints, and tradeoffs of the solution to the problem that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.

Notice: PLD levels!

Resources

Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of HS-ESS3-4.

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

NGSS Dimensions

Performance expectation HS-ESS3-4 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: Design or refine a solution to a complex real-world problem, based on scientific knowledge, student-generated sources of evidence, prioritized criteria, and tradeoff considerations.

Disciplinary Core Ideas

• Human impacts on Earth systems: Scientists and engineers can make major contributions by developing technologies that produce less pollution and waste and that preclude ecosystem degradation.
• Developing possible solutions: When evaluating solutions, it is important to take into account a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, and to consider social, cultural, and environmental impacts.

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: Engineers continuously modify these systems to increase benefits while decreasing costs and risks.

Page contributors: Conrad Richman, Caroline Leonard

Earth and Space Science | HS. Human Sustainability