MS-ESS2-5 | Weather and Air Masses · NYS standard

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Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on how air flows from regions of high pressure to low pressure, the complex interactions at air mass boundaries, and the movements of air masses affect weather (defined by temperature, pressure, humidity, precipitation, and wind at a fixed location and time). Emphasis is on how weather can be predicted within probabilistic ranges. Data can be provided to students (such as weather maps, diagrams, and visualizations) or obtained through laboratory experiments (such as with condensation).

Assessment boundary: Assessment includes the application of weather data systems but does not include recalling the names of cloud types, weather symbols used on weather maps, the reported diagrams from weather stations, or the interrelationship of weather variables.

Grade 8 Science Test Questions

No released Grade 8 science test questions for MS-ESS2-5 have been added to the wiki yet.

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Performance Level Descriptions

Every Grade 8 Science Test question on MS-ESS2-5 is written to match one of the performance level descriptions (PLDs) below.

Level 1: Given data and the motions or interactions of air masses, identify a resulting change in weather conditions.
Level 2: Given data, identify the evidence for how the motions or interactions of complex air masses results in changes to a weather condition.
Level 3: Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions.
Level 4: Collect data from multiple sources to provide evidence for how motions and complex interactions of different air masses, and the interrelationship of weather variables, results in different changes in weather conditions.


Resources

Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of MS-ESS2-5.

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NGSS Dimensions

Performance expectation MS-ESS2-5 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices
  • Cause and Effect
    • Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
  • ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth's Surface Processes
    • The complex patterns of the changes and the movement of water in the atmosphere, determined by winds, landforms, and ocean temperatures and currents, are major determinants of local weather patterns.
  • ESS2.D: Weather and Climate
    • Because these patterns are so complex, weather can only be predicted probabilistically.
Crosscutting Concepts
  • Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
    • Collect data to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence to answer scientific questions or test design solutions under a range of conditions.
MS | MS. Weather and Climate