HS-ESS3-4 | Reducing Human Impact on Natural Systems · NYS standard · Regents questions

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Revision as of 13:26, 13 October 2026 by Conrad (talk | contribs) (Section order: Vocabulary now comes before Performance Level Descriptions)
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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

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.
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.
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.
Level 4: Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
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.

Resources

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

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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
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