MS-ESS2-6 | Global Circulation and Climate · NYS standard · Grade 8 test questions
Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on how patterns vary by latitude, altitude, and geographic land distribution. Emphasis is on the sunlight-driven latitudinal banding causing differences in density that create convection currents in the atmosphere, the Coriolis effect, and resulting prevailing winds; emphasis of ocean circulation is on the transfer of heat by the global ocean convection cycle, which is constrained by the Coriolis effect and the coastlines of continents. Examples of models could include diagrams, maps and globes, or digital representations.
Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include the dynamics of the Coriolis effect.
Grade 8 Science Test Questions
Released New York State Grade 8 science test questions that assess MS-ESS2-6 are listed here by test and question cluster. Each link opens the question with its answer key.
| Exam | Cluster | Question |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2025 Grade 8 Test | Mount Lyell and the Lyell Glacier | Question 8 |
Vocabulary
Terms from the Middle School Science Glossary that come from this standard or from the released Grade 8 Science Test questions that assess it.
- absorb energy
- altitude
- atmosphere
- atmospheric circulation
- climate
- climate change
- coastline
- convection
- convection current
- Coriolis effect
- density
- diagram
- geographic land distribution
- geography
- global ocean convection cycle
- heat
- heat transfer
- landform
- latitude
- latitudinal banding
- living thing
- map
- model
- ocean
- ocean circulation
- ocean current
- oceanic circulation
- prevailing wind
- redistribute
- regional climate
- release energy
- rotation of Earth
- salinity
- sunlight
- temperature
- unequal heating
- weather
- wind
- absorption – Spring 2025
- energy – Spring 2025
- glacial ice – Spring 2025
- glacier – Spring 2025
- light – Spring 2025
- local climate – Spring 2025
- melting – Spring 2025
- reflection – Spring 2025
Performance Level Descriptions
Every Grade 8 Science Test question on MS-ESS2-6 is written to match one of the performance level descriptions (PLDs) below.
Resources
Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of MS-ESS2-6.
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NGSS Dimensions
Performance expectation MS-ESS2-6 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:
- Developing and Using Models
- Develop and use a model to describe phenomena.
- ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth's Surface Processes
- Variations in density due to variations in temperature and salinity drive a global pattern of interconnected ocean currents.
- ESS2.D: Weather and Climate
- Weather and climate are influenced by interactions involving sunlight, the ocean, the atmosphere, ice, landforms, and living things. These interactions vary with latitude, altitude, and local and regional geography, all of which can affect oceanic and atmospheric flow patterns.
- The ocean exerts a major influence on weather and climate by absorbing energy from the Sun, releasing it over time, and globally redistributing it through ocean currents.
- Systems and System Models
- Models can be used to represent systems and their interactions—such as inputs, processes and outputs—and energy and matter flows within systems.