The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are organized to support students' science learning across three interwoven dimensions: science and engineering practices, cross-cutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. The standards are designed to progress over multiple grade levels as students develop cognitively and gain science proficiency, with core ideas in four major science disciplines addressed with greater depth and sophistication throughout the K-12 progression.
In Physical Science, the disciplinary core idea known as PS4 centers on the properties and behavior of wave phenomena, like light and sound, including how waves transfer energy from place to place without the overall displacement of matter. It also explores how these principles are applied in technologies in order to transfer information over long distances.
PS4 and its component ideas related to wave properties and their application are addressed in Grades 1, 4, and 8 by several NGSS performance indicators. The storylines have been developed for each of these grade levels to explore a phenomenon related to waves and the transfer of information. Together, they support students' deepening understanding of the core idea PS4 throughout their primary education.
How do animal parents and babies make sounds to communicate and survive? Vibrating materials can create sound, which can be used to communicate over distances.
Read MoreHow does sound travel and carry information? Waves are regular patterns of motion with amplitude and wavelength; these patterns transfer information.
Read MoreHow can your voice shatter glass? Wave properties influence how they are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through materials, affecting signal transmission.
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