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Honors Earth Science

Course Description

This course focuses on the concepts of Earth and Space Science. It will explore the structure and development of the Earth and its systems.

Course Big Ideas

  • Earth’s Cycles- Carbon, Water & Rock Cycles. 
  • Weathering & Erosion- How they impact the surface of the Earth. 
  • Earth’s Interior- The structure and layering of the Earth. 
  • Plate Tectonics- The structure and movement of Earth’s Lithosphere and the forces that change it over time.
  • Earthquakes & Volcanoes- How and why they occur, associated hazards & their impact on humans/Earth.
  • Natural Resources & Human Impact- Look at different renewable and nonrenewable resources, how they are used/conserved/managed as well as their impact on land, rivers, ocean and air. 

Course Essential Questions

  • How do different cycles and energy transfer impact the Earth’s surface? 
  • How does the energy transfer inside the Earth impact movement and changes on the Earth’s surface? 
  • What are the natural processes that can adversely affect humans? 
  • What are the different resources that humans depend on and how do humans change the planet? 

Course Competencies

  • Develop models on Earth’s different cycles (carbon, water, rock) to illustrate the relationships between systems or between components of a system. 
  • Analyze the difference between mechanical and chemical weathering in order to identify the different processes involved. 
  • Be able to identify parts of an erosional/depositional system. 
  • Analyze and interpret data from the Earth’s Interior to be able to develop different relationships among the layers. 
  • Construct a scaled model of the Earth’s Interior. 
  • Based on past plate position, be able to identify current plate boundaries and their respective movements as well as the features they create. 
  • Interpret a seismogram to be able to triangulate the Earthquake’s origin. 
  • Construct models on the different types of volcanoes and label the different prominent features. 
  • Compare and contrast the differences between the different types of volcanoes and their features.
  • Demonstrate knowledge pertaining to natural disasters through investigating different disasters in recent history. 
  • Construct an argument to explain the benefits/negatives and costs of various types of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. 

Course Assessments

  • Projects
  • Labs 
  • Formal and Informal Assessments 

Course Units