Any opinions,
findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are
those of the developer, PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE, and do not necessarily
reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Kentucky Academic Expectations
The Kentucky Academic Expectations for science you can cover using "To MARS with MER" are listed below. We hope you will discover additional
standards you can use. These are the ones our Instructional Materials Development team
felt most directly related to the activities planned for "To MARS with MER".
Kentucky Academic Expectations
Academic Expectation 2.1
Students understand scientific ways of thinking and working and use those methods to solve real-life problems.
Demonstrators should be read from bottom to top, but need not be demonstrated sequentially.
Elementary Demonstrators
• Observe and communicate properties of objects or organisms using all senses
• Classify and order objects by one or more identifiable properties.
• Collect data by using a variety of observation techniques and measurement tools.
• Record and represent data in an organized form (e.g., tabular, graphic formats).
• Infer and formulate explanations or predict an outcome based on data.
• Identify variables that cause or influence an outcome.
• Design, conduct, and report an investigation or experiment.
Middle School Demonstrators
• Communicate measurements made with common and advanced technological tools.
• Classify objects using multiple criteria.
• Construct operational definitions to explain concepts or facilitate experiments/investigations.
• Interpret data to inter relationships and apply to new situations.
• Formulate models to illustrate or predict phenomena.
• Identify significant variables that affect the outcome of an experiment and design controls for the experiment.
• Design and conduct a controlled experiment based upon student-generated observations and hypotheses.
High School Demonstrators
• Evaluate a variety of quantified data to draw conclusions, infer relationships, and predict outcomes.
• Formulate a tentative conclusion based on limited data.
• Differentiate between correlation and cause-and- effect relationships.
• Evaluate alternatives to the experimental method as a means of inquiry.
• Manipulate variables within an experiment to determine the effects of each on a phenomenon.
• Use mathematical formulas to express relationships in new situations.
• Design and perform an inquiry of a real-life situation which extends knowledge from a previous experiment or investigation.
Academic Expectation 2.2
Students identify, analyze, and use patterns such as cycles and trends to understand past and present events and predict possible future events.
Demonstrators should be read from bottom to top, but need not be demonstrated sequentially.
Elementary Demonstrators
• Use senses to observe items; communicate similarities and/or differences.
• Identify and communicate common attributes of items in a group.
• Classify objects according to one property or attribute.
• Classify objects according to more than one property or attribute.
• Recognize, describe, and create patterns (e.g., repeating, developmental, behavioral, symmetrical, cyclical) of objects or events.
• Demonstrate relationships among patterns.
• Make predictions (extrapolate and interpolate) based on patterns.
Middle School Demonstrators
• Identify causes of observed patterns.
• Analyze collected data to discover patterns and predict outcomes.
• Formulate a pattern which represents an observed set of occurrences (e.g., data tables, equations).
• Investigate the existence of small- scale variations within a large-scale pattern.
• Investigate the relationships and interactions of two or more patterns.
High School Demonstrators
• Compare and contrast regular, irregular, and cyclic patterns.
• Represent patterns using mathematical expressions.
• Demonstrate interrelationships among multiple cycles and one or more rhythms.
• Evaluate and represent possible correlations between sets of observed data.
• Predict trends or events, given sets of long-term or systemic data, and evaluate outcomes.
Academic Expectation 2.3
Students identify and analyze systems and the ways their components work together or affect each other.
Demonstrators should be read from bottom to top, but need not be demonstrated sequentially.
Elementary Demonstrators
• Recognize things that work together.
• Identify components of a system.
• Communicate functions of a system.
• Classify systems based on functions or properties.
• Distinguish between systems and subsystems and describe interactions between them.
• Analyze how the properties of the components of a system affect their function within the system Investigate system feedback and self-regulation.
• Create a system.
Middle School Demonstrators
• Investigate and illustrate a system; identify its components and interrelationships with other systems.
• Demonstrate how a single system can have multiple functions and applications.
• Investigate the role of energy flow in systems.
• Evaluate the effects of subsystems and their components on a system.
• Design a new system or modify an existing one.
High School Demonstrators
• Analyze the effects and limitations.
• Analyze the role of effective communication and feedback within and among systems.
• Differentiate between cause and effect in a malfunctioning system.
• Design and implement a series of systems with multiple subsystems to achieve an outcome.
Academic Expectation 2.4
Students use the concept of scale and scientific models to explain the organization and functioning of living and nonliving things and predict other characteristics that might be observed.
Scale: Time Scales, Physical Dimensions, Measurement Scales (Fundamental and Derived Units)
Demonstrators should be read from bottom to top, but need not be demonstrated sequentially.
Elementary Demonstrators
• Investigate models that represent objects, events, or systems.
• Investigate models to determine how things work.
• Represent a real event, object, or concept with a model.
• Use models to depict the function of an object, event, or system.
• Investigate the significance of perspective.
• Evaluate appropriateness of components and scale to a real object being modeled.
Middle School Demonstrators
• Formulate multiple perspectives through the use of a model.
• Evaluate the functions, behaviors, and limitations implied by a model.
• Investigate properties that change or remain constant with changes in scale.
High School Demonstrators
• Use a model to analyze or predict behavior of objects, materials, or living things.
• Evaluate the appropriateness of the scale of a model and its effects on the model's behavior.
• Identify assumptions underlying a model and evaluate their effects on the appropriateness of the model.
• Represent an idea, structure, or system with various types of models (e.g., physical, conceptual, mathematical).
Academic Expectation 2.5
Students understand that under certain conditions nature tends to remain the same or move toward a balance.
Learning Links
Instinct / Friendship / Balance / Time / Communication / Pi / The Past / Emotions / Learning
Related Concepts
Physical Constancy (e.g., gravity, speed of light)
