Unit Enduring Understandings, content:

By the end of this unit, you should have a better understanding of the following:

• There is no difference between objects at rest and objects that move in a straight line at a steady speed except their frame of reference.
• A net force causes a change in an object's velocity.
• If there are no forces on an object, the object’s velocity will not change. Another way to say this is: If an object is moving and there is no net force slowing it down, it will keep moving at a steady speed in the same direction. It will not require a force to “keep it going.”
• Mass, initial velocity, and time-duration of the collision all affect the amount of force it takes to stop an object.
• "Net forces cause changes in velocity" can be rephrased as " Net forces cause acceleration."  Acceleration can be calculated by measuring the change in velocity divided by the time during which the velocity changed.
• Acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on the object and inversely proportional to the mass of the object. This is Newton's second law.
• Because a net force causes objects to accelerate, if there is no net force, there is no acceleration. Newton’s first law says that if an object is moving and no net force exists, it will keep moving at the same speed in a straight line. This is really just another way to look at Newton’s second law.
• When two objects of different masses collide, they exert the same magnitude of force on one another in opposite directions. This is Newton’s third law. Because the magnitudes of the forces are the same, but the masses are not, they will have different accelerations because of Netwon's second law. Thus, while the magnitude of the force on each object is the same, the effect of that force is not the same. In this way, Newton’s third law is easily reconciled with Newton’s second law.
• Motion can be broken up into independent horizontal and vertical components.

Unit Enduring Understandings, pedagogy:

• Students have many alternate conceptions about forces and motion. It is imperative to identify these alternate conceptions and address them in the classroom so they do not interfere with learning physics or physical science.
• Students make sense of data when they carefully examine it, represent it, and describe what it means.

Unit Enduring Understandings

By the end of this unit, you should have a better understanding of the following:

• The solubility of a substance depends, in part, on the electronegativity of atoms in the substance and the polarity of the solvent. Polarity of molecules is related to the electronegativity of atoms making up the molecule, as well as the geometry of the molecule.
• Acidic and basic solutions vary in strength and concentration. The variance in strength and concentration affect the pH.
• Some acid-base processes can be explained by the relative attractions of particles for hydrogen ions.
• The activity of elements depends on the relative attractions of elements for electrons.
• Oxidation-reduction reactions can be manipulated to give predictable results.

Overview of the Unit

By the end of this unit, you should have a better understanding of the following:

The world is teeming with life. What do the diverse organisms living on the earth have in common with each other? How did this vast diversity and this similarity come to be? In this unit, you will explore and strengthen your understanding of evolution, one of the most powerful concepts in science. You will explore both the processes and the patterns of evolution. You will also explore techniques to help students change their conceptions of evolution—one of the biggest challenges in teaching biology. In the end, you come to appreciate what the geneticist Dobzhansky wrote in 1973, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.”

Enduring Understandings, content

• Populations and species change across time.
• All living and extinct organisms share common ancestors in the Tree of Life.
• Natural selection is a powerful mechanism of evolution.
• Multiple lines of evidence support evolution.

Enduring Understandings, pedagogy

• Many students possess misconceptions about evolution and natural selection that can interfere with their learning.
• It is important to put controversies about teaching evolution into a proper context.
• Effective questioning strategies can help students focus on important concepts.
• Managing an active classroom requires explicit strategies.

Unit Enduring Understandings

By the end of this unit, you should have a better understanding of the following:

• Gravity is a force of attraction between objects with mass.
• Gravity plays an important role in the formation of stars.
• Nuclear reactions in stars transform matter into energy. We detect the energy as heat and light.
• Stars have a life cycle that depends on their mass.
• Astronomers use light and heat (energy) from stars to study them.

Overview of the Unit

By the end of this unit, you should have a better understanding of the following:

In this unit, you will explore how the Earth has changed over time and how it formed. You will consider the evidence for a powerful mechanism of change on Earth: plate tectonics. You will be able to explain how this process works. Of course, the changes on Earth affect the living organisms on the Earth. You will examine evidence that help you link geologic changes to changes in living systems. Finally, you will step back and consider how many of the major concepts you’ve learned from Across the Sciences helps you understand the universe from a broader perspective. You will also demonstrate how a multidisciplinary perspective grounded in inquiry-based pedagogy has influenced the way you view the teaching and learning of science.

Enduring Understandings, content

• Different parts of the Earth system—such as continents, oceans, and ecosystems—change at different rates.
• Plate tectonics has shaped the surface of the Earth.
• Tectonic plates interact by crashing together, pulling apart, or grinding past one another.
• Many patterns of life on continents and in the oceans are linked to patterns of plate tectonics.

Enduring Understandings, pedagogy

• Learning to distinguish evidence and inference are important parts of scientific inquiry.
• Many students possess naïve conceptions about changes and its mechanisms on Earth.
• Lectures can be a part of teaching with inquiry, if used appropriately.