Unpacked Content
Scientific and Engineering Practices
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Crosscutting Concepts
Cause and Effect
Knowledge
Students know:
- Climate changes can occur if any of Earth's systems change.
- Some climate changes were rapid shifts (volcanic eruptions, meteoric impacts, changes in ocean currents), other were gradual and longer term-due, for example to the rise of plants and other life forms that modified the atmosphere via photosynthesis.
Skills
Students are able to:
- Analyze data to explain aspects of how energy flow impacts climate.
Understanding
Students understand that:
- Natural factors that cause climate changes over human time scales include variations in the sun's energy output, ocean circulation patterns, atmospheric composition, and volcanic activity.
Vocabulary
- volcanic eruption
- solar output
- ocean circulation
- surface temperature
- precipitation patterns
- glacial ice volumes
- sea levels
- Coriolis effect
- jet stream
