Framework

Field 114: Earth and Space Science

The framework below is a detailed outline that explains the knowledge and skills that this assessment measures.

Framework

Pie chart of approximate test weighting outlined in the table below.

Domain Range of Competencies Approximate Percentage of Assessment Score
 1  Universe and Space Systems 0001–0002 25%
 2  Earth's History and Processes 0003–0004 23%
 3  Earth Systems and Interactions 0005–0007 30%
 4  Natural Resources and Human Impacts 0008–0009 22%
Domain  1 –Universe and Space Systems

0001 Understand the origin, structure, and composition of the universe, including through the use of crosscutting concepts and science and engineering practices.

Includes:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of the theories and supporting evidence for the origin of the universe (e.g., background radiation, redshift, abundance of light elements), including ongoing effects (e.g., star populations, expansion).
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of the types and modes of detection for energy and matter in the universe (e.g., normal matter, dark matter, dark energy).
  3. Demonstrate knowledge of the tools (e.g., telescopes, spectrometers, particle detectors) and techniques (e.g., gravitational lensing, imaging, parallax, redshift, remote sensing) used to observe the universe, including common measurements of distance (e.g., astronomical units, light years, parsecs) and the techniques and objects used to determine distances in space (e.g., parallax, Cepheids, redshift, standard candles).
  4. Demonstrate knowledge of the structures present in the universe (e.g., galaxies, stellar neighborhoods, clusters), including their formation and characteristics.

0002 Understand the characteristics and development of solar systems, stars, and planets, including through the use of crosscutting concepts and science and engineering practices.

Includes:

  1. Apply knowledge of the different types of stars, including their origin, characteristics (e.g., luminosity, magnitude, size, age), gravitational forces, and the objects and materials they leave behind (e.g., quasars, black holes, heavy elements).
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of the processes that occur within a star (e.g., nucleosynthesis, heat transfer mechanisms), including the effects those processes have on planets within their system (e.g., gravitational effects, solar flares, sunspots, changes to insolation, composition).
  3. Apply knowledge of Kepler's and Newton's laws to astronomical bodies (e.g., planets, stars, satellites, black holes), including their interactions with other objects in the universe.
  4. Demonstrate knowledge of planet types, planet formation, and habitability, including for planets found outside the Sol system.
  5. Demonstrate knowledge of the notable nonplanetary objects within the Sol system (e.g., asteroids, moons, and comets), including their motion, their formation, their composition, and their characteristics.
  6. Apply knowledge of the orbital interactions that occur between the Earth, moon, and sun, including phenomena that could occur on Earth (e.g., tides, seasons, eclipses).
Domain  2 –Earth's History and Processes

0003 Understand the Earth's history and its internal structure, including through the use of crosscutting concepts and science and engineering practices.

Includes:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of the geologic history of the Earth, including the major divisions of the geologic timescale, evidence for the age of the Earth, and the causes and consequences of key events (e.g., oxygenation of the atmosphere, mass extinctions, dominant life forms as a result of an event, periods of glaciation, changes in Earth's climate, tectonic plate movement).
  2. Apply knowledge of techniques used to determine the age of strata and fossils, including the use of the principles of stratigraphy (e.g., superposition, original horizontality, uniformitarianism), index fossils, and radiometric dating techniques.
  3. Demonstrate knowledge of the structure, composition, and properties of Earth's compositional and mechanical layers (e.g., mantle, asthenosphere, core), including the supporting evidence for these layers and the methods for gathering data on Earth's interior.
  4. Apply knowledge of the physical and chemical processes involved in the formation of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks within the rock cycle (e.g., crystallization, lithification, deposition) and the resulting differentiating properties of rocks (e.g., texture, composition, grain size) and minerals (e.g., hardness, specific gravity, melting point).

0004 Understand the origin, motion, and interactions of Earth's tectonic plates, including through the use of crosscutting concepts and science and engineering practices.

Includes:

  1. Apply knowledge of the processes driving the movement of tectonic plates (e.g., ridge push, slab pull, mantle convection), including the heat transfer mechanisms driving the motion of Earth's mantle (e.g., conduction, convection, radiation).
  2. Apply knowledge of plate interactions, including types and composition of tectonic plates, the structures and events that occur at plate boundaries (e.g., earthquakes, rifts, mountain building, subduction), and the matter cycling effects of plate interactions.
  3. Demonstrate knowledge of the lines of evidence for previous configurations of Earth's tectonic plates (e.g., fossils, mountains, glacial striations, magnetic field reversals, age of oceanic crust), including their impact on regional climate.
  4. Apply knowledge of the different types of volcanoes, including their structure, composition, location, and causes (e.g., subduction, hotspot).
  5. Demonstrate knowledge of earthquakes, including their causes, methods of energy propagation (e.g., p-waves, s-waves), and how the location is determined (e.g., triangulation, time-travel graphs).
Domain  3 –Earth Systems and Interactions

0005 Understand the structure, function, and energy transfer mechanisms of the atmosphere, including through the use of crosscutting concepts and science and engineering practices.

Includes:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of the structure, composition, and properties of the layers of the atmosphere, including their interactions with different wavelengths of energy.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of global atmospheric circulation patterns (e.g., El Niño–Southern Oscillation, polar cells, jet streams), their causes (e.g., insolation differences, the Coriolis effect), and their effects on local climate and weather (e.g., monsoons, wind direction, particle deposition).
  3. Demonstrate knowledge of the types of surface winds (e.g., land and sea breezes, Föhn winds, trade winds), their causes, and effects on local climate and weather.
  4. Demonstrate knowledge of the types, properties, and formation of high- and low-pressure air masses, including how they move and change in response to interactions with other air masses or with local topography.
  5. Apply knowledge of the factors and conditions that lead to different weather conditions (e.g., temperature changes, cloud formation, precipitation), including those conditions caused by interactions with local or regional topographic features (e.g., adiabatic changes, inversions, advection fog, lapse rates).
  6. Demonstrate knowledge of the techniques and tools used to record, describe, and predict weather information (e.g., radar, anemometer, barometer, synoptic weather maps).

0006 Understand the structures, functions, and energy transfer mechanisms of the hydrosphere, including through the use of crosscutting concepts and science and engineering practices.

Includes:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of the chemical and physical properties of fresh and salt water (e.g., density, specific heat, latent heat, pH), including how these properties affect energy transfers within the hydrosphere and between other Earth systems.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of groundwater and surface water reservoirs, including the factors that affect water's spatial and temporal distribution, the factors affecting the movement of water across the landscape, and the water's movement between surface and groundwater reservoirs (e.g., infiltration, water tables, artesian wells, groundwater contamination).
  3. Apply knowledge of freshwater features (e.g., ice caps, glaciers, lakes, rivers, aquifers, wetlands), their formation, and the processes affecting them (e.g., seasonal turnover, eutrophication, climate change).
  4. Apply knowledge of the formation of waves and surface currents, including interactions with their confining features (e.g., ocean floor, shoreline, riverbeds).
  5. Apply knowledge of the causes of regional and global ocean circulation patterns (e.g., upwelling, thermohaline circulation) and the effects of circulation patterns on local climates.

0007 Understand the interactions and feedback mechanisms that occur between two or more Earth systems, including through the use of crosscutting concepts and science and engineering practices.

Includes:

  1. Apply knowledge of how substances (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, water) cycle within and between Earth systems.
  2. Apply knowledge of weathering, erosion, and depositional processes, including their rates, the agents of change (e.g., wind, water, ice, gravity, chemical weathering), and the ways in which these processes form and alter topographic features (e.g., karst topography, glacial landscapes, shoreline erosion, delta formation).
  3. Demonstrate knowledge of the factors that determine the climate of a region (e.g., temperature and precipitation patterns, topography, insolation), including the major climate zones, their features, and locations.
  4. Apply knowledge of historic climate patterns (e.g., ice ages, warm periods), climate proxies (e.g., tree rings, gas in ice cores, sediment cores), and the reasons for past and present shifts in climate.
  5. Apply knowledge of energy transfers between surface features and the atmosphere, the effects of these changes (e.g., albedo, insolation), and their short- and long-term cycles (e.g., seasonal changes, Milankovitch cycles).
Domain  4 –Natural Resources and Human Impacts

0008 Understand the sources, methods of extraction, and environmental impacts involved in the use of natural resources, including through the use of crosscutting concepts and science and engineering practices.

Includes:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of the use, sources, and methods of transportation of renewable resources for electricity generation, agriculture, industrial, and residential uses.
  2. Apply knowledge of human impacts on water sources, including environmental impacts, future challenges, and potential solutions.
  3. Apply knowledge of the surface and subsurface extraction techniques for common mineral resources (e.g., coal, bauxite, stone aggregate, iron, copper), their environmental impact, and methods of reclaiming and remediating mine sites.
  4. Apply knowledge of human impacts on soil development and soil health (e.g., enhanced erosion, desertification, salinization, agricultural practices, industrial contamination), techniques that can be used to preserve or restore soil health, and the effects of soil degradation on climate.
  5. Apply knowledge of the short- and long-term environmental impacts of the human use of fossil fuels, including the impacts of extraction (e.g., mining, hydraulic fracturing), transportation, and utilization, and the contribution of these methods to climate feedback mechanisms (e.g., albedo changes, greenhouse effect).
  6. Apply knowledge of the types of biotic natural resources (e.g., timber, edible plants, animal products), their use, environmental impacts, and methods for maintaining their sustainability.

0009 Understand the causes, impacts, prevention, and mitigation methods for natural hazards, including through the use of crosscutting concepts and science and engineering practices.

Includes:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of the causes, categorization, and damage mitigation methods for severe wind events (e.g., hurricanes, tornadoes, derechos).
  2. Apply knowledge of the categorization of earthquakes (e.g., scales, damage, shaking), the types of damage caused (e.g., immediate damage, infrastructure challenges, tsunami-related impacts), and damage mitigation methods (e.g., building codes, city location, infrastructure planning).
  3. Apply knowledge of the types of extreme weather events (e.g., floods, heat waves, blizzards, ice storms, lake effect snow), possible mitigation efforts, and changes in frequency and severity of these events due to climate change.
  4. Apply knowledge of the scale and hazards of volcanic eruptions, including their local, regional, and global short- and long-term effects that can be tied to composition and tectonic setting.
  5. Apply knowledge of climate patterns and feedback mechanisms, which may be human influenced, that can lead to drought and wildfires, including their short- and long-term effects, their local and regional effects, and their mitigation.