# Grade 6: Science

A course roadmap (science). Language: en. By @si. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0. 0 of 63 concepts ready. In the app: https://ai.page/roadmap/ca-sci-grade-6

Part of: [California: Science](https://ai.page/roadmap/ca-sci.md)

Goal: California academic standards: Science, Grade 6

## 1. Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

- [Wave Properties & Types](https://ai.page/c/wave-properties-and-types/index.md): Describe waves in terms of amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and wave speed; distinguish transverse waves (oscillation perpendicular to direction of travel) from longitudinal waves (oscillation parallel); and use the wave equation v = fλ
- [Waves & Different Materials](https://ai.page/c/waves-and-different-materials/index.md): Explain how waves can be absorbed, transmitted, or reflected by different materials, and apply these interactions to explain colour perception, sight, communication technologies, and the effects of different surfaces on wave behaviour

## 2. Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

- [Balanced & Unbalanced Forces](https://ai.page/c/balanced-and-unbalanced-forces/index.md): Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object
- [Universal Gravitation](https://ai.page/c/universal-gravitation/index.md): Describe gravity as a universal attractive force between all masses, explain that orbital motion arises because gravity provides the centripetal force keeping objects in orbit, and compare gravitational field strengths on different planets
- [Electromagnets](https://ai.page/c/electromagnets/index.md): Describe the magnetic effect of an electric current (a current-carrying wire produces a magnetic field), and investigate how the strength of an electromagnet depends on current, number of coil turns, and core material
- [Relative Motion](https://ai.page/c/relative-motion/index.md): Explain relative motion — how the apparent speed and direction of an object depends on the observer's own motion — using everyday examples such as trains and cars passing
- [Newton's Third Law](https://ai.page/c/newton-s-third-law/index.md): State and apply Newton's Third Law: every force has an equal and opposite reaction force acting on a different object, distinguishing action-reaction pairs from balanced forces

## 3. Earth's Place in the Universe

- [How fossils form](https://ai.page/c/how-fossils-form-2/index.md): Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time
- [Scale of the Solar System](https://ai.page/c/scale-of-the-solar-system/index.md): Use scale models, diagrams, or calculations to represent the relative sizes and distances of objects in the solar system, understanding that the distances between planets are enormously larger than the planets themselves
- [Phases of the Moon](https://ai.page/c/phases-of-the-moon/index.md): Explain the phases of the Moon as the changing angle of sunlight on the lunar surface as seen from Earth, and describe how solar and lunar eclipses occur

## 4. Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

- [Evolution vocabulary](https://ai.page/c/evolution-vocabulary/index.md): Use technical vocabulary for evolution and natural selection — adaptation, evolution, natural selection, extinct, extinction, fossil record, species, common ancestor, mutation, variation — and explain the mechanism of natural selection using these terms in the correct sequence
- [Genetic Mutation](https://ai.page/c/genetic-mutation/index.md): Explain genetic mutation as a random change in DNA sequence, describe causes of mutation (e.g. radiation, chemicals, copying errors), and explain that most mutations are neutral, some harmful, and a few beneficial
- [Variation & Survival Advantage](https://ai.page/c/variation-and-survival-advantage/index.md): Use evidence to explain how variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing
- [Fossils as Evidence](https://ai.page/c/fossils-as-evidence/index.md): Analyse and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of organisms and environments that existed long ago
- [Life Changed Over Time](https://ai.page/c/life-changed-over-time/index.md): Recognise that living things have changed over time and that fossils provide information about organisms that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago

## 5. Matter and Its Interactions

- [Building an energy-converting device](https://ai.page/c/building-an-energy-converting-device/index.md): Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another
- [Conservation of Mass](https://ai.page/c/conservation-of-mass/index.md): Measure and provide evidence that the total weight of matter is conserved regardless of the type of change (heating, cooling, or mixing)
- [How Materials Change State](https://ai.page/c/how-materials-change-state/index.md): Explain melting, freezing, boiling, condensing, and sublimation using the particle model, interpreting heating and cooling curves to identify melting and boiling points
- [What happens when things collide](https://ai.page/c/what-happens-when-things-collide/index.md): Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide
- [Atoms, Elements & Compounds](https://ai.page/c/atoms-elements-and-compounds/index.md): Explain the differences between atoms, elements, and compounds; describe the simple Bohr model of the atom (nucleus with protons and neutrons, electrons in shells); and write and interpret chemical symbols and simple formulae

## 6. Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

- [Food Webs & Interdependence](https://ai.page/c/food-webs-and-interdependence/index.md): Construct and interpret food webs showing the interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem, explaining how a change in one population affects others
- [Biodiversity & Resilience](https://ai.page/c/biodiversity-and-resilience/index.md): Explain what biodiversity means, why high biodiversity makes ecosystems more resilient, and describe the ways human activity threatens biodiversity (habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species, climate change)
- [Ocean Ecosystems](https://ai.page/c/ocean-ecosystems/index.md): Understand ocean ecosystems as interconnected systems where living things (producers, consumers, decomposers) and non-living factors (temperature, salinity, light, currents) all interact, and that changes to one part affect the whole system
- [Matter Cycling in Ecosystems](https://ai.page/c/matter-cycling-in-ecosystems/index.md): Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment in an ecosystem

## 7. Engineering Design

- [Simple Design Problems](https://ai.page/c/simple-design-problems/index.md): Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost
- [Comparing Possible Solutions](https://ai.page/c/comparing-possible-solutions/index.md): Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints

## 8. Energy

- [Speed and energy](https://ai.page/c/speed-and-energy/index.md): Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object
- [Energy stores and transfers](https://ai.page/c/energy-stores-and-transfers/index.md): Identify the main energy stores (kinetic, gravitational potential, elastic potential, thermal, chemical, nuclear, electromagnetic) and the pathways by which energy is transferred between stores (mechanically, electrically, by heating, by radiation)

## 9. Earth and Human Activity

- [Communities Protecting Resources](https://ai.page/c/communities-protecting-resources/index.md): Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth's resources and environment
- [Natural Disaster Solutions](https://ai.page/c/natural-disaster-solutions/index.md): Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans, such as earthquakes, floods, or volcanic eruptions

## 10. Earth's Systems

- [Sun-Driven Weather Systems](https://ai.page/c/sun-driven-weather-systems/index.md): Understand how the Sun drives weather: the Sun heats Earth's surface unevenly (land heats faster than water, equator gets more heat than poles), creating differences in air pressure that cause wind patterns, ocean currents, and large-scale weather systems
- [Earth's atmosphere](https://ai.page/c/earth-s-atmosphere/index.md): Develop a model to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere interact as connected Earth systems
- [The Water Cycle](https://ai.page/c/the-water-cycle/index.md): Describe the water cycle, tracing water through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, surface runoff, and transpiration in plants, explaining how the sun drives the cycle

## 11. Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

- [Variation in Species](https://ai.page/c/variation-in-species/index.md): Explain variation within and between species, distinguishing between continuous variation (e.g. height) and discontinuous variation (e.g. blood group), and between genetic and environmental causes

## 12. From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

- [Senses, Brain & Responses](https://ai.page/c/senses-brain-and-responses/index.md): Use a model to describe that animals receive information through their senses, process it in their brain, and respond in different ways
- [Energy from Food & the Sun](https://ai.page/c/energy-from-food-and-the-sun/index.md): Use models to describe that energy in animals' food was once energy from the sun, transferred through plants or other organisms
- [Photosynthesis](https://ai.page/c/photosynthesis/index.md): Explain photosynthesis as the process by which plants use light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen, and describe how mineral nutrients are absorbed through roots
- [How animals adapt to environments](https://ai.page/c/how-animals-adapt-to-environments/index.md): Identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment and understand that adaptation may lead to evolution over time
- [Evidence-Based Classification](https://ai.page/c/evidence-based-classification/index.md): Give reasons for classifying plants and animals based on specific characteristics, using evidence to justify classification decisions
- [Cells to Organ Systems](https://ai.page/c/cells-to-organ-systems/index.md): Describe the hierarchical organisation of multicellular organisms: cells → tissues → organs → organ systems → organism
- [Cells Under the Microscope](https://ai.page/c/cells-under-the-microscope/index.md): Understand that all living organisms are made of cells and use a light microscope to observe, interpret, and record cell structure

## 13. Investigation and Experimentation: Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the conten

- [Science Can Be Revised](https://ai.page/c/science-can-be-revised/index.md): Scientific knowledge is provisional — it is the best current explanation based on available evidence, and it can and should be revised when better evidence arrives

## 14. Resources: Sources of energy and materials differ in amounts, distribution, usefulness, and the time required for their formation. As a basis for understanding this concept:

- [Natural resources](https://ai.page/c/natural-resources/index.md): Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and that their uses affect the environment
- [Renewable vs non-renewable energy](https://ai.page/c/renewable-vs-non-renewable-energy/index.md): Distinguish between renewable energy resources (solar, wind, hydroelectric, tidal, geothermal, biomass) and non-renewable resources (coal, oil, gas, nuclear), comparing their advantages, disadvantages, and environmental impacts

## 15. Ecology: Organisms in ecosystems exchange energy and nutrients among themselves and with the environment. As a basis for understanding this concept:

- [Classifying Organisms](https://ai.page/c/classifying-organisms/index.md): Describe how living things are classified into broad groups (micro-organisms, plants, animals) according to common observable characteristics, similarities, and differences

## 16. Energy in the Earth's System: Many phenomena on Earth’s surface are affected by the transfer of energy through radiation and convection currents. As a basis for understanding this concept:

- [Oceans & Climate](https://ai.page/c/oceans-and-climate/index.md): Understand the connection between the ocean and climate: the ocean absorbs heat and carbon dioxide, drives weather patterns through evaporation, and ocean currents distribute warmth around the planet — making the ocean Earth's climate engine
- [Conduction, convection, and radiation](https://ai.page/c/conduction-convection-and-radiation/index.md): Describe and compare the three mechanisms of heat transfer — conduction (particle vibration through solids), convection (fluid movement in liquids/gases), and radiation (infrared waves) — and explain that the rate of transfer depends on temperature difference

## 17. Shaping the Earth's Surface: Topography is reshaped by the weathering of rock and soil and by the transportation and deposition of sediment. As a basis for understanding this concept:

- [Types of rocks](https://ai.page/c/types-of-rocks/index.md): Use vocabulary for Earth's geological processes and rock types — igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, erosion, weathering, deposition, fossil, sediment, strata, permeable, impermeable — and apply these when explaining how rocks form and how landscapes change over time

## 18. Plate Tectonics and Earth Structure: Plate tectonics accounts for important features of Earth’s surface and major geologic events. As a basis for understanding this concept:

- [Tectonic Plates](https://ai.page/c/tectonic-plates/index.md): Understand that Earth's crust is broken into large pieces called tectonic plates that float on hotter, softer rock beneath and move very slowly — a few centimetres per year
- [How Tectonic Plates Move](https://ai.page/c/how-tectonic-plates-move/index.md): Understand that convection currents in the molten mantle drive the movement of rigid tectonic plates; distinguish between convergent (collision/subduction), divergent (spreading ridges), and transform (sliding) plate boundaries; explain why volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain chains cluster at boundaries; introduce the Wilson cycle of supercontinent assembly and breakup

## 19. Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information in 6–8 builds on K–5 experiences and progresses to evaluating the merit and validity of ideas 

- [Drawing conclusions from evidence (age 9+)](https://ai.page/c/drawing-conclusions-from-evidence-age-9/index.md): Report and present findings including conclusions, causal relationships, explanations, and a degree of trust in results using oral and written forms

## 20. Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking Mathematical and computational thinking in 6–8 builds on K–5 experiences and progresses to identifying patterns in large data sets and using mathematical c

- [Drawing conclusions from evidence (age 12+)](https://ai.page/c/drawing-conclusions-from-evidence-age-12/index.md): Identify patterns and trends in data, draw conclusions that directly address the hypothesis with quantitative reference to evidence, and evaluate the investigation by distinguishing between systematic and random errors and proposing targeted improvements

## 21. Planning and Carrying Out Investigations Planning and carrying out investigations in 6-8 builds on K-5 experiences and progresses to include investigations that use multiple variables and provide evid

- [Fair testing (age 8+)](https://ai.page/c/fair-testing-age-8/index.md): Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved
- [Controlling variables (age 11+)](https://ai.page/c/controlling-variables-age-11/index.md): Form a testable scientific hypothesis linking an independent variable to a predicted outcome, plan a full investigation identifying independent, dependent, and control variables, sample size, and risk assessment

## 22. Developing and Using Models Modeling in 6–8 builds on K–5 experiences and progresses to developing, using, and revising models to describe, test, and predict more abstract phenomena and design systems

- [Fair testing (age 9+)](https://ai.page/c/fair-testing-age-9/index.md): Use test results to make predictions and set up further comparative and fair tests to investigate new questions

## 23. Stability and Change – For both designed and natural systems, conditions that affect stability and factors that control rates of change are critical elements to consider and understand.

- [How the Body Stays in Balance](https://ai.page/c/how-the-body-stays-in-balance/index.md): Explain homeostasis as the process of maintaining a stable internal environment; describe the main feedback loop systems (negative feedback) using blood glucose regulation (insulin/glucagon) and body temperature as concrete examples; and connect the endocrine system (hormone-secreting glands) to the nervous system as two complementary communication systems with different speeds and durations
- [Why circuit components behave differently](https://ai.page/c/why-circuit-components-behave-differently/index.md): Compare and give reasons for variations in how circuit components function, including brightness of bulbs, loudness of buzzers, and switch positions
- [Physical vs Chemical Changes](https://ai.page/c/physical-vs-chemical-changes/index.md): Distinguish between physical changes (reversible, no new substances formed) and chemical changes (new substances formed, often irreversible), using conservation of mass to understand both types

## 24. Structure and Function – The way an object is shaped or structured determines many of its properties and functions

- [Structures for Survival](https://ai.page/c/structures-for-survival/index.md): Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behaviour, and reproduction

## 25. Energy and Matter: Flows, Cycles, and Conservation – Tracking energy and matter flows, into, out of, and within systems helps one understand their system’s behavior

- [Energy can't be created or destroyed](https://ai.page/c/energy-can-t-be-created-or-destroyed/index.md): Explain the principle of conservation of energy (energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred between stores), and describe how energy is dissipated as thermal energy to the surroundings in all real processes

## 26. Systems and System Models – A system is an organized group of related objects or components; models can be used for understanding and predicting the behavior of systems.

- [Matter Is Made of Particles](https://ai.page/c/matter-is-made-of-particles/index.md): Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen, and that this explains properties of solids, liquids, and gases

## 27. Cause and Effect: Mechanism and Prediction – Events have causes, sometimes simple, sometimes multifaceted. Deciphering causal relationships, and the mechanisms by which they are mediated, is a major a

- [Correlation vs Causation](https://ai.page/c/correlation-vs-causation/index.md): Two things happening together doesn't mean one caused the other — recognise the difference between correlation and causation before drawing conclusions

## 28. Patterns – Observed patterns in nature guide organization and classification and prompt questions about relationships and causes underlying them.

- [Finding patterns in data](https://ai.page/c/finding-patterns-in-data/index.md): Analyse and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth's features, recognising that many features result from processes that occur over long periods

## Health: 0 of 100

Of its 63 own concepts: 0 have an explanation, 0 have practice, 0 have a measurement question, 0 have a checked version.

Findings (each is a task for anyone's AI):

- Wave Properties & Types has no explanation yet
- Waves & Different Materials has no explanation yet
- Balanced & Unbalanced Forces has no explanation yet
- Universal Gravitation has no explanation yet
- Electromagnets has no explanation yet
- Relative Motion has no explanation yet
- Newton's Third Law has no explanation yet
- How fossils form comes before Types of rocks, which it needs
- How fossils form has no explanation yet
- Scale of the Solar System has no explanation yet
- Phases of the Moon has no explanation yet
- Evolution vocabulary has no explanation yet
- Genetic Mutation has no explanation yet
- Variation & Survival Advantage has no explanation yet
- Fossils as Evidence has no explanation yet
- Life Changed Over Time has no explanation yet
- Building an energy-converting device has no explanation yet
- Conservation of Mass has no explanation yet
- How Materials Change State has no explanation yet
- What happens when things collide comes before Speed and energy, which it needs
- What happens when things collide has no explanation yet
- Atoms, Elements & Compounds has no explanation yet
- Food Webs & Interdependence has no explanation yet
- Biodiversity & Resilience has no explanation yet
- Ocean Ecosystems has no explanation yet
- Matter Cycling in Ecosystems has no explanation yet
- Simple Design Problems has no explanation yet
- Comparing Possible Solutions has no explanation yet
- Speed and energy has no explanation yet
- Energy stores and transfers has no explanation yet
- Communities Protecting Resources comes before Natural resources, which it needs
- Communities Protecting Resources has no explanation yet
- Natural Disaster Solutions has no explanation yet
- Sun-Driven Weather Systems has no explanation yet
- Earth's atmosphere has no explanation yet
- The Water Cycle has no explanation yet
- Variation in Species has no explanation yet
- Senses, Brain & Responses has no explanation yet
- Energy from Food & the Sun has no explanation yet
- Photosynthesis has no explanation yet
- How animals adapt to environments has no explanation yet
- Evidence-Based Classification comes before Classifying Organisms, which it needs
- Evidence-Based Classification has no explanation yet
- Cells to Organ Systems has no explanation yet
- Cells Under the Microscope has no explanation yet
- Science Can Be Revised comes before Correlation vs Causation, which it needs
- Science Can Be Revised has no explanation yet
- Natural resources has no explanation yet
- Renewable vs non-renewable energy has no explanation yet
- Classifying Organisms has no explanation yet

Credit: The structure of California academic standards: Science (http://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/sc/ngssstandards.asp); concepts from the Marble Skill Taxonomy (v1), © Generative Spark, Inc. (withmarble.com), text CC BY-SA 4.0, database ODbL 1.0: https://github.com/withmarbleapp/os-taxonomy, mapped to its standards by Marble.