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How to learn High school: Science

New York academic standards: Science, High school

0 of 53 concepts ready to learn · Markdown, for your AI

1. Matter is made up of particles whose properties determine the observable characteristics of matter and its reactivity. · Explain the properties of materials in terms of the arrangement and properties

  1. The Rock Cycle: Explain the rock cycle: how igneous rocks form from magma, sedimentary rocks from compressed sediment, and metamorphic rocks from heat and pressure, and how all rock types can transform into one another over geological time
  2. Ceramics, Polymers & Composites: Describe the properties and uses of ceramics (hard, brittle, heat-resistant), polymers (flexible, lightweight, variable), and composites (combine properties of constituent materials), giving real-world examples of each

2. Many of the phenomena that we observe on Earth involve interactions among components of air, water, and land. · Explain how incoming solar radiation, ocean currents, and land masses affect weather and

  1. Earth's Atmosphere & CO2: Describe the composition of Earth's atmosphere (mainly nitrogen and oxygen, with small amounts of CO₂ and other gases), explain how human activity increases CO₂, and describe the impact on global climate

3. Many of the phenomena that we observe on Earth involve interactions among components of air, water, and land. · Use the concepts of density and heat energy to explain observations of weather patterns,

  1. Seismic Waves & Earth's Interior: Distinguish between P-waves (compression, travel through solids and liquids) and S-waves (shear, cannot pass through liquids); explain why a seismic shadow zone exists on the far side of an earthquake; describe how seismologists use wave refraction and reflection to infer that Earth has a solid inner core, liquid outer core, mantle, and crust

4. The Earth and celestial phenomena can be described by principles of relative motion and perspective. · Describe current theories about the origin of the universe and solar system.

  1. Reading Ancient Climate Records: Explain how ice cores preserve ancient air bubbles, isotope ratios, and volcanic markers allowing reconstruction of temperature and CO2 going back 800,000 years; describe tree rings, ocean sediment cores, coral skeletons, and pollen records as additional climate proxies; explain how climate models are built and validated against the palaeoclimate record; describe the IPCC process of synthesising scientific evidence across thousands of studies to produce consensus assessments
  2. The Water Cycle: Describe the water cycle, tracing water through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, surface runoff, and transpiration in plants, explaining how the sun drives the cycle
  3. Galaxies and the universe: Describe the scale of the universe, including the structure of galaxies, the position of the Sun in the Milky Way, and the use of light years as a unit of distance, and appreciate why space exploration requires enormous timescales

5. The Earth and celestial phenomena can be described by principles of relative motion and perspective. · Explain complex phenomena, such as tides, variations in day length, solar insolation, apparent mo

  1. Why We Have Seasons: Explain that the seasons are caused by the tilt of Earth's axis during its orbit around the Sun, distinguishing this from the common misconception that seasons are caused by changing distance from the Sun
  2. The solar system (age 11+): Describe the detailed structure of the solar system, including moons, asteroids, and comets, compare orbital periods and distances of the planets, and distinguish between planets, dwarf planets, and other bodies
  3. Universal Gravitation: 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

6. The Physical Setting · Performance Indicator: Explain chemical bonding in terms of the behavior of electrons.

  1. Metals vs Non-Metals: Compare the physical and chemical properties of metals and non-metals, explaining metallic properties (malleability, lustre, conductivity) and how position in the periodic table predicts reactivity

7. The Physical Setting · Performance Indicator: Explain heat in terms of kinetic molecular theory.

  1. How Materials Change State: Explain melting, freezing, boiling, condensing, and sublimation using the particle model, interpreting heating and cooling curves to identify melting and boiling points
  2. Body Temperature Regulation: Explain how the human body detects and responds to environmental changes including temperature, including the role of the skin in temperature regulation (sweating, shivering, vasodilation, vasoconstriction)

8. The Physical Setting · Performance Indicator: Observe and describe transmission of various forms of energy.

  1. Power: watts and energy per second: Define power as the rate of energy transfer (power = energy ÷ time, measured in watts), and compare energy transfer rates in different everyday contexts
  2. Reactions That Release or Absorb Heat: Distinguish between exothermic reactions (release energy, temperature rises) and endothermic reactions (absorb energy, temperature falls), with everyday and industrial examples

9. The Physical Setting · Performance Indicator: Apply the principle of conservation of mass to chemical reactions.

  1. Physical vs Chemical Changes: 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

10. The Physical Setting · Performance Indicator: Use atomic and molecular models to explain common chemical reactions.

  1. Types of Chemical Reaction: Identify and describe four types of chemical reaction: combustion (burning in oxygen), oxidation (gain of oxygen), thermal decomposition (breaking down by heat), and displacement (more reactive metal replaces less reactive one)

11. The Physical Setting · Performance Indicator: Explain the properties of materials in terms of the arrangement and properties of the atoms that compose them.

  1. Acids, Alkalis & pH: Define acids and alkalis in terms of hydrogen ion concentration, describe the pH scale (0–14), and explain how indicators are used to identify and measure acidity or alkalinity
  2. The Periodic Table: Describe the organisation of the periodic table into periods and groups, explain the contribution of Mendeleev, and use the table to identify metals, non-metals, and predict patterns in reactivity

12. Process Skills Based on Standard 4 · Explain the properties of materials in terms of the arrangement and properties of the atoms that compose them.

  1. Separating Mixtures: Select and carry out appropriate separation techniques for different types of mixtures: filtration (insoluble solids), distillation (liquids by boiling point), crystallisation (dissolved solids), and chromatography (coloured substances)
  2. The Particle Model: Use the particle model to explain the properties of solids, liquids, and gases — including differences in arrangement, movement, and spacing — and apply the model to explain density, compressibility, and the anomalous expansion of water

13. Science

  1. Genetic Mutation: 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
  2. How Natural Selection Works: Explain natural selection as the mechanism of evolution: heritable variation + competition for resources + differential survival and reproduction = change in allele frequency over generations
  3. Extinction & Rapid Change: Explain how environmental change can outpace a species' ability to adapt through natural selection, leading to extinction, using historical and contemporary examples
  4. Biodiversity & Resilience: 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)
  5. Aerobic Respiration: Explain aerobic respiration as the process by which organisms release energy from glucose using oxygen, producing carbon dioxide and water; write and interpret the word equation: glucose + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water
  6. How the Body Stays in Balance: 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
  7. Cells to Organ Systems: Describe the hierarchical organisation of multicellular organisms: cells → tissues → organs → organ systems → organism

14. Human Sustainability

  1. Renewable vs non-renewable energy: 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. Earth's Systems

  1. The Carbon Cycle: Describe the carbon cycle, tracing carbon through photosynthesis, respiration, feeding, decomposition, and combustion, and explain the role of each process

16. Space Systems

  1. Where Elements Come From: Explain stellar nucleosynthesis: the Big Bang produced mainly hydrogen and helium; main-sequence fusion builds elements up to iron; and supernovae produce elements heavier than iron and scatter them into space — meaning the atoms in our bodies were forged in ancient stars
  2. Life Cycle of a Star: Describe the life cycle of a star from nebula through main sequence to its end state (white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole depending on mass), and relate the life cycle to the origin of elements heavier than hydrogen

17. Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems

  1. Finite Resources & Recycling: Explain that many raw materials (metals, fossil fuels, minerals) are finite resources, describe the environmental costs of extraction, and evaluate the benefits of recycling and the circular economy

18. Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation

  1. Ray Diagrams & Images: Construct ray diagrams to show the formation of images by plane mirrors and converging lenses, identifying whether images are real or virtual, magnified or diminished, upright or inverted
  2. Waves & Different Materials: 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

19. Energy

  1. Ohm's Law: voltage, current, resistance: Apply Ohm's Law (V = IR) to calculate current, voltage, or resistance in a simple circuit, and explain that resistance opposes the flow of current
  2. Motors & the Motor Effect: Explain the motor effect as the force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field, and describe how this principle is used in electric motors and loudspeakers

20. Forces and Interactions

  1. Electromagnets: 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
  2. Newton's First & Second Laws: State and apply Newton's First Law (an object stays at rest or constant velocity unless acted on by a resultant force) and Second Law (force = mass × acceleration), including the relationship between mass, force, and acceleration

21. Structure and Properties of Matter

  1. Investigating Forces: Plan and carry out investigations into forces, including measuring force with a newton meter, investigating Hooke's Law, and collecting and interpreting motion data to test Newton's laws

22. HS. Chemical Reactions · Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

  1. Writing Science Reports: Communicate scientific findings in a structured report using appropriate scientific vocabulary, SI units, and standard notation; describe how peer review and replication contribute to the reliability of scientific knowledge

23. Energy · Energy and Matter

  1. Energy stores and transfers: 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)

24. Energy · PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer

  1. Energy can't be created or destroyed: 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

25. HS. Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation · PS4.A: Wave Properties

  1. Wave Properties & Types: 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

26. HS. Inheritance and Variation of Traits · LS3.B: Variation of Traits

  1. Variation in Species: 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

27. HS. Inheritance and Variation of Traits · LS3.A: Inheritance of Traits

  1. Chromosomes, Genes & DNA: Describe the relationship between chromosomes, genes, and DNA in heredity, including the double helix structure of DNA and the historical roles of Watson, Crick, Franklin, and Wilkins

28. HS. Inheritance and Variation of Traits · LS1.A: Structure and Function

  1. Human Reproduction: Describe the structure and function of the male and female human reproductive systems, and explain the processes of fertilisation, gestation, and birth including the role of the placenta
  2. DNA & Genes: Describe the double helix structure of DNA (base pairs, complementarity), explain how genes are sections of DNA that code for proteins, introduce the central dogma (DNA → mRNA → protein) conceptually, and discuss the ethical implications of CRISPR gene editing — including potential benefits (genetic disease treatment) and concerns (germline editing, 'designer babies')

29. HS. Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems · PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes

  1. Photosynthesis: 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

30. HS. Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems · LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems

  1. Energy Loss Between Levels: Explain how energy is transferred between trophic levels in a food chain, why energy is lost at each stage, and use pyramids of biomass/numbers to represent this

31. HS. Earth's Systems · ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions

  1. How Tectonic Plates Move: 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

32. HS. Natural Selection and Evolution · LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity

  1. Evidence for Evolution: Describe the main types of evidence for evolution: the fossil record (change over time), comparative anatomy (homologous structures), and the geographic distribution of related species

33. HS. Structure and Properties of Matter · Analyzing and Interpreting Data

  1. Tables, charts, and graphs: Construct data tables with correct headings and SI units, plot appropriate graph types (bar chart, line graph, scatter graph), draw a line of best fit, and calculate the gradient of a straight-line graph