• How can we find, make, and recycle the substances we need to live on and beyond Earth?

    Posted by Cibby Kimbrough on 1/6/2025 9:00:00 AM

    This unit is anchored by examining future plans to live and work for longer periods of time on the Moon (NASA Artemis mission). Students consider the constraints associated with this problem which leads them to develop questions about how to find, recycle, and make the substances needed for living off Earth and on it. In Lesson Set 1 (Lessons 1-5), students investigate planetary surface features (Earth’s and Mars’) to investigate water and its unique structure and function in erosion. They also develop understandings around physical science concepts of light and matter along with Earth and space science concepts of spectroscopy as a way to identify substances off of Earth. In Lesson Set 2 (Lessons 6-9), develop science ideas about the structure of atoms, the patterns in their bonds, the organization of the periodic table, electronegativity, bond character, and how these affect the polarity and properties of the molecule. In Lesson Set 3 (Lessons 10-12), students develop and apply the idea of conservation of matter through chemical equations in the context of a variety of substances, including those that form ionic compounds and form polyatomic ions. In Lesson Set 4 (Lessons 13-15), students consider applications of ideas students figured out to issues related to recycling and sustainability, both off Earth and on it. Students apply these ideas in a transfer task in Lesson 15. 

    Throughout the unit, students will do the following: 

    • Synthesize information from student-designed and directed investigations around water’s unique properties, and liquids and gasses interaction with light and draw conclusions from the results. 

    • Develop and use multiple types of particle-level models as they build and work with the periodic table of the elements as a patterned arrangement that serves a purpose of predicting interactions due to elemental structure. 

    • Obtain and evaluate information and communicate information about the:  

    • location and relative amounts of substances in the solar system; 

    • ways in which scientists and engineers are substituting different substances to make the materials off of Earth we need using the materials available on site; and,  

    • development of new processes and materials related to toxic soil remediation, farming/growing food, construction, medicine, transportation, storage, and cleaning water, for both off Earth and on it. 

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  • Unit 1: Thermodynamics in Earth's Systems

    Posted by Cibby Kimbrough on 8/7/2024 2:00:00 PM
    Greetings,
    Our high school Chemistry class is starting a unit called “How Can We Slow the Flow of Energy on Earth to Protect Vulnerable Coastal Communities?” as part of the OpenSciEd high school science curriculum. 
    This unit explores scientific ideas about how sea levels rise due to polar ice melting, how energy moves between Earth’s systems, and how energy moves between objects at the particle level. Throughout the unit, students will use their own experiences and everyday knowledge to help them understand complex scientific concepts.
    In the early lessons of the unit, students will discover two important facts:
    1. Many people in coastal communities around the world are currently migrating or will soon need to migrate due to rising sea levels.
    2. Sea levels are rising due to the melting of polar ice as a result of human-caused climate change. Students will discover these ideas using data from our world and their own investigations.
    You can learn more about sea level rise and polar ice melting due to climate change at Climate.gov, and more about general climate change at The Conversation.
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