D671 Elementary Science Curriculum

Correct Answer:

D. Science drives innovation and offers solutions to complex problems.

Explanation:

Science plays a critical role in addressing global challenges such as climate change, pandemics, food insecurity, and sustainable energy. Through research and innovation, science develops technologies, policies, and medical treatments that provide effective solutions. For example, vaccines, renewable energy technologies, and climate modeling are direct outcomes of scientific advancement. By fostering evidence-based strategies, science enables societies worldwide to manage risks and build a more sustainable future.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. Science prioritizes profit over environmental conservation

This is incorrect because science itself does not prioritize profit. While businesses may misuse science for profit, the discipline’s true purpose is discovery and problem-solving.

B. Science encourages skepticism and disbelief in established facts

This is wrong because while science encourages healthy questioning, it is based on evidence and verification. It does not encourage blind disbelief in established, well-supported facts.

C. Science promotes misinformation and conspiracy theories

This is incorrect because science actively combats misinformation by relying on peer review, reproducibility, and transparent evidence. Conspiracy theories often arise in opposition to scientific evidence, not from it.

Correct Answer:

C. An investigation where pupils record the weight of a sealed bag of ice as it melts and discuss the principle of matter conservation

Explanation:

The disciplinary core idea of "structure and properties of matter" emphasizes understanding how matter behaves, changes states, and conserves mass during transformations. By recording the weight of a sealed bag of ice as it melts, students directly observe that mass remains constant despite the phase change from solid to liquid. This reinforces the principle of matter conservation and develops conceptual understanding through investigation and evidence-based reasoning.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. A group activity where students use clay to model different molecular structures and then present their models to the class

While helpful for visualization, this emphasizes modeling skills rather than testing or investigating the principles of matter conservation or properties through evidence.

B. An interactive game where students sort objects based on whether they are made of atoms or molecules

This simplifies matter into categories but does not engage students in deeper understanding of how matter behaves or conserves mass.

D. A science fair project where students create models of different crystal structures

This promotes creativity and structural visualization but does not directly address the disciplinary core idea of conservation and properties of matter through investigation.

Correct Answer:

C. Through the nervous system.

Explanation:

Organisms process information received from sensory receptors through the nervous system. Once receptors detect stimuli, they send electrical signals (nerve impulses) to the brain or spinal cord. The nervous system interprets these signals, integrates the information, and coordinates an appropriate response, such as moving away from danger or adjusting body functions. This rapid communication system ensures survival and proper functioning.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. Through muscle contractions

Muscle contractions are responses to processed information, not the mechanism that processes sensory input itself.

B. Through the digestive system

The digestive system breaks down food and absorbs nutrients; it does not process sensory information.

D. Through the circulatory system

The circulatory system transports blood, oxygen, and nutrients, but it does not interpret or process sensory signals.

Correct Answer:

B. Motion energy is transferred, altering the motion or stored energy of the objects.

Explanation:

When macroscopic objects collide, their kinetic energy (motion energy) is transferred between them. Depending on the type of collision, some of this energy may also be transformed into other forms, such as sound, heat, or deformation (elastic or inelastic collisions). However, the total energy is conserved, meaning it is redistributed rather than destroyed. This explains why objects may change speed, direction, or shape after a collision.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. Energy is destroyed

Energy cannot be destroyed; it is always conserved.

C. Only heat energy is transferred in collisions

Collisions can involve transfer of motion energy as well as heat, sound, or deformation energy, not just heat.

D. Energy transfer does not occur in collisions

Collisions always involve energy transfer, altering how objects move or store energy.

Correct Answer:

C. It promotes altruistic behaviors among group members.

Explanation:

Genetic relatedness promotes altruistic behaviors in animal groups because individuals are more likely to help relatives, ensuring the survival of shared genes. This concept, known as kin selection, explains why animals may sacrifice resources or take risks to protect siblings, offspring, or other relatives. Such behaviors strengthen group cohesion and enhance reproductive success of genetically related members.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. It has no impact on social behaviors

This is incorrect because relatedness strongly influences cooperation and altruism in many animal societies.

B. It decreases group cohesion

Genetic relatedness actually increases cohesion by promoting cooperation, not weakening it.

D. It leads to increased competition within the group

Competition can occur, but relatedness more often encourages cooperation rather than fueling conflict.

Correct Answer:

B. Harvesting wind energy

Explanation

B. Harvesting wind energy

Wind energy is a renewable resource because it is naturally replenished and will not run out within a human lifetime. Wind can be harnessed continuously to generate electricity without depleting Earth’s resources. It is also considered clean energy since it does not produce greenhouse gas emissions during operation.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. Extracting minerals from the earth

Minerals are nonrenewable resources because they take millions of years to form and cannot be replaced once depleted.

C. Mining for oil reserves

Oil is a nonrenewable fossil fuel that forms over geologic time and is used much faster than it can naturally regenerate.

D. Burning fossil fuels

Fossil fuels like coal and natural gas are nonrenewable; once burned, they cannot be replenished on a human timescale.

Correct Answer:

C. It organizes elements by increasing atomic number.

Explanation:

The periodic table is primarily significant because it organizes chemical elements by increasing atomic number (the number of protons in the nucleus). This arrangement reveals repeating patterns, or periodic trends, in properties such as reactivity, electronegativity, and atomic radius. By grouping elements with similar characteristics into columns, the periodic table allows scientists to predict element behaviors and relationships, making it one of the most powerful tools in chemistry.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. It provides the density of each element

Density is a property of elements, but it is not the organizing principle of the periodic table.

B. It lists the boiling points of elements

Boiling points are included for some elements, but the table is not arranged based on this property.

D. It shows only the metals

The periodic table includes metals, nonmetals, and metalloids, not just metals.

Correct Answer:

B. Lack of any advantageous traits to cope with new conditions.

Explanation:

Extinction occurs when a species cannot adapt to new environmental conditions due to the absence of advantageous traits. Without genetic variations that provide resistance, tolerance, or adaptability, individuals fail to survive and reproduce, leading to population decline and eventual extinction. This highlights the importance of variation and natural selection in ensuring long-term species survival.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. The emergence of advantageous traits

This increases survival chances and prevents extinction, rather than causing it.

C. Adaptation of most individuals in the population

If most individuals adapt, the species survives and continues to evolve.

D. Temporary changes in the climate

Short-term fluctuations may stress populations but usually do not cause extinction unless the changes are severe and persistent.

Correct Answer:

B. Emphasize sense-making

Explanation:

This example illustrates sense-making because students are expected to analyze data, recognize patterns, and use ecological principles to draw conclusions and make predictions. The focus is not only on receiving information but on interpreting evidence and reasoning through real-world scientific practices. Sense-making ensures that students develop the ability to connect data with scientific explanations, which is a central goal of 3-dimensional learning.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. Are phenomenon or problem-based

This is not the best fit because the activity does not start with a natural phenomenon or driving problem; instead, it begins with a set of data for analysis.

C. Build on children's ideas

This option doesn’t apply because the task is guided by provided data and scientific principles, rather than eliciting or using children’s pre-existing ideas.

D. Emphasize relevance and authenticity

Although the scenario is realistic, the key emphasis is on interpreting patterns in data rather than directly connecting to students’ personal or community experiences.

E. Support equitable learning outcomes

Equity is important in all curriculum design, but this example does not describe strategies such as scaffolding, multiple entry points, or cultural responsiveness.