Storyline: Seashells (Teacher & Student Edition)

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(1 Teacher Edition, 1 Student Edition, 1 Science Outside Terms and Conditions)

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS):

MS-ESS3-3 (Earth and Human Activity)

• Performance Expectation: Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing human impact on the environment.

• Connection to Ocean Acidification: This standard involves students understanding how human activities (e.g., burning fossil fuels) increase carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere, which can affect ocean chemistry, leading to acidification.

MS-PS1-3 (Matter and Its Interactions)

• Performance Expectation: Gather and analyze data to determine the factors that affect the solubility of substances in water.

• Connection to Ocean Acidification: This standard can include discussions about how CO₂ dissolves in ocean water, forming carbonic acid, which leads to a decrease in pH levels and affects marine life.

MS-ESS3-5 (Earth and Human Activity)

• Performance Expectation: Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures.

• Connection to Ocean Acidification: Students can explore the relationship between rising CO₂ levels and both global warming and ocean acidification.

Key Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs):

• PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter

  • Understanding the pH scale (acids and bases) and how it relates to the concentration of hydrogen ions in solutions.

• ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems

  • Human activity affects the carbon cycle, leading to changes in atmospheric CO₂, which in turn causes ocean acidification.