Earth Science Objectives – Iowa Test
Chapter 1 – Human Interactions with the Environment
The materials in this chapter introduce and cover the basics of human
interactions with the environment. It is organized into sections that teach, reinforce
and test students on the concepts of energy resources, other natural resources,
renewable and nonrenewable resources, human impact on ecosystems, pollution and
minimizing waste.
Lessons in this chapter are organized into the following sections:
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Energy resources - Students learn how to compare and contrast the advantages and
disadvantages of different energy sources.
Other natural resources - Students are taught how to describe the natural origin of the
materials used to make common objects.
Renewable and nonrenewable resources - Students learn how to categorize
resources as either renewable or nonrenewable.
Human impact on ecosystems - Students must learn how to describe ways that
humans can affect the environment around them.
Pollution - Students are taught how to identify point and non- point sources of pollution.
Minimizing Waste - Students learn how to explain how to minimize waste production
by reducing, reusing, and recycling.
Chapter 2 – Earth's Structure
The materials in this chapter cover the Earth's structure. It is organized into
sections that teach, reinforce and test students on the concepts of Earth's layers and
Earth's internal heat.
Lessons in this chapter are organized into the following sections:
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Earth's layers - Students are taught how to compare and contrast the properties of
Earth's layers.
Earth's internal heat - Students must learn how to describe how heat inside the Earth
is transported through the process of convection.
Chapter 3 – Earth's History
The materials in this chapter cover the Earth's history. It is organized into sections
that teach, reinforce and test students on the concepts of fossils and absolute and
relative dating.
Lessons in this chapter are organized into the following sections:
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Fossils - Students will learn how to describe how fossils are the proof of life and how
life and environmental conditions have changed over the course of time.
Absolute and relative dating - Students are taught how to apply methods of absolute
and relative dating to determine the age of rocks and fossils.
Chapter 4 - Rocks and Minerals
The materials in this chapter cover the basics of rocks and minerals. It is
organized into sections that teach, reinforce and test students on the concepts of
minerals, rocks, and the rock cycle.
Lessons in this chapter are organized into the following sections:
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Minerals - Students are taught how to classify minerals using physical properties such
as hardness, color, luster, and streak.
Rocks - Students will learn how to distinguish between igneous, sedimentary, and
metamorphic rocks.
The rock cycle - Students must be able to describe how material can change form in
the rock cycle.
Chapter 5 – Geologic Processes
The materials in this chapter cover the geologic process. It is organized into
sections that teach, reinforce and test students on the concepts of topographic and
geologic maps, geologic processes and events, continental drift, introduction to plate
tectonics, effects of plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, weathering, erosion, and
deposition, and soil.
Lessons in this chapter are organized into the following sections:
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Topographic and geologic maps - Students are taught how to interpret information on
topographic and geologic maps.
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Geologic processes and events - Students must be able to describe how Earth's
processes today are similar to those that occurred in the past, and how slow geologic
processes have large cumulative effects over long periods of time.
Continental drift - Students learn how to describe how lithospheric plates the size of
continents and oceans move at rates of centimeters per year in response to movements
in the mantle.
Introduction to plate tectonics - Students are taught how to explain the evidence for
the theory of plate tectonics.
Effects of plate tectonics - Students are taught how to explain how plate tectonics
shapes Earth's surface.
Earthquakes – Students learn to describe how the processes of plate tectonics.
Volcanoes - Students learn to describe how volcanoes are created by the
processes of plate tectonics.
Weathering, erosion, and deposition - Students learn how to differentiate between
chemical weathering, mechanical weathering, erosion, and deposition.
Soil - Students are taught to explain the process of soil formation and relate
different components of soil to soil properties.
Chapter 6 - Energy on Planet Earth
The materials in this chapter cover the energy on planet Earth. It is organized into
sections that teach, reinforce and test students on the concept the sun's energy.
Lessons in this chapter are organized into the following sections:
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The sun's energy - Students are taught to describe how sunlight reaches Earth
and its effects on the planet.
Chapter 7 – Water
The materials in this chapter cover the basics of water. It is organized into
sections that teach, reinforce and test students on the concepts of the water
cycle, watersheds, oceans, and ocean currents.
Lessons in this chapter are organized into the following sections:
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The water cycle - Students will learn how to explain the water cycle and describe
how evaporation, transpiration, condensation, cloud formation, precipitation,
infiltration, surface runoff, groundwater, and absorption occur within the cycle.
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Watersheds - Students are taught how to diagram the flow of water through a
watershed.
Oceans - Students learn how to describe the composition and underwater
features of Earth's oceans.
Ocean currents - Students are taught how to distinguish between surface
currents and deep ocean currents and describe the factors that create each kind
of current.
Chapter 8 - Earth's Atmosphere
The materials in this chapter cover the Earth's atmosphere. It is organized into
sections that teach, reinforce and test students on the concepts of atmospheric
composition, atmospheric convection, atmospheric temperature and pressure, and
moisture in the atmosphere.
Lessons in this chapter are organized into the following sections:
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Atmospheric composition - Students must be able to describe the physical properties
and chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere.
Atmospheric convection - Students are taught how to describe how convection drives
movement of air in Earth's atmosphere, creating global winds and the jet streams.
Atmospheric temperature and pressure - Students learn to explain how uneven
heating of Earth's
surface can affect air pressure, producing local winds.
Moisture in the atmosphere - Students are taught to compare and contrast water
vapor, clouds, and humidity, and describe how clouds form and eventually create
precipitation.
In the Earth's Atmosphere chapter, students learn about the troposphere.
Chapter 9 - Weather and Climate
The materials in this chapter cover weather and climate. It is organized into sections
that teach, reinforce and test students on the concepts of air masses and fronts,
weather, extreme weather, and climate.
Lessons in this chapter are organized into the following sections:
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Air masses - Students must be able to distinguish between warm and cold air masses,
and warm, cold, occluded, and stationary fronts, and identify these features on a
weather map.
Weather - Students learn how to predict future weather conditions by interpreting data
from weather instruments and weather maps.
Extreme weather - Students are taught to distinguish between hurricanes and
tornadoes, and describe the formation of each.
Climate - Students must be able to distinguish between weather and climate and
compare and contrast the climates of different regions on Earth based on their
geographic features.
Chapter 10 – Introduction to Astronomy
The materials in this chapter cover the introduction to astronomy. It is organized
into sections that teach, reinforce and test students on the concepts of astronomical
distances and observing astronomical objects.
Lessons in this chapter are organized into the following sections:
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Astronomical distances - Students learn how to apply the concepts of the
astronomical unit and the light year to describe astronomical distances.
Observing astronomical objects - Students must be able to describe how scientists
can observe astronomical objects and distinguish between objects that emit light and
objects that reflect it.
Chapter 11 – The Solar System
The materials in this chapter cover the basics of the solar system. It is organized
into sections that teach, reinforce and test students on the concepts of the structure of
the solar system, the sun, planets and moons, asteroids, comets, and meteoroids,
models of the solar system, gravity in our solar system, and formation of the solar
system.
Lessons in this chapter are organized into the following sections:
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Structure of the solar system - Students are taught how to describe the basic
structure of the solar system and relate the solar system to the larger universe.
The sun - Students must be able to describe the physical and chemical features and
properties of the Sun.
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Planets and moons - Students will learn to compare and contrast the properties of the
planets in the solar system and their moons.
Asteroids, comets, and meteoroids - Students learn to compare and contrast the
properties of asteroids, comets, and meteoroids.
Models of the solar system - Students must be able to differentiate between
heliocentric and geocentric models of the solar system, and interpret a scale model of
the solar system.
Gravity in our solar system - Students are taught how to apply Newton's theory of
universal gravitation to explain the structure of the solar system and the motion of
objects within it.
Formation of the solar system - Students learn how to apply Newton's theory of
universal gravitation to explain the formation of the solar system.
Chapter 12 – Stars and Galaxies
The materials in this chapter cover stars and galaxies. It is organized into sections
that teach, reinforce and test students on the concepts of stars, Hertzsprung-Russell
Diagrams, and galaxies.
Lessons in this chapter are organized into the following sections:
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Stars - Students are taught how to classify stars by their physical properties including
apparent magnitude, temperature, size, and luminosity, and sequence the stages of a
star's existence.
Hertzsprung-Russell Diagrams - Students learn how to use a Hertzsprung-Russell
diagram and other data to compare the approximate mass, size, luminosity,
temperature, structure, and composition of the sun to other stars.
Galaxies - Students must be able to describe the Sun's position within the Milky Way
and the universe, and recognize that there are billions of galaxies, each made up of
many millions or billions of stars.
Chapter 13 - The Sun, the Moon, and Earth
The materials in this chapter cover the sun, the moon, and Earth. It is organized
into sections that teach, reinforce and test students on the concepts of Earth's magnetic
field, days, seasons, and years, eclipses, phases of the moon, and tides.
Lessons in this chapter are organized into the following sections:
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Earth's magnetic field - Students must be able to describe the origin of Earth's
magnetic field and the effects caused by this field.
Days, seasons, and years - Students learn how to analyze the position of Earth and
the Sun, Earth's orbital and rotational motions, and Earth's axial tilt to describe the
causes of days, years, and seasons.
Eclipses - Students are taught to analyze the relative positions of Earth, the Sun, and
the Moon to predict solar and lunar eclipses.
Phases of the moon - Students learn how to predict the current phase of the Moon
based on the relative positions of Earth, the Sun, and the Moon.
Tides - Students must be able to relate the tides on Earth to the relative positions of the
Sun and Moon.
Chapter 14 – Understanding the Universe
The materials in this chapter cover the basics of understanding the universe. It is
organized into sections that teach, reinforce and test students on the concepts of space
exploration and the origin of the universe.
Lessons in this chapter are organized into the following sections:
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Space exploration - Students are taught how to describe the history and future of
space exploration, including the types of equipment and transportation needed for
space travel.
The origin of the universe - Students will learn how to describe scientific evidence for
the age and origin of the universe.