4. The Physical Setting
B. The Earth: (Atmosphere-Related Benchmarks)
Grades K - 2: By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that:
- Water can be a liquid or a solid and can go back and forth from one form to the other.
Grades 6 - 8: By the end of the 8th grade, students should know that:
- The Earth is mostly rock. Three-fourths of its surface is covered by a relatively thin layer of water (some of it frozen), and the entire planet is surrounded by a relatively thin blanket of air. It is the only body in the solar system that appears able to support life. The other planets have compositions and conditions very different from the Earth's.
4. The Physical Setting
C. Processes that Shape the Earth
Grade 3 - 5: By the end of the 5th grade, students should know that:
- Waves, wind, water, and ice shape and reshape the Earth's land surface by eroding rock and soil in some areas and depositing them in other areas, sometimes in seasonal layers.
Grades 6 - 8: By the end of the 8th grade, students should know that:
- The interior of the Earth is hot. Heat flow and movement of material within the Earth cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and create mountains and ocean basins.
- Some changes in the Earth's surface are abrupt (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) while other changes happen very slowly (such as uplift and wearing down of mountains). The Earth's surface is shaped in part by the motion of water and wind over very long times, which act to level mountain ranges.
Grades 9 - 12: By the end of the 12th grade, students should know that:
- Plants alter the Earth's atmosphere by removing carbon dioxide from it, using the carbon to make sugars and releasing oxygen. This process is responsible for the oxygen content of the air.
- Earthquakes often occur along the boundaries between colliding plates, and molten rock from below creates pressure that is released by volcanic eruptions, helping to build up mountains.
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From Benchmarks for Science Literacy