Science Reasoning Center - NGSS Alignments
Unlike Version 1 of our Science Reasoning Center, Version 2 will be the home of a collection of NGSS-inspired activities. These activities will include an evolving story associated with some phenomenon followed by a collection of questions that lie at the intersection of a disciplinary core idea, a science and engineering practice, and a crosscutting concept. These activities will provide teachers, students, and classrooms an environment to practice implementing physics (and chemistry) content in the context of a practice of science and an over-arching science concept.
We accompany each Science Reasoning Activity with an About page that discusses the connection between the activity and the NGSS standards. In the discussion, we reference the various dimensions of the standards using a notation like CCC 3.2 (representing the second element (".2") of the third ("3.") Crosscutting Concept. For clarity and convenience sake, we have included two pages on our site where we identify those specific dimensions of the standards with the notation that we have used. Tap the links below to view the SEPs and CCCs:
Science and Engineering Practices || Crosscutting Concepts
Disclaimer: The standards are not our original work. The standards are the property of the Next Generation Science Standards.
We hope to eventually create at least one activity for each of the performance expectations in the high school Physical Science strand and a few additional performance expectations from the Earth and Space Science strand. As of this page update (6/5/2024), we have 31 purely NGSS-inspired activities.
In addition to the "NGSS-inspired" activities, we have also included re-writes of our Version 1 PDFs, transforming them into interactive content with Task Tracking and giving them an NGSS slant. These activities are typically not rich with three-dimensional questions. But they do address many of the NGSS standards for core ideas, cross-cutting concepts, and science and engineering practices. And they do contain lots of 2D and some 3D questions. We believe that while they are not as valuable as our NGSS-inspired activities, they do hold value for use within the classroom. We include links to those activities from the variety of topic pages within our Science Reasoning Center section.
When we complete an activity, we publish it and provide the link to it. Check back often to view the latest content; or stay abreast of the latest developments by a periodic visit to our What's New at TPC? page.
HS-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions
HS-PS1-1: Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in the outermost energy level of atoms.
The Periodic Table, Elements, and Their Bonds
The Periodic Table, Ions, and Ionic Compounds
Periodic Trends
HS-PS1-2: Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the outermost electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of chemical properties.
HS-PS1-3: Plan and conduct an investigation to gather evidence to compare the structure of substances at the bulk scale to infer the strength of electrical forces between particles.
Intermolecular Forces
Melting Points and Boiling Points
HS-PS1-4: Develop a model to illustrate that the release or absorption of energy from a chemical reaction system depends upon the changes in total bond energy.
HS-PS1-5: Apply scientific principles and evidence to provide an explanation about the effects of changing the temperature or concentration of the reacting particles on the rate at which a reaction occurs.
HS-PS1-6: Refine the design of a chemical system by specifying a change in conditions that would produce increased amounts of products at equilibrium.
The Ammonia Factory (see accompanying simulation page)
HS-PS1-7: Use mathematical representations to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during a chemical reaction.
HS-PS1-8: Develop models to illustrate the changes in the composition of the nucleus of the atom and the energy released during the processes of fission, fusion, and radioactive decay.
More Information at NGSS Website.
HS-PS2 Motion and Stability: Force and Interactions
HS-PS2-1: Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration.
Cart, Bricks, and Bands
Fan Cart Study
HS-PS2-2: Use mathematical representations to support the claim that the total momentum of a system of objects is conserved when there is no net force on the system.
HS-PS2-3: Apply scientific and engineering ideas to design, evaluate, and refine a device that minimizes the force on a macroscopic object during a collision.
HS-PS2-4: Use mathematical representations of Newton’s Law of Gravitation and Coulomb’s Law to describe and predict the gravitational and electrostatic forces between objects.
HS-PS2-5: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that an electric current can produce a magnetic field and that a changing magnetic field can produce an electric current.
Electricity and Magnetism - Part 1
Electricity and Magnetism - Part 2
HS-PS2-6: Communicate scientific and technical information about why the molecular-level structure is important in the functioning of designed materials.
Nothing yet. But we haven't forgotten about it.
More information at NGSS Website.
HS-PS3 Energy
HS-PS3-1: Create a computational model to calculate the change in the energy of one component in a system when the change in energy of the other component(s) and energy flows in and out of the system are known.
HS-PS3-2: Develop and use models to illustrate that energy at the macroscopic scale can be accounted for as a combination of energy associated with the motions of particles (objects) and energy associated with the relative positions of particles (objects).
Energy on an Incline
Hot Wheels Stopping Distance
Modeling Roller Coasters
HS-PS3-3: Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.
Nothing yet. But we haven't forgotten about it.
HS-PS3-4: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that the transfer of thermal energy when two components of different temperature are combined within a closed system results in a more uniform energy distribution among the components in the system (second law of thermodynamics).
HS-PS3-5: Develop and use a model of two objects interacting through electric or magnetic fields to illustrate the forces between objects and the changes in energy of the objects due to the interaction.
More information at NGSS Website.
HS-PS4 Waves and their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
HS-PS4-1: Use mathematical representations to support a claim regarding relationships among the frequency, wavelength, and speed of waves traveling in various media.
HS-PS4-2: Evaluate questions about the advantages of using a digital transmission and storage of information.
HS-PS4-3: Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning behind the idea that electromagnetic radiation can be described either by a wave model or a particle model, and that for some situations one model is more useful than the other.
HS-PS4-4: Evaluate the validity and reliability of claims in published materials of the effects that different frequencies of electromagnetic radiation have when absorbed by matter.
HS-PS4-5: Communicate technical information about how some technological devices use the principles of wave behavior and wave interactions with matter to transmit and capture information and energy.
Communicating With Electromagnetic Waves
More information at NGSS Website.
HS-ES1 Earth and Space Systems
HS-ESS1-1: Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation.
No current plans; that may change.
HS-ESS1-2: Construct an explanation of the Big Bang theory based on astronomical evidence of light spectra, motion of distant galaxies, and composition of matter in the universe.
No current plans; that may change.
HS-ESS1-3: Communicate scientific ideas about the way stars, over their life cycle, produce elements.
No current plans; that may change.
HS-ESS1-4: Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system.
Kepler's Laws Activity
Kepler's Third Law
More information at NGSS Website.