11 / 28
11
Physics and 21st Century Science Standards: The Role of Physics in the NGSS
The Dimensions
The key elements of the NGSS are the three dimensions (Figure 5) that are interwoven
into each standard.
•
Disciplinary Core Ideas
(DCIs) These are the key pieces of discipline-focused
knowledge (i.e. content) that students should know.
•
Earth Science
•
Life Science
•
Physical Science
•
Engineering
•
Science and Engineering Practices
(SEPs) These practices describe specific skills and
actions that can be performed by students that parallel the activities of scientists to
build models and theories and by engineers to design and build systems.
•
Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
•
Developing and using models
•
Planning and carrying out investigations
•
Analyzing and interpreting data
•
Using mathematics and computational thinking
•
Constructive explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for
engineering)
•
Engaging in argument from evidence
•
Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.
•
Crosscutting Concepts
(CCs) These are the unifying ideas that span all science
disciplines that students with a broad science literacy should understand.
Organized by
DCI
Organized by
Topic
Physical Sciences
•
Matter and Its Interactions
•
Motion and Stability: Force & Motion
•
Energy
•
Waves and Their Applications in Technologies
for Information Transfer
•
Structure and Properties of Matter
•
Chemical Reactions
*
•
Forces and Interactions
•
Energy
•
Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation
Life Sciences
•
From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and
Processes
*
•
Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and
Dynamics
*
•
Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
•
Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
*
•
Structure and Function
•
Matter and Energy in Organisms and
Ecosystems
*
•
Interdependent Relationships in
Ecosystems
•
Inheritance and Variation of Traits
•
Natural Selection and Evolution
Earth and Space
Sciences
•
Earth’s Place in the Universe
*
•
Earth’s Systems
*
•
Earth and Human Activity
*
•
Space Systems
*
•
History of Earth
•
Earth’s Systems
*
•
Weather and Climate
*
•
Human Sustainability
*
Engineering Design
•
Engineering Design
•
Engineering Design
Table 1: NGSS organized by DCI and Topic