19 / 28
19
Physics and 21st Century Science Standards: The Role of Physics in the NGSS
Explicitly Included in the
NGSS
Language omitted in the
NGSS
Mechanics (Motion, Force,
Energy, Momentum)
•
Motion
(1-dimensional)
•
x-t and v-t graphs
•
Newton’s Second
Law of Motion
•
Force, net force
•
Balanced,
unbalanced systems
•
Mass
•
Acceleration
•
Energy
(kinetic/
motion, chemical,
sound, light, thermal,
position, electrical,
spring, radiation,
renewable energy,
etc.)
•
Closed systems
•
Conservation of
mass/matter
•
Conservation of
energy
•
Energy transfer/
transformations
/
efficiency
•
Conservation of
momentum
•
Newton’s Law of
Gravitation
•
Gravitational Field
•
Orbital motion (2
bodies), Kepler’s Laws
•
Vectors / scalars
•
Displacement,
distance
•
2-dimensional
motion
•
Projectile motion
•
Newton’s First Law /
Inertia
•
Periodic Motion
•
Torque
•
Work, power
•
Hooke’s Law
•
Potential energy
absorption
, reflection,
resonance, interference
(relative phase, peaks,
troughs), diffraction,
and photoelectric effect/
materials.
•
Wave and
particle model of
electromagnetic
radiation.
•
Light spectra,
radio,
microwaves, light,
heat, ultraviolet,
X-rays, gamma rays,
cosmic microwave
background radiation
•
Brightness
•
Standing waves
(on strings or air
columns)
•
Hearing (pitch,
loudness, timbre)
•
Beats
•
Doppler Effect
Heat and Thermodynamics
•
Temperature
•
Second Law of
Thermodynamics
•
Zeroth, First, and
Third Laws of
Thermodynamics
•
Kinetic Theory
•
Gas Laws
Electricity and Magnetism
•
Charges
•
Coulomb’s Law
•
Electrical Field
•
Electrical Current
•
Electrically
conductive materials
•
Batteries
•
Magnets
•
Magnetic Field
•
Polarity
•
Circuits (simple,
series, parallel)
•
Circuit concepts
(resistance, voltage,
AC/DC, Ohm’s Law)
•
Circuit components
(resistor, capacitor,
inductor).
Modern Physics (Nuclear,
Quantum, Relativity,
Astrophysics)
•
Fission, fusion,
radioactive decay,
nucleosynthesis,
alpha, beta, and
gamma radioactive
decay
•
Atoms, protons,
neutrons, electrons
Waves, Sound, and Optics
•
Frequency
•
Wavelength
•
Speed
•
Media
•
Electromagnetic
radiation, sound, and
seismic waves
•
Wave behavior and
interaction,
•
Optics (mirrors,
lenses, vision, color)
•
Snell’s Law, refraction,
•
Polarization
•
Inverse-Square Law
(for light)
•
Standing waves
Table 5: Physics language used in High School NGSS