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OVERVIEW
WATER PLANET

CONTENT GOALS

The Water Planet Module consists of five sequential investigations, each designed to introduce or reinforce concepts in earth science. The investigations start with Earth in the solar system, and then focus on the dynamics of weather and water cycling in Earth’s atmosphere.

FOSS EXPECTS STUDENTS TO

• Learn the composition and organization of the solar system.
• Learn that gravity keeps solar-system bodies in orbit.
• Design and describe controlled experiments.
• Use graphing conventions to display data for analysis.
• Investigate and analyze the effects of temperature and surface area on evaporation.
• Investigate and analyze how temperature affects the formation of dew and frost.
• Observe differential heating of water and soil.
• Describe how uneven heating results in convection currents.
• Understand that air is a mixture of gases that can be compressed.
• Learn that the weight of Earth’s atmosphere is pressure, which pushes equally in all directions and decreases with elevation.
• Learn how water is distributed worldwide.
• Understand the mechanism of the water cycle and the myriad ways it is expressed worldwide.
• Understand weather as the condition of the atmosphere in terms of three variables: heat, motion, and moisture.
• Learn the causes and effects of severe weather.
• Know how to read weather maps to make forecasts.