---
title: "Physical Science 9-12"
url: "https://books.hrgrvs.net/2/standards/87/physical-science-9-12"
---

# High School Physical Science

## HS. Structure and Properties of Matter
Students who demonstrate understanding can:
### 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 (valence electrons). [Clarification Statement: Examples of properties that could be predicted from patterns could
include reactivity of metals, types of bonds formed, numbers of bonds formed, and reactions with oxygen.] [Assessment Boundary:
Assessment is limited to main group elements. Assessment does not include quantitative understanding of ionization energy beyond relative
trends.]
### 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. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on understanding the strengths of forces between particles, not on
naming specific intermolecular forces (such as dipole-dipole). Examples of particles could include ions, atoms, molecules, and networked
materials (such as graphite). Examples of bulk properties of substances could include the melting point and boiling point, vapor pressure,
and surface tension.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include Raoult’s law calculations of vapor pressure.]
### 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. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on simple qualitative models, such as pictures or diagrams, and
on the scale of energy released in nuclear processes relative to other kinds of transformations. Example applications include dating of rocks,
carbon dating of artifacts, paleoclimate studies, medical imaging, tracking animal migrations via diet, age dating meteorites, tracking ground
water flow.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative calculation of energy released. Assessment is limited to alpha,
beta, and gamma radioactive decays.]
### HS-PS2-6.
Communicate scientific and technical information about why the molecular-level structure is important in the functioning of natural and
designed materials. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the attractive and repulsive forces that determine the functioning of the
material. Examples could include why electrically conductive materials are often made of metal, flexible but durable materials are made up
of long chained molecules, and pharmaceuticals are designed to interact with specific receptors.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is
limited to provided molecular structures of specific designed materials.]

## HS. Chemical Reactions
Students who demonstrate understanding can:
### 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. [Clarification Statement: Examples of chemical
reactions could include the reaction of sodium and chlorine, of carbon and oxygen, or of carbon and hydrogen.] [Assessment Boundary:
Assessment is limited to chemical reactions involving main group elements and combustion reactions.]
### 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. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the idea that a chemical reaction is a system that affects the energy change. Examples
of models could include molecular-level drawings and diagrams of reactions, graphs showing the relative energies of reactants and products,
and representations showing energy is conserved.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include calculating the total bond energy
changes during a chemical reaction from the bond energies of reactants and products.]
### 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. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on student reasoning that focuses on the
number and energy of collisions between molecules.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to simple reactions in which there are
only two reactants; evidence from temperature, concentration, and rate data; and qualitative relationships between rate and temperature.]
### HS-PS1-6.
Make arguments based on kinetic molecular theory to explain how altering conditions affects the forward and reverse rates of a reaction
at equilibrium. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the application of Le Chatelier’s Principle and on refining designs of chemical
reaction systems, including descriptions of the connection between changes made at the macroscopic level and what happens at the
molecular level. Examples of designs could include different ways to increase product formation including adding reactants or removing
products.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to specifying the change in only one variable at a time. Assessment does not include
calculating equilibrium constants and concentrations.]
### HS-PS1-7.
Use mathematical representations to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during a chemical reaction.
[Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on using mathematical ideas to communicate the proportional relationships between masses of atoms
in the reactants and the products, and the translation of these relationships to the macroscopic scale using the mole as the conversion from
the atomic to the macroscopic scale. Emphasis is on assessing students’ use of mathematical thinking and not on memorization and rote
application of problem-solving techniques.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include complex chemical reactions.]

## HS. Forces and Interactions
Students who demonstrate understanding can:
### 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. [Clarification Statement: Examples of data could include tables or graphs of position or
velocity as a function of time for objects subject to a net unbalanced force, such as a falling object, an object sliding down a ramp, or a
moving object being pulled by a constant force.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to one-dimensional motion and to
macroscopic objects moving at non-relativistic speeds.]
### 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. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the quantitative conservation of momentum in interactions and the
qualitative meaning of this principle.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to systems of two macroscopic bodies moving in one
dimension.]
### HS-PS2-3.
Apply science and engineering ideas to design, evaluate, and refine a device that minimizes the force on a macroscopic object during a
collision.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of evaluation and refinement could include determining the success of the device at protecting
an object from damage and modifying the design to improve it. Examples of a device could include a football helmet or a parachute.]
[Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to qualitative evaluations and/or algebraic manipulations.]
### 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. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on both quantitative and conceptual descriptions of gravitational
and electric fields.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to systems with two 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. [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to designing and conducting investigations with provided
materials and tools.]

## HS. Energy
Students who demonstrate understanding can:
### 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. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on explaining the meaning
of mathematical expressions used in the model. Examples of models could include different insulation types or windows.] [Assessment
Boundary: Assessment is limited to basic algebraic expressions or computations; to systems of two or three components; and to thermal
energy, kinetic energy, and/or the energies in gravitational, magnetic, or electric fields.]
### 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 motion of particles (objects) and energy associated with the relative positions of particles (objects). [Clarification Statement:
Examples of phenomena at the macroscopic scale could include the conversion of kinetic energy to thermal energy, the energy stored due to
position of an object above the earth, and the energy stored between two electrically-charged plates. Examples of models could include
diagrams, drawings, descriptions, and computer simulations.]
### 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.*
[Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on both qualitative and quantitative evaluations of devices. Examples of devices could include Rube
Goldberg devices, wind turbines, solar cells, solar ovens, and generators. Examples of constraints could include use of renewable energy
forms and efficiency.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment for quantitative evaluations is limited to total output for a given input. Assessment
is limited to devices constructed with materials provided to students.]
### 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). [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on analyzing data from student investigations and using
mathematical thinking to describe the energy changes both quantitatively and conceptually. Examples of investigations could include mixing
liquids at different initial temperatures or adding objects at different temperatures to water.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited
to investigations based on materials and tools provided to students.]
### HS-PS3-5
Develop and use a model of two objects interacting through electrical or magnetic fields to illustrate the forces between objects and the
changes in energy of the objects due to the interaction (Coulomb's Law). [Clarification Statement: Examples of models could include
drawings, diagrams, and texts, such as drawings of what happens when two charges of opposite polarity are near each other.] [Assessment
Boundary: Assessment is limited to systems containing two objects.]

## HS. Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation
Students who demonstrate understanding can:
### HS-PS4-1.
Use mathematical representations to support a claim regarding relationships among the frequency, wavelength, and speed of waves
traveling in various media. [Clarification Statement: Examples of data could include electromagnetic radiation traveling in a vacuum and
glass, sound waves traveling through air and water, and seismic waves traveling through the Earth.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is
limited to algebraic relationships and describing those relationships qualitatively.]
### HS-PS4-2.
Evaluate questions about the advantages and disadvantages of using digital transmission and storage of information with respect to that
of forms other than digital, including analog. [Clarification Statement: Examples of advantages could include that digital information is
stable because it can be stored reliably in computer memory, transferred easily, and copied and shared rapidly. Disadvantages could include
issues of easy deletion, security, and theft.]
### 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. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how the
experimental evidence supports the claim and how a theory is generally modified in light of new evidence. Examples of a phenomenon could
include resonance, interference, diffraction, and photoelectric effect.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include using quantum
theory.]
### 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. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the idea that photons associated with different frequencies of light
have different energies, and the damage to living tissue from electromagnetic radiation depends on the energy of the radiation. Examples of
published materials could include trade books, magazines, web resources, videos, and other passages that may reflect bias.] [Assessment
Boundary: Assessment is limited to qualitative descriptions.]
### 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.* [Clarification Statement: Examples could include solar cells capturing light
and converting it to electricity; medical imaging; and communications technology.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessments are limited to
qualitative information. Assessments do not include band theory.]