Use these targets, vocabulary, rubrics, examples, and score sheet with the instructor's approved lesson and procedure. This is an assessment companion, not a complete lesson or safety authorization.
Student lessons, data, and worked answers: Unit 06 learning pathway.
The student demonstrates the following:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Read an air-quality or CO₂ dataset; separate signal from noise.
The student argues a human-driven trend from the data (Page 4).
Dataset, plotted trend, and interpretation kept distinct.
You are making a decision, not adding up points. For each criterion, decide whether the work is Developing, Proficient, or Mastery — the column language tells you which. A criterion counts as mastered only when the student can both read the data and defend the trend it shows. Each student has three tokens per term; each token retries one rubric criterion. Approved accommodations, equipment failures, and approved absences are handled separately and do not consume these tokens.
Accept listed synonyms; use the distinction column to resolve near-matches.
| Canonical answer | Accepted synonyms | Common confusion / discriminator |
|---|---|---|
| Atmosphere & warming | ||
| Troposphere | weather layer | Lowest layer, where weather happens; distinct from the stratosphere |
| Stratosphere | ozone-layer level | Holds the ozone layer; temperature rises with altitude here |
| Greenhouse effect | heat-trapping effect | Gases absorb and re-emit infrared — not the same as the ozone hole |
| Greenhouse gas | infrared-absorbing gas | Comparisons need a metric and time horizon; distinguish forcing from feedback |
| Trends & pollutants | ||
| Keeling curve | atmospheric CO₂ record | Shows both the annual rise and a seasonal saw-tooth |
| Carbon budget | carbon accounting | Sources vs sinks; human emissions tip the balance |
| Acid deposition | acid rain | Sulfur and nitrogen oxides from combustion — not the greenhouse effect |
| Criteria air pollutant | pollutant with U.S. ambient standard | Includes ground-level ozone and PM; not every regulated pollutant is in this category |
| Time-weighted concentration | Σ(concentration × time)/total time | Not inhaled dose or an AQI; breathing and pollutant-specific rules are separate |
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atmospheric structure and circulation | Treats all layers as identical. | Names layers without mechanisms. | Explains troposphere/stratosphere differences, solar/rotation-driven circulation, inversions and ENSO-related redistribution. |
| Radiation balance and climate mechanisms | Confuses ozone with greenhouse warming. | Names gases without a budget. | Calculates an energy imbalance; distinguishes forcing from feedback and states the metric needed to compare greenhouse gases. |
| Carbon records and attribution | Confuses seasonal change and trend. | Plots values with help. | Calculates matched-season change, relates carbon uptake/emissions to a record, and uses independent evidence for attribution. |
| Ozone, deposition, particles and noise | Conflates air-pollution mechanisms. | Names pollutants without pathways. | Distinguishes smog, deposition, PM and noise; computes time/intensity weighting and control mass balances without claiming dose, AQI or safety. |
| Environmental data technique | Omits metadata or invents monitoring. | Calculates without limits. | Defends an approved air/climate dataset analysis with units, timing, uncertainty and a fresh transfer; separates observation from model. |
| Integration (cross-domain) | Makes no supported connection between the source and the science. | Uses the source but needs help connecting evidence, writing, or limitations to the science. | Independently connects History, Reading, and Writing using a cited source, appropriate evidence, a limitation, and a scientific explanation. |
Require the correct time interval, seasonal comparison and system boundary. A trend, an exposure average and a causal attribution are different outputs.
Read these before you grade. They show what Mastery and Developing actually sound like, plus the edge cases where you should coach rather than decide on the spot.
Student: ______________________________________ Date: _______________ Guide: _________________________
Integration is reported separately and cannot lower the science grade or block a science demonstration pass. Science and practical criteria determine that pass.
| # | Criterion | Decision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atmospheric structure and circulation | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Radiation balance and climate mechanisms | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Carbon records and attribution | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Ozone, deposition, particles and noise | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Environmental data technique | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 6 | Integration (cross-domain) | Dev / Prof / Mast |
☐ No ☐ Yes — for criterion: __________
Tokens left this term after this session (choose one): ☐ 3 ☐ 2 ☐ 1 ☐ None left
Dev = Developing · Prof = Proficient · Mast = Mastery · Unsure between two levels? Circle the lower one and note what a re-do would need.