Use the science to investigate a real source, explain the evidence, and communicate a defensible conclusion. The guide supplies the actual reading, data, task, and chosen level before the unit begins.
| Strand | Required evidence |
|---|---|
| History, Reading, Writing | Use an approved source in context and a student-authored response. Separate the original evidence from later explanations; do not force a single-hero story. |
| Geography and ethics | Include location, social context, or ethical trade-offs where they genuinely support the scientific question. |
| Elective extensions | Choose additional depth in data, technology, economics, or art. Extensions do not replace the core work. |
| Quantitative science | Use the unit's mathematical lane at the agreed level. Supply units, denominators, and model conditions; required science is assessed as science. |
Integration is reported separately and cannot lower the science grade or block a science demonstration pass. Science and practical criteria determine that pass.
Use the same approved task in both formats. The web guide explains the source, data, assumptions, student work, and evidence checklist; this packet is its portable summary, not a different assignment.
Use the web guide's approved unit assignment.
| Unit | Physical Science big idea | Integration anchor |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Matter & Its Properties | Matter can be sorted by measurable properties like mass, volume, and density. | Archimedes and the king’s crown — the “eureka” story of using density to test whether the gold was pure; a measured property, not a guess. |
| 02 Atoms, Elements & the Periodic Table | All matter is built from atoms, and the elements fill the periodic table. | Mendeleev arranging the first periodic table and predicting elements no one had found yet. |
| 03 Chemical & Physical Changes | Some changes make new substances; others change only the form of matter — and mass is conserved. | Lavoisier’s sealed-jar experiments showing mass stays the same — what counts as real evidence of a chemical change. |
| 04 Forces & Motion | Forces change how things move, and motion follows simple, predictable rules. | Galileo’s ramps and Newton’s laws — timing motion without a stopwatch; balanced vs. unbalanced forces. |
| 05 Energy & Its Forms | Energy takes many forms and moves between them, but the total is never lost. | James Prescott Joule measuring how motion turns into heat — energy conserved on a swing or a roller coaster. |
| 06 Heat & Thermal Energy | Temperature measures average energy; heat is energy moving from warmer to cooler. | The steam engine and the Industrial Revolution — James Watt; conduction, convection, and radiation. |
| 07 Waves, Sound & Light | Sound and light travel as waves — wavelength, frequency, and amplitude. | Measuring the speed of light and mapping the sea floor with sound; one wave picture explains both an echo and a rainbow. |
| 08 Electricity & Magnetism | Electricity and magnetism are linked: a moving magnet makes a current. | Michael Faraday — the bookbinder’s apprentice who discovered induction and lit the electric age. |
Changing flux induces an emf; the resulting current additionally depends on the circuit. Use the assigned Faraday source and synthetic records to calculate or compare polarity and magnitude, then write the historical connection and a limitation. A data exercise does not certify practical wiring, and not every electricity source uses electromagnetic induction.
Math never drives a unit, but physical science uses it constantly — always anchored to the device or measurement at the bench. Here is the quantitative skill each unit actually uses, done inside the lab context rather than as a parallel curriculum.
| Unit | Applied math at the agreed level |
|---|---|
| 01 Matter & Its Properties | Measuring mass and volume; calculating density (mass ÷ volume); unit conversions. |
| 02 Atoms, Elements & the Periodic Table | Reading the periodic table; counting protons and electrons; simple whole-number ratios. |
| 03 Chemical & Physical Changes | Adding masses before and after a change to check conservation of mass; reading a balance. |
| 04 Forces & Motion | Speed = distance ÷ time; plotting and reading distance–time graphs; adding forces. |
| 05 Energy & Its Forms | Comparing kinetic and potential energy; simple energy bar charts; proportional reasoning. |
| 06 Heat & Thermal Energy | Reading thermometers; graphing temperature over time; averaging measurements. |
| 07 Waves, Sound & Light | Wavelength, frequency, and amplitude; simple wave-speed reasoning; reading a wave diagram. |
| 08 Electricity & Magnetism | Simple circuit ratios; comparing current with more turns or a stronger magnet; measuring and comparing. |
Students do the density calculation inside the matter-and-its-properties lab, the speed graph inside the forces-and-motion run, the heat-transfer measurement inside the thermal-energy experiment. The number always means something because it is attached to a result they produced — never a worksheet detached from the physical science.
Integration is its own strand. Track each unit’s integration level across the year — Developing, Proficient, or Mastery — separate from the science-mastery rubric. Record the evidence reference and date in the final column.
| Unit | Developing | Proficient | Mastery | Evidence / date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Matter & Its Properties | ◯ | ◯ | ◯ | ______ |
| 02 Atoms & the Periodic Table | ◯ | ◯ | ◯ | ______ |
| 03 Chemical & Physical Changes | ◯ | ◯ | ◯ | ______ |
| 04 Forces & Motion | ◯ | ◯ | ◯ | ______ |
| 05 Energy & Its Forms | ◯ | ◯ | ◯ | ______ |
| 06 Heat & Thermal Energy | ◯ | ◯ | ◯ | ______ |
| 07 Waves, Sound & Light | ◯ | ◯ | ◯ | ______ |
| 08 Electricity & Magnetism | ◯ | ◯ | ◯ | ______ |
A student who walks through all eight anchors finishes understanding that physical science is how humans learned to understand and shape the world around them, and that every formula on the page was once a discovery someone fought for — the version of the subject a student keeps.