PK–12 Essential Standards and Benchmarks

Kahua Standards and Benchmarks

PK-12 essential standards and benchmarks for Hawaiian-focused education.

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Grade 10 - Science

In addition to HFCS ‘Āina-based Learning Competencies (click to view), the PK-12 Science Kahua is grounded in the belief that the purpose of science is “Science is best defined as a careful, disciplined, logical search for knowledge about any and all aspects of the universe, obtained by examination of the best available evidence and always subject to correction and improvement upon discovery of better evidence. What's left is magic. And it doesn't work.” (year, Randi).

End of school year grade level outcomes were crosswalked with the HFCS Vision of the Graduate (2013), NGSS, Fountas and Pinnell, and were prioritized using the following criteria (Reeves, 2004): 1) Endurance, 2) Leverage, 3) Readiness, 4) Assessment Requirements.

  • S.LS.1Analyze and cite moʻolelo from a variety of primary and secondary resources (i.e. mele, nūpepa, websites, books, ʻohana) to deepen understanding about the moʻokūauhau of our ʻāina.
  • S.LS.2Utilize kilo in various communities and expand observations through the use of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi to describe patterns of wahi pana interdependence (i.e. ahupuaʻa, ecosystem, loko iʻa).
  • S.LS.3Discern between and lead appropriate protocol in age/kuleana appropriate ceremonies and protocols.
  • S.LS.4Utilize and mālama wahi pana resources (i.e. pāhonu, limu, salt beds, mala, kupuna, water, kiʻopua) to aloha ʻāina.
  • S.LS.5Understand multiple perspectives to better empathize and collaboratively formulate solutions based on kānaka genealogy of that place (i.e. kupuna, ʻāina partners, state/Federal Agencies, institutions of higher education, law).

  • S.LS.6Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
  • S.LS.7Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the outermost
  • S.LS.8electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of chemical properties.
  • S.LS.9Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.
  • S.LS.10Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem.
  • S.LS.11Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
  • S.LS.12Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
  • S.LS.13Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.
  • S.LS.14Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.

  • S.LS.15Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the structure of DNA determines the structure of proteins, which carry out the essential functions of life through systems of specialized cells.
  • S.LS.16Evaluate claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
  • S.LS.17Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring.
  • S.LS.18Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.
  • S.LS.19Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species.
  • S.LS.20Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical organization of interacting systems that provide
  • S.LS.21specific functions within multicellular organisms.
  • S.LS.22Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis.
  • S.LS.23Use a model to illustrate the role of cellular division (mitosis) and differentiation in producing and maintaining complex organisms.
  • S.LS.24Use a model to illustrate that cellular respiration is a chemical process whereby the bonds of food molecules and oxygen molecules are broken and the bonds in new compounds are formed, resulting in a net transfer of energy.
  • S.LS.25Use mathematical representations to support claims for the cycling of matter and flow of energy among organisms in an ecosystem.
  • S.LS.26Develop a model to illustrate the role of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the cycling of carbon among the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.
  • S.LS.27Make and defend a claim based on evidence that inheritable genetic variations may result from (1) new genetic combinations through meiosis, (2) viable errors occurring during replication, and/or (3) mutations caused by environmental factors.
  • S.LS.28Apply concepts of statistics and probability to explain the variation and distribution of expressed traits in a population.
  • S.LS.29Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.
  • S.LS.30Construct an explanation based on evidence that the process of evolution primarily results from four factors: (1) the potential for a species to increase in number, (2) the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction, (3) competition for limited resources, and (4) the proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment.
  • S.LS.31Apply concepts of statistics and probability to support explanations that organisms with an advantageous heritable trait tend to increase in proportion to organisms lacking this trait.
  • S.LS.32Evaluate evidence for the role of group behavior on individual and species’ chances to survive and reproduce.
  • S.LS.33Construct an explanation based on evidence for how natural selection leads to adaptation of populations.
  • S.LS.34Use a model to illustrate how photosynthesis transforms light energy into stored chemical energy.
  • S.LS.35Construct and revise an explanation based on evidence for how carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen from sugar molecules may combine with other elements to form amino acids and/or other large carbon-based molecules.
  • S.LS.36Construct and revise an explanation based on evidence for the cycling of matter and flow of energy in aerobic and anaerobic conditions.
  • S.LS.37Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.*
  • S.LS.38Use mathematical and/or computational representations to support explanations of factors that affect carrying capacity of ecosystems at different scales.
  • S.LS.39Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.
  • S.LS.40Create or revise a simulation to test a solution to mitigate adverse impacts of human activity on biodiversity.*