OpenSciEd Chemistry + Earth & Space Unit 3: Molecular Processes in Earth Systems Student Edition

OpenSciEd High School addresses all high school NGSS standards. This comprehensive science curriculum empowers students to question, design, investigate, and solve the world around them. 

• Phenomenon Based - Centered around exploring phenomena or solving problems
• Driven by Student Questions - Storyline based on students’ questions and ideas 
• Grounded in Evidence - Incremental building and revision of ideas based on evidence 
• Collaborative - class and teacher figure out ideas together
• Equitable - Builds a classroom culture that values ideas and learning of all

The OpenSciEd model uses a storyline approach, introducing phenomena that anchors storylines developing disciplinary core ideas, concepts, and science/engineering practices. Students are encouraged to dive deep into key points and solve problems through five activities. 

C.3 Molecular Processes in Earth Systems​: How can we find, make, and recycle the substances we need to live on and beyond Earth?

This unit is designed to deepen student understanding of atomic structure, trends on the periodic table, and how atomic-level interactions influence bulk-scale properties. The unit focuses on what substances we would need to find, make, and recycle in order to successfully live and work beyond Earth, or in space. Lesson Set 1 has students investigate properties of different liquids and their interactions with surface materials. Students use this information to predict which liquid or event resulted in a land formation on Earth, the Moon, or Mars. Lesson set 2 has students fully develop atomic structure and use patterns in how different elements interact with each other to build out the periodic table. Students then are able to relate bulk-scale properties to atomic-scale interactions, like electronegativity. Students continue to connect the atomic- and bulk-scale properties in Lesson Set 3. They use the law of conservation of matter as they balance chemical equations. In Lesson Set 4, students focus on how we can recycle substances by investigating how differences in the structures of the substance affect our ability to recycle it into different substances.