Kentucky State Standards for Science: Grade 4

SC-4-STM. Big Idea: Structure and Transformation of Matter (Physical Science) - A basic understanding of matter is essential to the conceptual development of other big ideas in science. In the elementary years of conceptual development, students will be studying properties of matter and physical changes of matter at the macro level through direct observations, forming the foundation for subsequent learning. The use of models (and an understanding of their scales and limitations) is an effective means of learning about the structure of matter. Looking for patterns in properties is also critical to comparing and explaining differences in matter. (Academic Expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.4)

SC-4-STM-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that things can be done to materials to change some of their properties, but not all materials respond the same way to what is done to them. 8
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-STM-U-1.

SC-4-STM-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that when a new material is made by combining two or more materials the new material often has properties that are different from the original materials. 6
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-STM-U-2.

SC-4-STM-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that properties of materials may change if the materials become hotter or colder. 2
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-STM-U-3.

SC-4-STM-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that if water is turned into ice and then the ice is allowed to melt, the amount of water is the same as it was before freezing. When liquid water 'disappears' it is not really gone, it has turned into a gas (vapor). 6
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-STM-U-4.

SC-4-STM-U-5. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that scientists pay more attention to claims about how something works when the claims are backed up with evidence that can be confirmed. 14
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-STM-U-5.

SC-4-MF. Big Idea: Motion and Forces (Physical Science) - Whether observing airplanes, baseballs, planets, or people, the motion of all bodies is governed by the same basic rules. In the elementary years of conceptual development, students need multiple opportunities to experience, observe, and describe (in words and pictures) motion, including factors (e.g., pushing, pulling) that affect motion. (Academic Expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.4)

SC-4-MF-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that an object's motion can be described as its change in position over time and can be represented in a variety of ways. 2
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-MF-U-1.

SC-4-MF-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that forces (pushes and pulls) cause changes in the direction or speed of something moving; the greater the force on an object, the greater its change in motion. 5
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-MF-U-2.

SC-4-MF-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that sound is produced by the vibration of matter, and the rate of vibration affects the pitch of the sound. 4
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-MF-U-3.

SC-4-MF-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that things vary greatly in their motion. Some things move so fast they cannot be seen, while others are so slow that we cannot see that they are moving at all. Technology enables people to observe these fast or slow movements. 2
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-MF-U-4.

SC-4-MF-U-5. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that recording and representing information about the motion of objects in a variety of ways makes that data useful in supporting explanations, even long after it was originally collected. 3
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-MF-U-5.

SC-4-EU. Big Idea: Grade: The Earth and the Universe (Earth/Space Science) - The Earth system is in a constant state of change. These changes affect life on earth in many ways. Development of conceptual understandings about processes that shape the Earth begin at the elementary level with understanding what Earth materials are and that change occurs. At the heart of elementary students' initial understanding of the Earth's place in the universe is direct observation of the Earth-sun-moon system. Students can derive important conceptual understandings about the system as they describe interactions resulting in shadows, moon phases, and day and night. The use of models and observance of patterns to explain common phenomena is essential to building a conceptual foundation and supporting ideas with evidence at all levels. (Academic Expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.4)

SC-4-EU-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that classifying Earth materials according to their properties allows decisions to be made about their usefulness for various purposes. 3
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-EU-U-1.

SC-4-EU-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that weather data can be organized and represented in ways that reveal patterns needed for making predictions about the future, but the weather is so complex that it cannot always be predicted beyond being more or less likely to occur. 12
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-EU-U-2.

SC-4-EU-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that the surface of the Earth is always changing through both fast and slow processes. These changes may be steady, repetitive or irregular. Careful analysis of data from past events allows the prediction of expected consequences when similar events happen again. 5
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-EU-U-3.

SC-4-EU-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that a variety of models of the sun, earth, moon system are needed to explain the observed patterns of their relative motions, since people are not able to see from the outside how this system is constructed. 11
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-EU-U-4.

SC-4-EU-U-5. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that a model of something can never be exactly like the real thing, but can be used to learn something about the real thing. 2
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-EU-U-5.

SC-4-UD. Big Idea: Unity and Diversity (Biological Science) - All matter is comprised of the same basic elements, goes through the same kinds of energy transformations, and uses the same kinds of forces to move. Living organisms are no exception. Elementary students begin to observe the macroscopic features of organisms in order to make comparisons and classifications based upon likenesses and differences. Looking for patterns in the appearance and behavior of an organism leads to the notion that offspring are much like the parents, but not exactly alike. Emphasis at every level should be placed upon the understanding that while every living thing is composed of similar small constituents that combine in predictable ways, it is the subtle variations within these small building blocks that account for both the likenesses and differences in form and function that create the diversity of life. (Academic Expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.3)

SC-4-UD-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that things in the environment are classified as living, nonliving and once living. 2
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-UD-U-1.

SC-4-UD-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that characteristics of living things can be used to sort them into various groups: the characteristics chosen to establish the grouping depend on the reason for the grouping. 1
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-UD-U-2.

SC-4-UD-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that organisms have different structures that are used for different functions. Observations of the structures of a certain organism can be used to predict how that organism functions or where it might live. 6
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-UD-U-3.

SC-4-UD-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that offspring resemble their parents because the parents have a reliable way to transfer information to the next generation. 8
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-UD-U-4.

SC-4-UD-U-5. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that some likenesses between parents and offspring are inherited (e.g. eye color) and some likenesses are learned (e.g. speech patterns in people). 14
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-UD-U-5.

SC-4-UD-U-6. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that all living things are produced from other living things. They grow and then eventually die. Before they die most living things create offspring, allowing their kind to continue. 97
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-UD-U-6.

SC-4-BC. Big Idea: Biological Change (Biological Science) - The only thing certain is that everything changes. Elementary students build a foundational knowledge of change by observing slow and fast changes caused by nature in their own environment, noting changes that humans and other organisms cause in their environment, and observing fossils found in or near their environment. (Academic Expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.7)

SC-4-BC-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that the structures and characteristics of fossils provide information about the nature of an organism, the environmental conditions where/when it lived and how it is related to organisms still alive today. 13
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-BC-U-1.

SC-4-BC-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that scientists ask many questions about the world around them, but not all of their questions can be investigated in a scientific way. Part of the job of a scientist is to focus only on questions that can be scientifically tested. 20
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-BC-U-2.

SC-4-BC-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that scientists pay more attention to claims when they are supported with evidence that can be confirmed through scientific investigation. 20
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-BC-U-3.

SC-4-ET. Big Idea: Energy Transformations (Unifying Concepts) - Energy transformations are inherent in almost every system in the universe - from tangible examples at the elementary level, such as heat production in simple earth and physical systems to more abstract ideas beginning at middle school, such as those transformations involved in the growth, dying and decay of living systems. The use of models to illustrate the often invisible and abstract notions of energy transfer will aid in conceptualization, especially as students move from the macroscopic level of observation and evidence (primarily elementary school) to the microscopic interactions at the atomic level (middle and high school levels). (Academic Expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5)

SC-4-ET-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that ecosystems are defined by the relationships that occur within them. These relationships can be determined through observation of the organisms and their environment. 8
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-ET-U-1.

SC-4-ET-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that light and heat from the sun are essential to sustaining most life on earth. Plants change energy from the sun's light into energy that is used as food by the plant. 6
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-ET-U-2.

SC-4-ET-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that electrical energy can be used for a variety of purposes. Many electrical systems share some common features, including a source of energy, a closed conducting path and a device that performs a function by utilizing that energy. 1
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-ET-U-3.

SC-4-ET-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that light interacts with different kinds of matter in different ways and those interactions can be predicted based on the type of matter involved. 4
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-ET-U-4.

SC-4-ET-U-5. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that heat is a form of energy that results when another form of energy is transformed. Heat flows through different materials at different rates, and it naturally flows from warmer areas to cooler ones. 6
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-ET-U-5.

SC-4-ET-U-6. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that seeing how a model works after changes are made to it may suggest how the real thing would work if the same thing were done to it. 2
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-ET-U-6.

SC-4-I. Big Idea: Interdependence (Unifying Concepts) - It is not difficult for students to grasp the general notion that species depend on one another and on the environment for survival. But their awareness must be supported by knowledge of the kinds of relationships that exist among organisms, the kinds of physical conditions that organisms must cope with, the kinds of environments created by the interaction of organisms with one another and their physical surroundings, and the complexity of such systems. Elementary learners need to become acquainted with ecosystems that are easily observable to them by beginning to study the habitats of many types of local organisms. Students begin to investigate the survival needs of different organisms and how the environment affects optimum conditions for survival. (Academic Expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5)

SC-4-I-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that all living things depend on their environment and other organisms within it for their survival. Certain patterns of behavior or physical features may help an organism survive in some environments yet perish in others. 47
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-I-U-1.

SC-4-I-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that environmental relationships extend beyond food (e.g. shelter, seed transport).

SC-4-I-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that people impact their environment in both beneficial and harmful ways. Some of these impacts can be predicted, while others cannot. 37
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-I-U-3.

SC-4-I-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that beneficial and harmful are relative terms: any single action can be both beneficial and harmful to different organisms in an ecosystem. 8
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-4-I-U-4.