Standard
1 Understands atmospheric processes and the water cycle

Benchmarks
1.1 Knows that the Sun provides the light and heat necessary to maintain the temperature of the Earth
1.2 Knows that most of Earth's surface is covered by water, that most of that water is salt water in oceans, and that fresh water is found in rivers, lakes, underground sources, and glaciers

Standard
2 Understands Earth's composition and structure

Benchmarks
2.1 Knows that fossils provide evidence about the plants and animals that lived long ago and the nature of the environment at that time

Standard
3 Understands the composition and structure of the universe and the Earth's place in it

Benchmarks
3.1 Knows that night and day are caused by the Earth's rotation on its axis
3.2 Knows that the Earth is one of several planets that orbit the Sun and that the Moon orbits the Earth
3.3 Knows that the patterns of stars in the sky stay the same, although they appear to slowly move from east to west across the sky nightly and different stars can be seen in different seasons
3.4 Knows that planets look like stars, but over time they appear to wander among the constellations
3.5 Knows that astronomical objects in space are massive in size and are separated from one another by vast distances (e.g., many stars are more massive than our Sun but so distant they look like points of light)
3.6 Knows that telescopes magnify distant objects in the sky (e.g., the Moon, planets) and dramatically increase the number of stars we can see

Standard
4 Understands the principles of heredity and related concepts

Standard
5 Understands the structure and function of cells and organisms

Benchmarks
5.1 Knows that plants and animals progress through life cycles of birth, growth and development, reproduction, and death; the details of these life cycles are different for different organisms
5.2 Knows that living organisms have distinct structures and body systems that serve specific functions in growth, survival, and reproduction (e.g., various body structures for walking, flying, or swimming)

Standard
6 Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment

Standard
7 Understands biological evolution and the diversity of life

Benchmarks
7.1 Knows that fossils can be compared to one another and to living organisms to observe their similarities and differences

Standard
8 Understands the structure and properties of matter

Standard
9 Understands the sources and properties of energy

Standard
10 Understands forces and motion

Standard
11 Understands the nature of scientific knowledge

Benchmarks
11.1 Knows that good scientific explanations are based on evidence (observations) and scientific knowledge

Standard
12 Understands the nature of scientific inquiry

Benchmarks
12.1 Knows that scientific investigations involve asking and answering a question and comparing the answer to what scientists already know about the world
12.2 Uses appropriate tools and simple equipment (e.g., thermometers, magnifiers, microscopes, calculators, graduated cylinders) to gather scientific data and extend the senses

Standard
13 Understands the scientific enterprise

Benchmarks
13.1 Knows that scientists and engineers often work in teams to accomplish a task