Energy, Forces, and Earth’s Crust | New Visions for Public Schools
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Physics Unit 2

Energy, Forces, and Earth’s Crust

OpenSciEd Physics Adapted by New Visions for NYSSLS

4-5 weeks

Unit Overview

How do forces in Earth’s interior determine what will happen to the surface we see?

This unit helps students explore how energy transfer and unbalanced forces inside Earth shape surface features like earthquakes and volcanoes. Using real-world phenomena like the Afar Rift, students investigate plate tectonics, Earth’s interior, and apply their understanding to explain geological events past and present.

*This performance expectation is developed across multiple units.
†This performance expectation is developed across multiple courses.

Performance Expectations:

HS-PS1-8†, HS-PS3-1* (NYSSLS), HS-ESS2-1†, HS-ESS2-3, *, †

Coming Soon!

Coming Soon!

We are putting the finishing touches on this unit! Fully aligned adapted materials—crafted specifically for NYCPS and NY State standards—will be ready in mid-September. Make sure you’ve registered for an account, and we’ll email you when the links are live.

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Lesson Set 1:

How does land stretch and when/why does it break?

Lesson 1:

What is happening in the Afar region?

Lesson 2:

What allows a system to remain stable when forces are acting on it, and what causes it to suddenly change?

Lesson 3:

What happens to the matter and energy in a system when the magnitude of balanced forces on it increases?

Lesson 4:

What is changing in the matter at a particle level before an earthquake, and when a solid elastically deforms or breaks?

Lesson 5:

How do we investigate the connection between matter in Earth’s interior and surface features above?

Lesson 6:

How is temperature related to the behavior of the matter in the mantle?

Lesson: 7

Where does the energy that drives convection come from?

Lesson Set 2:

How do forces determine what will happen on Earth’s surface?

Lesson 11:

How might forces between the mantle and plates affect plate motion?

Lesson 12:

How do forces act on objects, such as the plates, when they are on inclines?

Lesson 13:

How can we use our science ideas to explain what happened at the Midcontinent Rift?