NORTH CAROLINA ESSENTIAL STANDARDS

Earth & Environmental Science

NCES.EEn.1.1 - Explain the Earth's role as a body in space.
- NCES.EEn.1.1.1 - Explain the Earth's motion through space, including precession, nutation, the barycenter, and its path about the galaxy.
- NCES.EEn.1.1.2 - Explain how the Earth's rotation and revolution about the Sun affect its shape and is related to seasons and tides.
- NCES.EEn.1.1.3 - Explain how the sun produces energy which is transferred to the Earth by radiation.
- NCES.EEn.1.1.4 - Explain how incoming solar energy makes life possible on Earth.

NCES.EEn.2.1 - Explain how processes and forces affect the lithosphere.
- NCES.EEn.2.1.1 - Explain how the rock cycle, plate tectonics, volcanoes, and earthquakes impact the lithosphere.
- NCES.EEn.2.1.2 - Predict the locations of volcanoes, earthquakes, and faults based on information contained in a variety of maps.
- NCES.EEn.2.1.3 - Explain how natural actions such as weathering, erosion (wind, water and gravity), and soil formation affect Earth's surface.
- NCES.EEn.2.1.4 - Explain the probability of and preparation for geohazards such as landslides, avalanches, earthquakes and volcanoes in a particular area based on available data.

NCES.EEn.2.2 - Understand how human influences impact the lithosphere.
- NCES.EEn.2.2.1 - Explain the consequences of human activities on the lithosphere (such as mining, deforestation, agriculture, overgrazing, urbanization, and land use) past and present.
- NCES.EEn.2.2.2 - Compare the various methods humans use to acquire traditional energy sources (such as peat, coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear fission, and wood).

NCES.EEn.2.3 - Explain the structure and processes within the hydrosphere.
- NCES.EEn.2.3.1 - Explain how water is an energy agent (currents and heat transfer).
- NCES.EEn.2.3.2 - Explain how ground water and surface water interact.

NCES.EEn.2.4 - Evaluate how humans use water.
- NCES.EEn.2.4.1 - Evaluate human influences on freshwater availability.
- NCES.EEn.2.4.2 - Evaluate human influences on water quality in North Carolina's river basins, wetlands and tidal environments.

NCES.EEn.2.5 - Understand the structure of and processes within our atmosphere.
- NCES.EEn.2.5.1 - Summarize the structure and composition of our atmosphere.
- NCES.EEn.2.5.2 - Explain the formation of typical air masses and the weather systems that result from air mass interactions.
- NCES.EEn.2.5.3 - Explain how cyclonic storms form based on the interaction of air masses.
- NCES.EEn.2.5.4 - Predict the weather using available weather maps and data (including surface, upper atmospheric winds, and satellite imagery).
- NCES.EEn.2.5.5 - Explain how human activities affect air quality.

NCES.EEn.2.6 - Analyze patterns of global climate change over time.
- NCES.EEn.2.6.1 - Differentiate between weather and climate.
- NCES.EEn.2.6.2 - Explain changes in global climate due to natural processes.
- NCES.EEn.2.6.3 - Analyze the impacts that human activities have on global climate change (such as burning hydrocarbons, greenhouse effect, and deforestation).
- NCES.EEn.2.6.4 - Attribute changes in Earth systems to global climate change (temperature change, changes in pH of ocean, sea level changes, etc.).

NCES.EEn.2.7 - Explain how the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere individually and collectively affect the biosphere.
- NCES.EEn.2.7.1 - Explain how abiotic and biotic factors interact to create the various biomes in North Carolina.
- NCES.EEn.2.7.2 - Explain why biodiversity is important to the biosphere.
- NCES.EEn.2.7.3 - Explain how human activities impact the biosphere.

NCES.EEn.2.8 - Evaluate human behaviors in terms of how likely they are to ensure the ability to live sustainability on Earth.
- NCES.EEn.2.8.1 - Evaluate alternative energy technologies for use in North Carolina.
- NCES.EEn.2.8.2 - Critique conventional and sustainable agriculture and aquaculture practices in terms of their environmental impacts.
- NCES.EEn.2.8.3 - Explain the effects of uncontrolled population growth on the Earth's resources.
- NCES.EEn.2.8.4 - Evaluate the concept of "reduce, reuse, recycle" in terms of impact on natural resources.