Sixth Grade Science

2010-2011 Syllabus

Scientific Investigations and skills:

• Observing
• Measurements
• Inferring
• Hypothesizing
• Organizing and interpreting data
• Experiments and surveys

Matter:

• Elements and compounds
• Physical properties that can be used for classification of matter

Forces and Motion:

• Changes in position, direction and speed of an object when acted upon by unbalanced force
• Calculating average speed using time and distance
• Graphing changes in motion

Energy:

• Forms and sources of energy
• Methods of thermal energy transfer (convection, conduction, radiation)
• Energy transformations

Earth and Space:

• Structure of Earth
• The rock cycle
• Plate tectonics

Earth and Space:

• Solar system
• Gravity as the force governing the motion of our solar system
• History and future of space exploration

Organisms and Environments

• Classification (domains and kingdoms)
• Basic characteristics of organisms (prokaryotic and eukaryotic, unicellular and multicellular, autotrophic and heterotrophic)
• Biotic and abiotic parts of ecosystems
• Levels of organization within ecosystems (organism, population, ecosystem)