Content Standards

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The curriculum content standards given here are based upon the California State Science Content Standards. The standards given for each chapter reflect the science topics that are touched upon in that part of the book. This list is extensive, but not exhaustive. Many teachers have reported that they have been able to integrate Maurice on the Moon with diverse topics in science, mathematics, and social studies.

Chapter 1 Learning Goals and Standards:

Fundamentals of the Earth / Moon System
- The Moon's surface is totally waterless, except at the poles, where ice lies in craters so deep, they never see any sunshine.
- The relative size of the Earth and Moon (Earth is 4x larger!)
- Surface gravity depends on size (radius) and mass.
- The Moon's gravity is too low to hold an atmosphere - the Moon is perpetually airless.
- Changing gravity affects your weight, not your strength.
Earth's gravity controls the Moon's orbit and its spin

One revolution or orbit around the Earth takes 27.3 days.
One rotation or 360o spin on its axis take the Moon 27.3 days.
When a revolution and a rotation take the same amount of time, this is called a synchronous orbit. Earth's powerful gravity makes this possible.
Synchronous orbit means only one side of the Moon ever faces the Earth

From Maurice's vantage on the Moon, this means that Earth never moves across the Lunar sky. Instead, it spins in place (24hr rotation) and changes phase over the course of a month just as the Moon does in our sky.

Chapter 2 Learning Goals and Standards:

The Sun as an average star

Our sun is an average star, powered by the fusion of hydrogen into helium.
Energy from the sun is essential to all life.
Solar energy reaches Earth as Radiation.

Solar radiation includes much more than visible light.

Infra-red (heat)
Ultra-violet ('tanning rays')
Hard (dangerous) radiation like X-rays and gamma rays.
Earth's atmosphere shields us from dangerous hard radiation like X-rays and gamma rays. The atmosphere also protects us from meteoroids (falling rocks from space) by burning them up as meteors long before they strike the surface.
The Moon has no atmosphere, and thus no shield against hard radiation or meteoroids.

Lunar colonists will have to live underground (or burrow into large crater walls) using meters of rock (instead of miles of air) to protect them against dangerous radiation and meteoroids.

Resources such as air and water are recycled naturally on Earth

The water cycle extracts fresh water from the salty sea and deposits it on land as rain.

All life on Earth depends upon the water cycle in one way or another.
The Moon has no air or free liquid water.
Lunar colonists must create their own water cycle by carefully recycling every drop they have. On the Moon, wasted water is lost forever.

Plants and animals on Earth exchange Oxygen (O2) and Carbon dioxide (CO2) making the atmosphere breathable for all life forms.
Plant life would be essential to lunar colonists.

Plants remove toxic CO2 from the air, converting it into usable plant materials and food.

Food Webs and ecosystems (biomes) on Earth are interdependent networks of plants, animals, and microscopic life forms.

Unlike the Earth, the Moon has no atmospheric or aquatic environments.
Any permanent lunar settlement requires the establishment of functional food webs and ecosystems. Such ecosystems must be carefully managed if they are to survive on the Moon.
Ecosystems provide all plants and animals with food, clean and usable air and water, and dispose of waste efficiently, recycling everything with almost perfect efficiency.

Chapter 3 Learning Goals and Standards:

The effect of solar radiation on planetary surfaces

Some solar energy is reflected from a planet's surface back into space

A planet's reflectivity is called albedo.

Earth's seas, clouds and glaciers are highly reflective. Earth reflects almost 40% of solar energy back into space, keeping us cool.
The lunar surface is dull and non-reflective; less than 10% of sunlight is reflected back into space.
Some solar energy is absorbed by the planet's surface and turns into heat.

The Moon's surface absorbs over 90% of incoming sunlight, quickly warming to about 275 oF in direct sunshine.

Earth's air, water, and plant life absorb and store solar energy

Water's ability to absorb and store heat energy (its heat capacity) is greater than any other natural substance.

Water absorbs solar energy during the day and releases it at night, keeping Earth's temperature steady.
Lunar surface temperatures change by 400 oF from day to night (10x more than Earth) because the Moon is airless and waterless.

Natural convection currents in the oceans and atmosphere are powered by solar energy.

Convection currents help distribute heat evenly across the globe.
Convection currents power our weather systems.
With no air or water, the Moon lacks these natural heat distribution systems.

Photosynthesis absorbs solar energy and uses it to power the carbon cycle (CO2-O2 cycle).

The Moon has no plant life to absorb solar energy; all solar energy heats the surface instead.

The Sun is an average star, powered by hydrogen fusion

Our sun is 75% hydrogen, 25% Helium, as is most of the Universe.
Hydrogen atoms are combined into radioactive Helium-3 atoms, then into common Helium-4 atoms in a multi-stage process.

Helium-3 is a natural resource on the Moon. The Earth has none.

Hydrogen fusion releases vast amounts of energy, it is the most efficient energy producing process known.

Using Helium-3 as fuel could provide the energy needs of millions of people without the pollution problems of fossil fuels.
The only waste from Helium-3 fusion is common helium.
Unlike our 20th century fission reactors, there are no radioactive byproducts or waste products from the fusion process.
We do not currently have commercial fusion reactors for our energy needs. Scientists are working on this today.

The sun converts 700 million tonnes of hydrogen into helium every second. It has enough fuel to last another 10 billion years (twice its current age).

Chapter 4 Learning Goals and Standards:

Major impacts by asteroids and comets change planetary surfaces and affect the course of evolution

All planets are created by accretion, smaller bodies colliding and sticking together to make larger bodies.
Most large collisions took place in the Noachian Age or Age of Bombardment which ended 3.5 to 4 billion years ago.

Titanic collisions like these ultimately created the Earth, Moon, and other planets in our solar system.

Although rare in modern times, asteroid collisions like the Chixulub Impact on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico 65 million years ago, wiped out the dinosaurs and changed the history of life on Earth forever.

Recent impacts like Tunguska in 1908 and Vladivostok in 1948 are proof the process of accretion has not stopped. The Tunguska crash destroyed 600 square miles of forest!

Large craters are evidence of giant impacts on planetary surfaces

The Lunar Maria (the dark blotches on the lunar surface) are giant craters on the Moon.

The Maria are so large, they actually filled with lava from the Moon's interior, this gives them their very flat surfaces and dark color.

Giant craters exist on Earth as well, Barringer Crater in Arizona, Henbury Crater in Australia, and the Chixulub crater on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico are all examples of this.
Earth's weather and erosion erases most craters in a few million years, craters on the Moon last essentially forever because there is no air or water there - and so no weather or erosion, either.

All light is subject to four major processes: absorption, reflection, refraction, and scattering

All light that is absorbed is converted into heat energy.
Reflection is essential to the process of seeing.

Except for stars, most matter does not glow with its own light.
To be seen, light must reflect off of an object (such as a moon or planet) and then enter the eye.

Refraction happens when light passes from one medium into another, such as when it passes from the vacuum of space into an atmosphere, or from air into the glass of a camera lens.

Refraction bends the path of light rays - this is how lenses focus light.
Refraction also separates light into different colors by bending some colors more than others, this is how rainbows and spectra are created.

Scattering occurs when light passes through an impure medium, such as a dusty or humid atmosphere.

The color that scatters most depends on particle size.
Large dust particles scatter longer red light waves best, giving colorful sunsets.
Small molecules like oxygen and nitrogen scatter short blue waves best, making our sky blue in the process.

Chapter 5 Learning Goals and Standards:

Natural resources are limited and must be developed and used carefully

Natural resources are not evenly distributed over the surface of any planet or moon.
Some resources are more difficult to extract and develop than others.
The usefulness of a resource depends economic and environmental cost of developing and using it.
While the Earth is rich in many resources, the Moon is a resource poor environment.

Air is non-existent there, and water is very rare.
There are no biological resources on the Moon at all (plants or animals), colonists must take everything they need with them.

On Earth, biomes and geophysical cycles recycle all resources efficiently. No such cycles exist naturally on the Moon.

Making and reading maps (and map coordinates) is essential to transportation, resource development, and many other modern processes

Cartesian (x,y) and polar (latitude, longitude) coordinates are both commonly used on modern maps.
Map coordinates pinpoint locations on maps in a scientifically accurate and efficient way.
Making an accurate map is an effective way to communicate knowledge about a large area.
Magnetic direction bearings (a compass always points north) commonly used on Earth are useless on the Moon because it has no magnetic field.

Safety drills such as fire and earthquake drills are essential to help people cope with and survive in emergency situations

Safety drills are tailored to prepare you for the hazards you are likely to meet in your area.

Earthquake drills are common in California, tornado or hurricane drills are not.

Safety drills teach important life-saving skills.
Safety drills must be practiced regularly or they are not helpful in an emergency.

Chapter 6 Learning Goals and Standards:

Planets are formed by accretion, small particles colliding and sticking together

Accretion is a natural process of planet formation.
Most accretion takes place when a solar system is very young (the age of bombardment).
The accretion process decreases dramatically as the solar system ages, but never totally stops.
Later impacts from space leave craters on planet surfaces.

Earth's atmosphere shields us from almost all smaller impacts.
Large impacts (objects larger than a football field) can have devastating effects.
Impacting objects more than 2 kilometers across can cause mass extinctions and change the course of evolution forever.

Reflection and refraction are natural properties of light

Reflection occurs when light rays bounce off an object or surface.

Reflection makes ordinary objects visible to us.
To see any common object, light must be reflected from that object and then enter our eyes.
In the absence of light, there is no reflection, and sight becomes impossible.
Only objects that glow with their own light (such as stars) can be seen without reflection.

Refraction occurs when light rays pass from one medium to another (vacuum to air, air to glass, etc.)

Refraction in the atmosphere bends sunlight around the curve of the Earth's surface.
Refraction of sunlight in the atmosphere allows us to see light in the sky before the sun comes up in the morning.
Refraction of sunlight allows us to see in twilight for up to an hour after the sun actually drops below the horizon.

Only objects that glow with their own light (such as stars) can be seen without reflection or refraction.

Chapter 7 Learning Goals and Standards:

Develop meaningful, scientific questions, then design and implement experimental tests to answer those questions

Ask scientifically relevant questions.
Develop testable hypotheses based upon prior scientific knowledge and observations.
Design a controlled experiment to test a hypothesis.
Select appropriate technology to use in the experiment.
Use appropriate mathematics to analyze the experimental data.

Natural resources differ in amounts, distribution, and usefulness

Natural resources vary greatly in their usefulness, and abundance.
Biological resources depend upon an active and balanced biosphere.
Mineral resources differ in usefulness depending upon the difficulty of harvesting and converting them to useable forms, and the environmental consequences of their conversion and use.

Chapter 8 Learning Goals and Standards:

Gravitation is one of the most fundamental forces in the Universe, it affects everything and everyone in a solar system

Gravitation is a property of all matter, everything has its own gravitational field.

Matter gives you mass, but gravity acting on matter gives you weight, which can change if you move from one planet to another.
Gravitation is the fundamental force that builds all planets and stars by accretion.

Gravitation is the weakest force in the Universe.
Gravity controls the shape and size of all orbits and the speed of all orbiting bodies.

The length of a year (orbital period) for each planet and moon in the solar system.
The length of a day (rotational period) is also affected by the gravity of nearby objects, such as other planets and moons.

The impact energy that allows meteoroids to create craters on Earth, Moon, and other bodies is provided by gravity.

Regular exercise (working against the force of gravity on your body) keeps both bones and muscles strong.

Regular exercise is an essential part of good physical fitness.
Gravity is an essential part of your workout! Most of the energy you use running, jumping, or doing any kind of exercise is actually work against gravity and friction.
If you don't exercise regularly, you lose bone and muscle tissue (both mass and strength.)

The phases of the Moon we see (and the phases of Earth as seen from Luna) are controlled by the alignment of Sun, Earth, and Moon in orbit

Drawing a line from the Sun, to the Earth, and then to the Moon creates an angle from 0o to 180o.
The angle of Sun, Earth, and Moon determines what phase we see.

Angles less than 90o show crescent phases.
Angles greater than 90o show gibbous phases.
Angles of exactly 90o show quarter phases (half-lit moon).
An angle of 0o is new moon (Moon lined up between Earth and Sun.)
An angle of 180o is full moon (Earth lined up between Moon and Sun.)

The phase of the Moon we see from Earth is exactly opposite to the phase of the Earth as seen from the Moon.

When we see a 'crescent' moon, people on the Moon would see a 'gibbous' Earth, etc.
When the Moon is waxing (the phase of the Moon growing larger and brighter), people on the Moon would see the Earth waning (the phase growing smaller and dimmer.)

Chapter 9 Learning Goals and Standards:

Gravitation is one of the most fundamental forces in the Universe, it affects everything and everyone in a solar system

Gravitation is a property of all matter, everything has its own gravitational field.

Matter gives you mass, but gravity acting on matter gives you weight, which can change if you move from one planet to another.
Gravitation is the fundamental force that builds all planets and stars by accretion.

Gravitation controls the trajectory of every object in free flight.

Any object that falls free through the air (without flying) follows a curved path called a parabola.
The height and range of any freely falling object is controlled only by the speed and angle of launch, and the strength of local gravity.
The time it takes to fall and the speed at which an object strikes the ground depend only upon the original height and the strength of local gravity.

Chapter 10 Learning Goals and Standards:

Energy and momentum are always conserved

Energy may change forms, but it is never created or destroyed.

Kinetic energy (energy of motion) is found by multiplying ½ the mass of an object by the square of its velocity.

Momentum may be transferred from one object to another during a collision, but it is never lost or destroyed.

Momentum is the product of an object's mass multiplied by its velocity.

Mass and Inertia are fundamental properties of matter; unlike weight, mass and inertia never change, no matter where you are in the Universe

Inertia is the property of matter that resists a change in motion.

It is harder to throw a large rock than a small one because it has greater inertia
Inertia has nothing to do with weight, the large rock is harder to push in space too, even though both the large and small rocks are weightless there!

Mass is the measure of inertia; the metric unit of mass is the kilogram, the English unit of mass is the slug (1 slug = 32 pounds).

Your kilograms of mass do not change as you go from Earth to the Moon.

Weight measures how hard gravity pulls on you. Your weight changes as you move from Earth to the Moon, but mass does not.

The metric unit of weight is the Newton (named after Sir Isaac Newton), the English unit of weight is the pound.

Economic resources are limited, and just like natural resources, they must be conserved

A family's economic resources include earnings from work and savings.
Spending is carefully planned using a budget which allows a family to plan for regular expenses like rent and bills.

A good budget tells you how much money is available for non-essentials like movies or eating out.
A good budget also includes a savings plan. Savings can be used for fun things like vacations or emergency needs like car repair or medical expenses.

Chapter 11 Learning Goals and Standards:

Map making and map reading skills

Maps are usually made to show an overhead view of an area, or a view of a planet as it would be seen from space.
Maps may reflect many features of an area

Political maps show boundaries for towns, counties, states, and countries.
Topographical maps show elevations, such as mountains and valleys.
Road maps show roads and highways connecting one town to another.
Resource maps show where deposits of valuable minerals, metals, and water may be found.

The sky is also mapped, it is divided into 88 constellations, based on familiar patterns of stars in the sky.

The amount of the sky you can see is dependent on where you live. Only people who live on the equator can see all 88 constellations.
People who live in the northern hemisphere (including Canada, the United States, and Mexico) cannot see constellations in the far south.
People who live in the southern hemisphere of their planet (like Maurice) cannot see constellations in the far north.
Unlike the land under your feet, the sky above changes every hour and every day. A planisphere is a map that allows you to adjust for the time of day, and day of the year to show an accurate map of the sky at any time.

The first accurate map of the Moon was made by Pierre Gassendi in the 1640's. (Maurice lives in Gassendi crater, named for this famous astronomer.)

Modern moon maps are based upon NASA photographs taken from Earth, as well as those taken from orbit by Apollo astronauts.

Chapter 12 Learning Goals and Standards:

Air is a natural resource that protects and nourishes life on our planet

Our oxygen-based atmosphere is not 'natural' to our planet, it is created by the living plants across the planet.
Oxygen is one of the most reactive elements known.

Oxygen normally combines rapidly with other elements in soil and water.
Oxygen is the most abundant element in Earth's crust.
Oxygen does not exist free in the atmosphere of any other planet.

Oxygen is produced by plant life during the photosynthesis process.

Oxygen gas is produced when plants split water (H2O) into hydrogen and oxygen.

Plants consume carbon dioxide gas exhaled by animals, keeping world wide CO2 levels down.

CO2 is poisonous to animals and people if it becomes concentrated.
CO2 is a greenhouse gas that helps keep our planet warm - too much can cause 'global warming' and make our planet too hot.

The Earth's thick atmosphere is a natural shield that protects us from harmful solar radiation and small meteor impacts

Earth's atmosphere is naturally opaque to hard radiation from the Sun.

Gamma rays and X-rays that can cause cancer and destroy life cannot penetrate the Earth's natural atmosphere.
With no atmosphere of its own, the Moon's surface gets a full dose of these harmful solar rays.

Earth's atmosphere does not naturally block harmful ultra-violet radiation from the Sun.

Harmful U.V. radiation is blocked by a thin layer of Ozone, (O3) a form of oxygen created by natural lightning.
Although ozone is poisonous when concentrated (like CO2), it forms a thin layer miles above the Earth's surface.
Ozone can be destroyed by chemicals called Chloro-fluorocarbons, or CFC's which were once commonly used in refrigeration and many industrial processes.
CFC's are no longer in common use in the USA because of danger they represent to the environment.

Earth's thick atmosphere burns up 99.99% of all meteoroids that strike our planet, protecting the surface from dangerous impacts.

Most meteoroids strike the Earth (and the Moon!) at an average speed of 40,000 mph!
At these terrific speeds, friction with the air burns most objects to ash before they get within 15 miles of the Earth's actual surface.
No meteoroid smaller than a refrigerator could survive to reach the Earth's surface. An object of this size would likely leave no more than a few egg-size pieces behind!
Earth's atmosphere does NOT protect us from large meteoroids or comets. Fortunately, these dangerous giants are very rare.

Changes in air pressure, temperature, and humidity create weather, which is totally unknown on the Moon

Chapter 13 Learning Goals and Standards:

Water is an important natural resource that is also an essential habitat for many plants and animals

Water forms an essential habitat for aquatic plants and creatures.
Both fresh water and salt water environments are rich with life.
Aquatic environments must be protected from pollution of all kinds if the life there is to flourish.

The water cycle transports water from the Earth's surface into the atmosphere, and back to the surface again

Solar energy evaporates water from the surfaces of oceans, lakes and rivers into the atmosphere.
Evaporation from the ocean surfaces provides fresh water (as rain) to lakes, rivers and other environments.
The water cycle purifies and renews the water in lakes, rivers, and other fresh water environments.
Weather patterns are heavily influenced by the water cycle.

Storm activity occurs when warm, humid air collides with colder, dry air.

Chapter 14 Learning Goals and Standards:

The visible light we see is only a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum

All electromagnetic radiation is composed of electric and magnetic waves.
The EM spectrum includes all solar radiation from gamma rays, x-rays, ultra-violet, visible light, infra-red, microwaves, and radio waves.

The speed of light in a vacuum is consistent everywhere in the Universe, it is the fastest speed possible

All kinds of light, visible and invisible travels at the same speed.
The speed of light limits our ability to communicate across the vast reaches of the solar system.

Light takes 1.5 seconds to travel from Earth to the Moon and back.
Light takes at least 20 minutes to travel from Earth to Mars and back.

When we communicate by radio or cell phone, we are communicating using long light waves called 'radio'.

Chapter 15 Learning Goals and Standards:

Being a contributing member of society is a worthy goal

To be a part of your culture means recognizing and participating in the activities and beliefs that bind us together as a society.
Culture isn't just what your parents give to you as you grow up, it is also what you manage to give back to your community.

Travel allows us to experience other cultures and appreciate how other people live

Travel allows us to better understand those who live in other areas of the world.
Experiencing other cultures is often the key to understanding and appreciating our own culture back home.

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