STANDARD 5.7 (Physics) — All students will gain an understanding of natural laws as they apply to motion, forces, and energy transformations.

DESCRIPTIVE STATEMENT: Basic principles of physics emerge in this standard, where the study of force and motion leads students to the concept of energy. All forms of energy are introduced and investigated, and principles of transformation and laws of conservation are developed.

CUMULATIVE PROGRESS INDICATORS: Building upon knowledge and skills gained in the preceding grades, by the end of Grade 12, students will...

1. Motion and Forces
   1. Apply the mathematical relationship between the mass of an object, the net force exerted on it, and the resulting acceleration.
   2. Explain that whenever one object exerts a force on another, an equal and opposite force is exerted on the first object.
   3. Recognize gravity as a universal force of attraction between masses and that the force is proportional to the masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
   4. Recognize that electrically charged bodies can attract or repel each other with a force that depends upon the size and nature of the charges and the distance between them and know that electric forces play an important role in explaining the structure and properties of matter.
   5. Know that there are strong forces that hold the nucleus of an atom together and that significant amounts of energy can be released in nuclear reactions (fission, fusion, and nuclear decay) when these binding forces are disrupted.
   6. Explain how electromagnetic, gravitational, and nuclear forces can be used to produce energy by causing chemical, physical, or nuclear changes and relate the amount of energy produced to the nature and relative strength of the force.
   7. Demonstrate that moving electric charges can produce magnetic forces and moving magnets can produce electric forces.
   8. Recognize that magnetic and electrical forces are different aspects of a single electromagnetic force.
2. Energy Transformations
   1. Explain how the various forms of energy (heat, electricity, sound, light) move through materials and identify the factors that affect that movement.
   2. Explain that while energy can be transformed from one form to another, the total energy of a closed system is constant.
   3. Recognize that whenever mechanical energy is transformed, some heat is dissipated and is therefore unavailable for use.
   4. Explain the nature of electromagnetic radiation and compare the components of the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays.