Texas Administrative Code
Title 19 - EDUCATION
Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
Chapter 112 - TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR SCIENCE
Subchapter B - MIDDLE SCHOOL
Section 112.26 - Science, Grade 6, Adopted 2021

(A) Scientific and engineering practices. Scientific inquiry is the planned and deliberate investigation of the natural world using scientific and engineering practices. Scientific methods of investigation are descriptive, correlative, comparative, or experimental. The method chosen should be appropriate to the grade level and question being asked. Student learning for different types of investigations includes descriptive investigations, which have no hypothesis that tentatively answers the research question and involve collecting data and recording observations without making comparisons; correlative and comparative investigations, which have a hypothesis that predicts a relationship and involve collecting data, measuring variables relevant to the hypothesis that are manipulated, and comparing results; and experimental investigations, which involve processes similar to comparative investigations but in which a hypothesis can be tested by comparing a treatment with a control.

(B) Matter and energy. Students build upon their knowledge of properties of solids, liquids, and gases and further explore their molecular energies. In Grade 6, students learn how elements are classified as metals, nonmetals, or metalloids based on their properties on the Periodic Table. Students have previous experience with mixtures in Grade 5. Grade 6 furthers their understanding by investigating the different types of mixtures. Subsequent grades will learn about compounds. In Grade 6, students compare the density of substances relative to fluids and identify evidence of chemical changes.

(C) Force, motion, and energy. Students investigate the relationship between force and motion using a variety of means, including calculations and measurements through the study of Newton's Third Law of Motion. Subsequent grades will study force and motion through Newton's First and Second Laws of Motion. Energy occurs as either potential or kinetic energy. Potential energy can take several forms, including gravitational, elastic, and chemical energy. Energy is conserved throughout systems by changing from one form to another and transfers through waves.

(D) Earth and space. Cycles within Sun, Earth, and Moon systems are studied as students learn about seasons and tides. Students identify that the Earth is divided into spheres and examine the processes within and organization of the geosphere. Researching the advantages and disadvantages of short- and long-term uses of resources enables informed decision making about resource management.

(E) Organisms and environments. All living organisms are made up of smaller units called cells. Ecosystems are organized into communities, populations, and organisms. Students compare and contrast variations within organisms and how they impact survival. Students examine relationships and interactions between organisms, biotic factors, and abiotic factors in an ecosystem.

(A) observations are active acquisition of either qualitative or quantitative information from a primary source through the senses;

(B) inferences are conclusions reached on the basis of observations or reasoning supported by relevant evidence;

(C) hypotheses are tentative and testable statements that must be capable of being supported or not supported by observational evidence. Hypotheses of durable explanatory power that have been tested over a wide variety of conditions are incorporated into theories; and

(D) scientific theories are based on natural and physical phenomena and are capable of being tested by multiple independent researchers. Unlike hypotheses, scientific theories are well established and highly reliable explanations, but they may be subject to change as new areas of science and new technologies are developed.

(A) ask questions and define problems based on observations or information from text, phenomena, models, or investigations;

(B) use scientific practices to plan and conduct descriptive, comparative, and experimental investigations and use engineering practices to design solutions to problems;

(C) use appropriate safety equipment and practices during laboratory, classroom, and field investigations as outlined in Texas Education Agency-approved safety standards;

(D) use appropriate tools such as graduated cylinders, metric rulers, periodic tables, balances, scales, thermometers, temperature probes, laboratory ware, timing devices, pH indicators, hot plates, models, microscopes, slides, life science models, petri dishes, dissecting kits, magnets, spring scales or force sensors, tools that model wave behavior, satellite images, hand lenses, and lab notebooks or journals;

(E) collect quantitative data using the International System of Units (SI) and qualitative data as evidence;

(F) construct appropriate tables, graphs, maps, and charts using repeated trials and means to organize data;

(G) develop and use models to represent phenomena, systems, processes, or solutions to engineering problems; and

(H) distinguish between scientific hypotheses, theories, and laws.

(A) identify advantages and limitations of models such as their size, scale, properties, and materials;

(B) analyze data by identifying any significant descriptive statistical features, patterns, sources of error, or limitations;

(C) use mathematical calculations to assess quantitative relationships in data; and

(D) evaluate experimental and engineering designs.

(A) develop explanations and propose solutions supported by data and models and consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and theories;

(B) communicate explanations and solutions individually and collaboratively in a variety of settings and formats; and

(C) engage respectfully in scientific argumentation using applied scientific explanations and empirical evidence.

(A) relate the impact of past and current research on scientific thought and society, including the process of science, cost-benefit analysis, and contributions of diverse scientists as related to the content;

(B) make informed decisions by evaluating evidence from multiple appropriate sources to assess the credibility, accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and methods used; and

(C) research and explore resources such as museums, libraries, professional organizations, private companies, online platforms, and mentors employed in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field to investigate STEM careers.

(A) identify and apply patterns to understand and connect scientific phenomena or to design solutions;

(B) identify and investigate cause-and-effect relationships to explain scientific phenomena or analyze problems;

(C) analyze how differences in scale, proportion, or quantity affect a system's structure or performance;

(D) examine and model the parts of a system and their interdependence in the function of the system;

(E) analyze and explain how energy flows and matter cycles through systems and how energy and matter are conserved through a variety of systems;

(F) analyze and explain the complementary relationship between the structure and function of objects, organisms, and systems; and

(G) analyze and explain how factors or conditions impact stability and change in objects, organisms, and systems.

(A) compare solids, liquids, and gases in terms of their structure, shape, volume, and kinetic energy of atoms and molecules;

(B) investigate the physical properties of matter to distinguish between pure substances, homogeneous mixtures (solutions), and heterogeneous mixtures;

(C) identify elements on the periodic table as metals, nonmetals, metalloids, and rare Earth elements based on their physical properties and importance to modern life;

(D) compare the density of substances relative to various fluids; and

(E) identify the formation of a new substance by using the evidence of a possible chemical change, including production of a gas, change in thermal energy, production of a precipitate, and color change.

(A) identify and explain how forces act on objects, including gravity, friction, magnetism, applied forces, and normal forces, using real-world applications;

(B) calculate the net force on an object in a horizontal or vertical direction using diagrams and determine if the forces are balanced or unbalanced; and

(C) identify simultaneous force pairs that are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction that result from the interactions between objects using Newton's Third Law of Motion.

(A) compare and contrast gravitational, elastic, and chemical potential energies with kinetic energy;

(B) describe how energy is conserved through transfers and transformations in systems such as electrical circuits, food webs, amusement park rides, or photosynthesis; and

(C) explain how energy is transferred through transverse and longitudinal waves.

(A) model and illustrate how the tilted Earth revolves around the Sun, causing changes in seasons; and

(B) describe and predict how the positions of the Earth, Sun, and Moon cause daily, spring, and neap cycles of ocean tides due to gravitational forces.

(A) differentiate between the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere and identify components of each system;

(B) model and describe the layers of Earth, including the inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust; and

(C) describe how metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks form and change through geologic processes in the rock cycle.

(A) research and describe why resource management is important in reducing global energy poverty, malnutrition, and air and water pollution; and

(B) explain how conservation, increased efficiency, and technology can help manage air, water, soil, and energy resources.

(A) investigate how organisms and populations in an ecosystem depend on and may compete for biotic factors such as food and abiotic factors such as availability of light and water, range of temperatures, or soil composition;

(B) describe and give examples of predatory, competitive, and symbiotic relationships between organisms, including mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism; and

(C) describe the hierarchical organization of organism, population, and community within an ecosystem.

(A) describe the historical development of cell theory and explain how organisms are composed of one or more cells, which come from pre-existing cells and are the basic unit of structure and function;

(B) identify and compare the basic characteristics of organisms, including prokaryotic and eukaryotic, unicellular and multicellular, and autotrophic and heterotrophic; and

(C) describe how variations within a population can be an advantage or disadvantage to the survival of a population as environments change.