They are listed in the Introduction to each grade level of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. Scientific principles are statements of the fundamental concepts that comprise the body of knowledge in science. The statements also describe the kinds of thinking and proficiencies related to particular content strands and how a student will use or apply the concept. Students should understand a whole in terms of its components and how these components relate to each other and to the whole.
All systems have basic properties that can be described in terms of space, time, energy, and matter.
Change and constancy occur in systems and can be observed and measured as patterns. These patterns help to predict what will happen next and can change over time. Knowledge and skills statements describe the content of a discipline and include the techniques, processes, and procedures that are applications of the knowledge of a discipline. The student knows that a system is a collection of cycles, structures, and processes that interact. Student Expectations are examples of what students are expected to do to demonstrate their acquisition of knowledge and skills.