The goal of this standard is to think and analyze in terms of systems. Thinking and analyzing in terms of systems will help students keep track of mass, energy, objects, organisms, and events referred to in the other content standards. The idea of simple systems encompasses subsystems as well as identifying the structure and function of systems, feedback and equilibrium, and the distinction between open and closed systems. Science assumes that the behavior of the universe is not capricious, that nature is the same everywhere, and that it is understandable and predictable. An assumption of order establishes the basis for cause-effect relationships and predictability.
Prediction is the use of knowledge to identify and explain observations, or changes, in advance.
The use of mathematics, especially probability, allows for greater or lesser certainty of predictions. Types and levels of organization provide useful ways of thinking about the world. Types of organization include the periodic table of elements and the classification of organisms. The complexity and number of fundamental units change in extended hierarchies of organization. Within these systems, interactions between components occur.