Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY › Chapter 112 - TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR SCIENCE › Subchapter C - HIGH SCHOOL › Section 112.39 - Physics (One Credit), Adopted 2017

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
				  General requirements. Students shall be awarded one credit for successful
				  completion of this course. Algebra I is suggested as a prerequisite or
				  corequisite. This course is recommended for students in Grade 9, 10, 11, or
				  12.
(b) Introduction.
(1) Physics. In Physics, students conduct
				  laboratory and field investigations, use scientific practices during
				  investigations, and make informed decisions using critical thinking and
				  scientific problem solving. Students study a variety of topics that include:
				  laws of motion; changes within physical systems and conservation of energy and
				  momentum; forces; thermodynamics; characteristics and behavior of waves; and
				  atomic, nuclear, and quantum physics. Students who successfully complete
				  Physics will acquire factual knowledge within a conceptual framework, practice
				  experimental design and interpretation, work collaboratively with colleagues,
				  and develop critical-thinking skills.
(2) Nature of science. Science, as defined by
				  the National Academy of Sciences, is the "use of evidence to construct testable
				  explanations and predictions of natural phenomena, as well as the knowledge
				  generated through this process." This vast body of changing and increasing
				  knowledge is described by physical, mathematical, and conceptual models.
				  Students should know that some questions are outside the realm of science
				  because they deal with phenomena that are not currently scientifically testable
				  by empirical science.
(3)
				  Scientific inquiry. Scientific inquiry is the planned and deliberate
				  investigation of the natural world. Scientific methods of investigation can be
				  experimental, descriptive, or comparative. The method chosen should be
				  appropriate to the question being asked.
(4) Science and social ethics. Scientific
				  decision making is a way of answering questions about the natural world.
				  Students should be able to distinguish between scientific decision-making
				  methods and ethical and social decisions that involve the application of
				  scientific information.
(5)
				  Scientific systems. A system is a collection of cycles, structures, and
				  processes that interact. All systems have basic properties that can be
				  described in terms of space, time, energy, and matter. Change and constancy
				  occur in systems as patterns and can be observed, measured, and modeled. These
				  patterns help to make predictions that can be scientifically tested. Students
				  should analyze a system in terms of its components and how these components
				  relate to each other, to the whole, and to the external environment.
(6) Statements containing the word
				  "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the
				  phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.