Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

• Observable phenomena exist from very short to very long time periods.
• Natural objects exist from the very small to the immensely large.
• Standard units are used to measure and describe physical quantities such as weight, time, temperature, and volume.
• Standard units are used to measure and describe physical quantities such as weight and volume.
• Time, space, and energy phenomena can be observed at various scales using models to study systems that are too large or too small.
• Proportional relationships (e.g. speed as the ratio of distance traveled to time taken) among different types of quantities provide information about the magnitude of properties and processes.
• Phenomena that can be observed at one scale may not be observable at another scale.
• The significance of a phenomenon is dependent on the scale, proportion, and quantity at which it occurs.
• Using the concept of orders of magnitude allows one to understand how a model at one scale relates to a model at another scale.
• Algebraic thinking is used to examine scientific data and predict the effect of a change in one variable on another (e.g., linear growth vs. exponential growth).