Mississippi Science FSL.1.3
The Standard
- FSL.1
- Students will relate the importance of significant historical experiments and their impact on research and development.
Identify and communicate the impact of mathematics and technology in the development of scientific thought and the practice of science (e.g., space exploration, the human genome project, and ocean exploration).
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · History of Science and Impacts on Society
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain how sonar measures the seafloor and how math turns echo times into depths. They describe how seafloor maps gave scientists new evidence to investigate.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given an echo time, a student calculates depth using half the sound's round-trip distance. They explain how sonar maps revealed mid-ocean ridges and helped scientists test ideas about seafloor spreading.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may use the full round-trip distance as the depth, doubling their answer. They may claim that finding a ridge alone proves seafloor spreading.
How to Assess It
- A sonar ping returns in 2 seconds, and sound travels 1,500 meters per second in seawater. Find the depth, then explain how sonar maps helped scientists study the ocean floor.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Build a clay ridge in a shoebox, cover it with a cardboard grid, measure depths through grid holes, and sketch a map.
Ask: What could a sonar map show that a few depth measurements from a ship could not?
Give pairs echo times of 2, 4, and 6 seconds at 1,500 meters per second; have them calculate depths and plot a profile.
Use a NOAA seafloor map to choose a safe ship route, then identify how sonar measurements and depth calculations made the map possible.
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Printable FSL.1.3 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to FSL.1.3, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- FSL.1.4
Enrichment: Research, analyze, explain, and communicate the influence of society, including cultural components, on the direction and progress of science and te...
- FSL.1
Students will relate the importance of significant historical experiments and their impact on research and development.
- FSL.1.2
Research, analyze, explain, and communicate how scientific enterprise relates to society and classic inventions (e.g., microscope, telescope, computer, and tele...
- FSL.2
Students will identify, research, and communicate the development of technology and engineering practices.
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