MS-ESS1-2 - Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.

Clarification Statement - Emphasis for the model is on gravity as the force that holds together the solar system and Milky Way galaxy and controls orbital motions within them. Examples of models can be physical (such as the analogy of distance along a football field or computer visualizations of elliptical orbits) or conceptual (such as mathematical proportions relative to the size of familiar objects such as students' school or state).

Assessment Boundary - Assessment does not include Kepler’s Laws of orbital motion or the apparent retrograde motion of the planets as viewed from Earth.

8.MS-ESS1-2 - Explain the role of gravity in ocean tides, the orbital motions of planets, their moons, and asteroids in the solar system.

State Assessment Boundary - Kepler’s laws of orbital motion or the apparent retrograde motion of the planets as viewed from Earth are not expected in state assessment.