Objectives:

The student is expected to:

• describe some cyles, structures, and processes that are found in a simple system (*5.5A).
  
• explain and illustrate the interactions beween matter/ocean water and energy/heat and wind (*6.8B).
  
• explain how the distribution of heat during an El Niño affects the environment (*6.9).
  
• identify the role of atmospheric movement in weather change (*6.14C).
  
• identify responses in organisms to external stimuli such as the presence or absence of heat during El Niño (*6.12B).
  
• describe how the ocean system may reach an equilibrium such as when El Niño occurs (*7.5A).
  
• analyze how natural events (such as El Niño) may have contributed to the extinction of some species (8.14C).
  

* Refers to the Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills for science.