CSET Earth & Space Sciences (219) case studies
CSET Earth & Space Sciences (219) · Put your knowledge to work in context.
CSET Earth & Space Sciences (219) is one of the single-subject subject-matter examinations offered within the California Subject Examinations for Teachers program. Teachers who want to add an Earth and space science authorization, or who are completing subject-matter verification for a single-subject teaching credential, take it to demonstrate that they command the content deeply enough to teach it. The CSET Earth & Space Sciences (219) case studies are 5 cases and about 4,258 words.
1Choosing an Observing Night Under Time, Altitude, and Cloud Constraints
Your school's astronomy club has a 20-minute telescope setup window, and all students must board buses at 8:45 p.m. The plan is for every student to see both a waxing crescent Moon and Jupiter, which sits at 34° altitude in the southwest at 8:00 p.m.
902 words, about 5 min2When Density Collides With Hardness and Acid Tests in a Mineral Lab
A lab group's results for three mineral samples are ambiguous, and their identification key sorts by density first: Sample Mass (g) Water before (mL) Water after (mL) Hardness observation Breakage Dilute HCl --- --- --- --- --- --- --- A 81.0 50.0 80.0 scratched by a steel nail (H ≈ 5.5); scratches glass conchoidal, no cleavage no reaction B 54.0 50.0 70.0 scratched by a copper coin (H ≈ 3) three cleavages near 90° vigorous fizzing C 43.2 50.0 70.0 scratched by a fingernail (H ≈ 2.5) cubic cleavage no reaction The group concluded that A and B are the same mineral and that C is unidentifiable. One student wants to confirm C by tasting it; another insists B cannot be calcite because a calcite sample used by last year's class did not fizz.
835 words, about 4 min3Reading a Fog Event, Three Rain Gauges, and a Fast Creek Rise
A school weather club logged a 14-hour period ending in valley fog: Time T (°C) Td (°C) Pressure (hPa) --- --- --- --- 3:00 p.m. 26 14 1012 6:00 p.m.
886 words, about 4 min4Ordering Events in a Roadcut and Testing Three Student Claims
A roadcut exposes, from bottom to top: (1) gray shale containing ammonites; (2) a 15-cm volcanic ash bed within the shale; (3) an angular unconformity; (4) a conglomerate with rounded quartzite pebbles; (5) cross-bedded sandstone with dinosaur tracks and mudcracks; (6) a basalt dike with chilled margins that cuts units 1–5 but stops below the soil. The ash contains 1/16 of its original parent isotope; the isotope's half-life is 1.25 million years.
761 words, about 4 min5Redesigning a Five-Period Seasons and Moon Phases Unit Against a Benchmark
An eighth-grade team has five 50-minute periods to teach the seasons and Moon phases before the district benchmark. Last year 41% of students answered the seasons item correctly, and 62% chose 'Earth is closer to the Sun in summer.' The team has one lamp, one globe, four flashlights, no darkroom, and student Chromebooks.
874 words, about 4 min