HS-PS4-4: Judging Claims About Radiation
Also called NGSS HS-PS4-4 · Topic: Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation · Physical Science
The Official Wording
Evaluate the validity and reliability of claims in published materials of the effects that different frequencies of electromagnetic radiation have when absorbed by matter.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on the idea that photons associated with different frequencies of light have different energies, and the damage to living tissue from electromagnetic radiation depends on the energy of the radiation. Examples of published materials could include trade books, magazines, web resources, videos, and other passages that may reflect bias.
Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to qualitative descriptions.
NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026
What HS-PS4-4 Means in Plain English
Students read articles, ads, videos and websites about what radiation does when skin, food or other matter absorbs it, and judge whether each claim holds up. The key science is that higher-frequency photons carry more energy, so ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays can damage cells.
Answers stay descriptive, with no energy calculations. Students check sources for evidence and bias, such as a seller praising its own product. It builds on the photon model in HS-PS4-3 and links to mutations from environmental causes in HS-LS3-2.
HS-PS4-4 I Can Statements
- I can explain why higher-frequency radiation can harm living cells.
- I can check a published claim for evidence and bias.
- I can tell which kinds of radiation are risky to tissue.
HS-PS4-4 Worked Example
A quick bead test that puts a sunscreen label's claim to work.
Does a sunscreen label's claim to block most UV hold up, and which light changes the beads?
Set It Up: UV-sensitive color-changing beads, sunscreen, two clear plastic bags, a pane of window glass, a red LED flashlight, and sunlight.
- Shine the red flashlight on a few beads indoors.No color change
- Carry beads in a plain bag into sunlight.Deep purple within seconds
- Smear sunscreen over the second bag and test beads inside it.Only a faint tint
- Hold beads behind the window glass in the sun.Still change, slightly lighter
- Read the label's claim and note who made it and what testing it names.Maker's own claim, test method listed
Red light did nothing, sunlight's ultraviolet changed the beads fast, and the sunscreen blocked most of it, which supports the claim without proving its exact number.
Why it works: Ultraviolet photons carry enough energy to change molecules in the beads and in skin cells, while red photons carry too little.
Common Mistakes with HS-PS4-4
Treating all radiation as dangerous
“Radio waves and visible light cause cancer, just like X-rays.”
Try this: Damage depends on photon energy. Radio and visible light lack the energy to break bonds in DNA, while ultraviolet and X-rays can.
Trusting a claim because it sounds scientific
“Clinically proven” on a label with no study named
Try this: Ask who made the claim, what evidence backs it and whether the source profits, then look for an independent source that agrees.
Mixing up brightness and photon energy
“A brighter lamp is always more harmful.”
Try this: Brightness is how many photons arrive. Harm to cells depends mainly on each photon's energy, which rises with frequency.
Where HS-PS4-4 Fits
Practice HS-PS4-4
Quick Check
- Why can ultraviolet light cause sunburn when visible light does not?
- A site selling phone cases says phone signals damage your DNA. What should you check?
- Why does a dentist cover you with a lead apron for X-rays?