Standards - Science

Construct an explanation of the function (e.g., mitochondria releasing energy during cellular respiration) of specific cell structures (i.e., nucleus, cell membrane, cell wall, ribosomes, mitochondria, chloroplasts, and vacuoles) for maintaining a stable environment.

Construct models and representations of organ systems (e.g., circulatory, digestive, respiratory, muscular, skeletal, nervous) to demonstrate how multiple interacting organs and systems work together to accomplish specific functions.

Examine the cycling of matter between abiotic and biotic parts of ecosystems to explain the flow of energy and the conservation of matter.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how food is broken down through chemical reactions to create new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as it moves through an organism.

Generate a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.

Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence regarding how resource availability impacts individual organisms as well as populations of organisms within an ecosystem.

Use empirical evidence from patterns and data to demonstrate how changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem (e.g., deforestation, succession, drought, fire, disease, human activities, invasive species) can lead to shifts in populations.

Construct an explanation to predict patterns of interactions in different ecosystems in terms of the relationships between and among organisms (e.g., competition, predation, mutualism, commensalism, parasitism).

Engage in argument to defend the effectiveness of a design solution that maintains biodiversity and ecosystem services (e.g., using scientific, economic, and social considerations regarding purifying water, recycling nutrients, preventing soil erosion).

Use evidence and scientific reasoning to explain how characteristic animal behaviors (e.g., building nests to protect young from cold, herding to protect young from predators, attracting mates for breeding by producing special sounds and displaying colorful plumage, transferring pollen or seeds to create conditions for seed germination and growth) and specialized plant structures (e.g., flower brightness, nectar, and odor attracting birds that transfer pollen; hard outer shells on seeds providing protection prior to germination) affect the probability of successful reproduction of both animals and plants.

Analyze and interpret data to predict how environmental conditions (e.g., weather, availability of nutrients, location) and genetic factors (e.g., selective breeding of cattle or crops) influence the growth of organisms (e.g., drought decreasing plant growth, adequate supply of nutrients for maintaining normal plant growth, identical plant seeds growing at different rates in different weather conditions, fish growing larger in large ponds than in small ponds).

Construct and use models (e.g., monohybrid crosses using Punnett squares, diagrams, simulations) to explain that genetic variations between parent and offspring (e.g., different alleles, mutations) occur as a result of genetic differences in randomly inherited genes located on chromosomes and that additional variations may arise from alteration of genetic information.

Construct an explanation from evidence to describe how genetic mutations result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of an organism.

Gather and synthesize information regarding the impact of technologies (e.g., hand pollination, selective breeding, genetic engineering, genetic modification, gene therapy) on the inheritance and/or appearance of desired traits in organisms.

Analyze and interpret data for patterns of change in anatomical structures of organisms using the fossil record and the chronological order of fossil appearance in rock layers.

Construct an explanation based on evidence (e.g., cladogram, phylogenetic tree) for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms, including living fossils (e.g., alligator, horseshoe crab, nautilus, coelacanth).

Obtain and evaluate pictorial data to compare patterns in the embryological development across multiple species to identify relationships not evident in the adult anatomy.

Construct an explanation from evidence that natural selection acting over generations may lead to the predominance of certain traits that support successful survival and reproduction of a population and to the suppression of other traits.

Analyze patterns within the periodic table to construct models (e.g., molecular-level models, including drawings; computer representations) that illustrate the structure, composition, and characteristics of atoms and molecules.

Plan and carry out investigations to generate evidence supporting the claim that one pure substance can be distinguished from another based on characteristic properties.

Construct explanations based on evidence from investigations to differentiate among compounds, mixtures, and solutions.

Collect and analyze information to illustrate how synthetic materials (e.g., medicine, food additives, alternative fuels, plastics) are derived from natural resources and how they impact society.

Design and conduct an experiment to determine changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added to or removed from a system.

Observe and analyze characteristic properties of substances (e.g., odor, density, solubility, flammability, melting point, boiling point) before and after the substances combine to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.

Create a model, diagram, or digital simulation to describe conservation of mass in a chemical reaction and explain the resulting differences between products and reactants.

Design, construct, and test a device (e.g., glow stick, hand warmer, hot or cold pack, thermal wrap) that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical reactions (e.g., dissolving ammonium chloride or calcium chloride in water) and modify the device as needed based on criteria (e.g., amount/concentration, time, temperature).*

Use Newton’s first law to demonstrate and explain that an object is either at rest or moves at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force (e.g., model car on a table remaining at rest until pushed).

Use Newton’s second law to demonstrate and explain how changes in an object’s motion depend on the sum of the external forces on the object and the mass of the object (e.g., billiard balls moving when hit with a cue stick).

Use Newton’s third law to design a model to demonstrate and explain the resulting motion of two colliding objects (e.g., two cars bumping into each other, a hammer hitting a nail).*

Plan and carry out investigations to evaluate how various factors (e.g., electric force produced between two charged objects at various positions; magnetic force produced by an electromagnet with varying number of wire turns, varying number or size of dry cells, and varying size of iron core) affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.

Construct an argument from evidence explaining that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other (e.g., interactions of magnets, electrically charged strips of tape, electrically charged pith balls, gravitational pull of the moon creating tides) even when the objects are not in contact.

Create and analyze graphical displays of data to illustrate the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass and speed of an object (e.g., riding a bicycle at different speeds, hitting a table tennis ball versus a golf ball, rolling similar toy cars with different masses down an incline).

Use models to construct an explanation of how a system of objects may contain varying types and amounts of potential energy (e.g., observing the movement of a roller coaster cart at various inclines, changing the tension in a rubber band, varying the number of batteries connected in a series, observing a balloon with static electrical charge being brought closer to a classmate’s hair).

Analyze and interpret data from experiments to determine how various factors affect energy transfer as measured by temperature (e.g., comparing final water temperatures after different masses of ice melt in the same volume of water with the same initial temperature, observing the temperature change of samples of different materials with the same mass and the same material with different masses when adding a specific amount of energy).

Apply the law of conservation of energy to develop arguments supporting the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object (e.g., bowling ball hitting pins, brakes being applied to a car).