Suggested alterations to Draft GPS High School Science Descriptions and High School Curriculum for Life Sciences
Georgia Citizens for Integrity in Science Education Ð Edited by SARAH PALLAS, Ph.D. & RONALD H. MATSON, Ph.D.
High School Science Descriptions (CHANGES IN CAPS)
THE GOAL OF TEACHING SCIENCE IS TO DEVELOP SCIENTIFIC LITERACY IN THE CITIZENRY. [this statement could go in front of each science section]
[Adapted from pg 22, Natl Science Education Stds., Natl. Academy Press, 1996.]
Essential Definitions
Science: Science is an intellectual attitude, a self-correcting way of knowing
about natural phenomena and the physical world.
Law: A description of how some aspect of the natural world works under certain circumstances.
Theory: A scientific theory is a unifying concept that explains many observations and facts. A scientific theory explains how nature works using only testable ideas.
Life Sciences
Two aims dominate at this level. One is to advance student understanding of why diversity within and among species is important. The other is to take the study of diversity and similarity to the molecular AND EVOLUTIONARY levelS. Students can learn that relatedness between organisms CAN BE INFERRED from DNA or protein sequences.
DNA provides for both the continuity of traits from one generation to the next THROUGH REPLICATION AND SEXUAL REPRODUCTION and the variation THROUGH MUTATION AND RECOMBINATION that in time can lead to differences within a species and to entirely new species. Understanding DNA makes possible an explanation of such phenomena as the similarities and differences between parents and offspring, hereditary diseases, and the evolution of new species. This understanding also makes it possible for scientists to manipulate genes and thereby create new combinations of traits and new varieties of organisms.
The individual cell can be considered as a system itself and as part of larger systems, sometimes as part of a multicellular organism, always as part of an ecosystem. The cell membrane serves as a boundary between the cell and its environment, containing for its own use the proteins THE CELL makes, equipment to make them, and stockpiles of fuel. Students should be asked to consider the variety of functions cells serve in the organism and how needed materials and information get to and from the cells. It may help students to understand the interdependency of cells if they think of an organism as a community of cells, each of which has some common tasks and some special jobs.
The idea that protein molecules assembled by cells conduct MUCH OF the work that goes on inside and outside the cells in an organism can be learned without going into the biochemical details. It is sufficient for students to know that the molecules involved are different configurations of a relatively few kinds of amino acids, and that the different shapes of the molecules influence what they do.
Students should acquire a general picture of the functions of the cell and know that the cell has specialized parts that perform these functions. This can be accomplished without many technical terms. Emphasizing vocabulary can impede understanding and take the fun out of science, HOWEVER IT IS IMPORTANT THAT STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THAT SCIENTISTS EMPLOY PRECISE TERMS AND LANGUAGE SO AS TO PROMOTE COMMUNICATION. Discussion of what needs to be done in the cell is much more important than identifying or naming the parts that do it. For example, students should know that cells have certain parts that oxidize sugar to release energy and parts to stitch protein chains together according to instructions;
The concept of an ecosystem should bring coherence to the complex array of relationships among organisms and environments that students have encountered. Students' growing understanding of systems in general can suggest and reinforce characteristics of ecosystemsÑinterdependence of parts, feedback, oscillation, inputs, and outputs. Stability and change in ecosystems can be considered in terms of variables such as population size, number and kinds of species, and productivity.
Now students have a sufficient grasp of atoms and molecules to link the conservation of matter with the flow of energy in living systems. Energy can be accounted for by thinking of it as being stored in molecular configurations constituted during photosynthesis and released during oxidation. Although there is no need to account for all the energy, students should observe heat generated by consumers and decomposers. Discussions of ecosystems can both contribute to and be reinforced by students' understanding of the systems concept in general. The difficulty of predicting the consequences of human tinkering with ecosystems can be illustrated with examples such as the ill-considered fireprevention efforts in national forests.
This level is also a time to ask what this knowledge of the flow of matter and energy through living systems suggests for human beings. Issues such as the use of fossil fuels and the recycling of matter and energy are important enough to pay considerable attention to in high school. STUDENTS SHOULD COME TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEIR ACTIVITIES AND THOSE OF THE HUMAN RACE CAN HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE ECOSYSTEM.
Knowing what evolutionary change is and how it played out over geological time, students can now turn to its mechanism. They need to shift from thinking in terms of selection of individuals with a trait to changing proportions of a trait in populations. Familiarity with artificial selection, coming from studies of pedigrees and their own experiments, can be applied to natural systems, in which selection occurs because of environmental conditions. Students' understanding of radioactivity makes it possible for them to comprehend isotopic dating techniques used to determine the actual age of fossils and hence to appreciate that sufficient time HAS elapsed for successive changes to have accumulated. Knowledge of DNA contributes to the evidence for life having evolved from common ancestors and provides a plausible mechanism for the origin of new traits.
THE HISTORY OF EVOLUTIONARY IDEAS SHOULD BE REVIEWED. LEARNING ABOUT DARWIN AND WHAT LED HIM TO THE CONCEPT OF EVOLUTION ILLUSTRATES THE INTERACTING ROLES OF EVIDENCE AND THEORY IN SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY. MOREOVER, THE CONCEPT OF EVOLUTION PROVIDED A FRAMEWORK FOR ORGANIZING NEW AS WELL AS "OLD" BIOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE INTO A COHERENT PICTURE OF THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE FORMS. IN ADDITION, IT IS CRITICAL FOR STUDENTS TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE DARWINIAN CONCEPT OF DESCENT WITH MODIFICATION HAS BEEN COMBINED WITH KNOWLEDGE OF POPULATION BIOLOGY AND THE STRUCTURE OF DNA TO FORM THE MODERN VIEW OF EVOLUTION AS A CHANGE IN ALLELE FREQUENCY OVER TIME IN POPULATIONS OF ORGANISMS
Finally there is the matter of public RECEPTIVITY TO TEACHING EVOLUTION. OPPOSITION MAY COME FROM PEOPLE WHO PERCEIVE INCORRECTLY THAT TEACHING EVOLUTION AND HAVING RELIGIOUS FAITH ARE INCOMPATIBLE. IT MAY BE HELPFUL TO EMPHASIZE THAT SCIENCE AND RELIGION HAVE HAD CONFLICTS IN THE PAST SUCH AS DURING THE TIME OF COPERNICUS AND GALILEO, AND THESE CONFLICTS WERE EVENTUALLY RESOLVED, AND THAT MANY RELIGIOUS GROUPS HAVE ISSUED STATEMENTS THAT SUPPORT EVOLUTION AND COMMON DESCENT AS A SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION OF DIVERSITY. SCIENCE AND RELIGION OPERATE DIFFERENTLY, IN THAT SCIENCE REQUIRES EVIDENCE WHEREAS RELIGION REQUIRES FAITH IN THE ABSENCE OF EVIDENCE. BECAUSE OF THE SUPERNATURAL COMPONENT OF RELIGION AND THE REQUIREMENT OF NATURALISTIC EXPLANATIONS IN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION, SCIENCE IS NEUTRAL TOWARD RELIGION, NOT ANTAGONISTIC. TEACHERS MUST HELP STUDENTS TO COMPREHEND THE MODERN SCIENCE THAT IS ESSENTIAL TO SCIENTIFIC LITERACY WHILE BEING RESPECTFUL TO DIFFERENT CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS.
[CHANGES UNDERLINED]
Georgia Biology Curriculum
The Georgia Biology Curriculum is designed to provide students the necessary tools to be proficient in biology. The Council for Basic Education and Project 2061's Benchmarks for Science Literacy were used as a guide to determine appropriate content and process skills for students. Science and technology issues have been infused into the curriculum. The relationship between biology, our environment, and our everyday world is crucial to each studentÕs success and should be emphasized.
The performance standards should drive instruction. Hands-on, student-centered and inquiry-based approaches should be the emphasis of instruction. This curriculum is intended to be a minimum curriculum that would show proficiency in biology, and instruction should extend beyond the curriculum to meet student needs.
The hands-on nature of the science curriculum standards increases the need for teachers to use appropriate precautions in the laboratory and field. The guidelines for the safe use, storage, and disposal of chemicals must be observed.
Science consists of a way of thinking and investigating, as well a growing body of knowledge about the natural world. To become literate in science, therefore, students need to acquire an understanding of both the Characteristics of Science and its Content. The Georgia Performance Standards for Science require that instruction be organized so that they are treated together. Therefore, A CONTENT STANDARD IS NOT MET UNLESS APPLICABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENCE ARE ALSO ADDRESSED AT THE SAME TIME. For this reason they are presented as co-requisites.
This Performance Standards document includes three major components. They are:
The Standards for Georgia Science Courses. The Characteristics of Science co-requisite standards are listed first, followed by the Content co-requisite standards. Each Standard is preceded by a benchmark and followed by elements that indicate the specific learning goals associated with it.
Tasks that students should be able to perform during or by the end of the course. These are keyed to the relevant Standards. Some of these can serve as activities that will help students achieve the learning goals of the Standard; some can be used to assess student learning; and many can serve both purposes.
Samples of student work. As a way of indicating what it takes to meet a Standard, examples of successful student work are provided. Many of these illustrate how student work can bridge the Content and Characteristics of Science Standards. The Georgia DOE Standards web site will continue to add samples as they are identified, and teachers are encouraged to send in examples from their own classroom experience.
Co-Requisite Ð Characteristics of Science
SCSh0. Students will understand the nature of science as a way of knowing different from other approaches such as religious teachings or appeals to authority.
Habits of Mind
SCSh1. Students will be aware of the importance of curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism in science and will exhibit these traits in their own efforts to understand how the world works.
a. Understand how curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism affect the progress of
scientific inquiry, and exhibit those traits in student scientific activities.
b. Know that different explanations often can be given for the same evidence, and it is
not always possible to tell which one is correct.
SCSh2. Students will have the computation and estimation skills necessary for analyzing data and following scientific explanations.
a. Find answers to scientific problems by substituting numerical values in simple
algebraic formulas, and judge whether the answer is reasonable by reviewing the
process and checking against typical values.
b. Make up and write out simple algorithms for solving problems that take several steps.
c. Compare scientific data for two groups by representing their averages and spreads
graphically. Use computer spreadsheet, graphing, and database programs to assist in quantitative analysis of scientific data.
d. Decide what degree of precision is adequate, and round off the result of calculator
operations to enough significant figures to reasonably reflect those of the inputs.
e. Address the relationship between accuracy and precision and the importance of each.
f. Express and compare very small and very large numbers in scientific problems using
powers-of-ten notation. Recall immediately the relations among 10, 100, 1000, 1
million, and 1 billion (knowing, for example, that 1 million is a thousand thousands).
g. Trace the source of any large disparity between an estimate and the calculated answer
for a scientific problem. Consider the possible effects of measurement errors on
calculations.
Major Concepts/ Skills: Concepts/Skills to Maintain:
Classifications to the three Domain/six Kingdom Characteristics of Science
level Habits of Mind
Matter-Energy Relationships Nature of Science
Cellular Function and Structure Safety Technique
DNA/RNA Use of scientific tools/technology
Homeostasis Precision and Accuracy
Plant/Animal Characteristics Organize/Analyze scientific data
Genes And Successive Generations Write clearly
Heredity Ask good scientific questions
Ecosystems Graphing
Evolution Accurate Record Keeping
SCSh3. Students will be able to use tools and instruments for observing, measuring, and manipulating objects in scientific activities.
a. Troubleshoot common mechanical and electrical systems, checking for possible
causes of malfunction, and decide on that basis whether to make a change or get
advice from an expert before proceeding.
b. Develop and use systematic procedures for recording and organizing information.
c. Learn and use on a regular basis standard safety practices for laboratory or field
investigations.
d. Learn and use safety procedures specific to an investigation or research activity.
SCSh4. Students will be able to use the ideas of system, model, change, and scale in exploring scientific and technological matters.
a. Apply the concept of a system to the analysis of how things work and the design of
solutions to problems. Specify the systemÕs boundaries and subsystems, its relation to
other systems, and its input and output.
b. Understand that computers are used to develop, test, and revise models, including
mathematical models that involve long, complicated, or repetitive computations, and
graphic models that simulate complicated processes or make it possible to design and
test devices and structures.
c. Explain how systems in equilibrium may return to the same state of equilibrium when
the disturbances are small and how large disturbances may destroy a systemÕs
equilibrium and eventually result in a different state of equilibrium.
d. Understand how large changes in scale typically change the way things work in
physical, biological, or social systems because the changes in scale affect various
properties of those systems in different degrees.
SCSh5. Students will be able to communicate scientific ideas and activities clearly.
a. Write clear, coherent accounts of scientific activities, including possible analyses and
alternative interpretations of the results.
b. Choose appropriate summary statistics to describe group differences, always
indicating the spread of the data as well as the dataÕs central tendencies.
c. Make and use tables, charts, graphs, and scale drawings to make scientific arguments
and claims in oral and written presentations.
d. Participate in group discussions on scientific topics by restating or summarizing
accurately what others have said, asking for clarification or elaboration, and
expressing alternative positions.
e. Understand that scientific words have very specific meanings, often different from those used by non-scientists. The students will learn to choose and use proper terminology when writing reports and giving presentations.
After the elementary years, students are seriously engaged in reading for learning. This process sweeps across all disciplinary domains, extending even to the area of personal learning. Students encounter a variety of informational as well as fictional texts, and they experience text in all genres and modes of discourse. In the study of various disciplines of learning (language arts, mathematics, science, social studies), students must learn through reading the communities of discourse of each of those disciplines. Each subject has its own specific vocabulary, and for students to excel in all subjects, they must learn the specific vocabulary of those subject areas in context.
Beginning with the middle grades years, students begin to self-select reading materials based on personal interests established through classroom learning. Students become curious about science, mathematics, history, and literature as they form contexts for those subjects related to their personal and classroom experiences. As students explore academic areas through reading, they develop favorite subjects and become confident in their verbal discourse about those subjects.
Reading across curriculum content develops both academic and personal interests in students. As students read, they develop both content and contextual vocabulary. They also build good habits for reading, researching, and learning. The Reading Across the Curriculum standard focuses on the academic and personal skills students acquire as they read in all areas of learning.
SCSh6. Students will enhance reading in all curriculum areas by:
a. Reading in All Curriculum Areas
¥ Read a minimum of 25 grade-level appropriate books per year from a variety of
subject disciplines and participate in discussions related to curricular learning in
all areas
¥ Read both informational and fictional text in a variety of genres and modes of
discourse
¥ Read technical text related to various subject areas
b. Discussing books
¥ Discuss messages and themes from books in all subject areas.
¥ Respond to a variety of texts in multiple modes of discourse.
¥ Relate messages and themes from one subject area to messages and themes in
another area.
¥ Evaluate the merit of texts in every subject discipline.
¥ Examine EACH authorÕs purpose in writing.
¥ Recognize the features of disciplinary texts.
c. Vocabulary
¥ Demonstrate an understanding of contextual vocabulary in various subjects.
¥ Use content vocabulary in writing and speaking.
¥ Explore understanding of new words found in subject area texts.
d. Establishing context
¥ Explore life experiences related to subject area content.
¥ Discuss in both writing and speaking how certain words are subject area related.
¥ Determine strategies for finding content and contextual meaning for unknown
words.
SCSh7. Students will be able to question scientific claims and arguments effectively.
a. Identify the flaws of arguments based on the faulty, incomplete, or misleading use of
numbers, such as instances in which (1) average results are reported, but not the
amount of variation around the average, and (2) a percentage or fraction is given, but
not the total sample size (as in Ò9 out of 10 dentists recommend...Ó).
b. Make explicit the critical assumptions behind any line of reasoning so that the
validity of the position being takenÑwhether oneÕs own or that of othersÑcan be
judged. Use and correctly interpret relational termsÑsuch as Òif É then É,Ó Òand,Ó
Òor,Ó Òsufficient,Ó Ònecessary,Ó Òsome,Ó Òevery,Ó Ònot,Ó Òcorrelates with,Ó and
ÒcausesÓÑin scientific arguments.
c. Suggest alternative ways of explaining data and criticize arguments in which data,
explanations, or conclusions are represented as the only ones worth consideration,
with no mention of other possibilities. Determine whether both supporting and
contrary data relevant to a claim have been set out.
The Nature of Science
SCSh8. Students will be familiar with the character of scientific knowledge and how it is achieved.
a. Scientists assume that the universe is a vast single system in which the basic
principles are the same everywhere. The principles may range from very simple to
extremely complex, but scientists operate on the belief that the principles can be
discovered and that they have predictive value. Scientists collect empirical data and draw conclusions based on those data. Supernatural explanations are not used in science because it is not possible to make predictions/hypotheses about the operation of supernatural forces, nor to test or falsify them using the scientific method.
b. From time to time, major shifts occur in the scientific view of how the world works.
More often, however, the changes that take place in the body of scientific knowledge
are small modifications of prior knowledge. In cases where unexpected or controversial theories are proposed, the strength of the evidence supporting them must be particularly strong
c. Scientists place their ideas in the Òcourt of scientific opinionÓ for criticism by publishing in scientific journals. Prior to publication, scientific peers of the authors anonymously review and critique the work, deciding if the techniques are valid, that the evidence is strong enough and that the conclusions are valid enough for publication. After publication, the work is fair game for criticism and retesting by other scientists. Typically many different laboratories will repeat the experiment, looking for other possible explanations. Repeated failure to disprove the conclusions provides support for them.
d. Hypotheses often guide scientistsÕ choices of what data to pay attention to, what
additional data to seek, and how to interpret both new and previously available data.
e. While a given theory may fit all of the observations made so far, a new theory might fit
those observationsÑand new onesÑeven better. The process of testing, revising, and
occasionally rejecting new and old theories never ends and enables science to reach a
progressively better understanding of the world. Progress in scientific understanding
often manifests itself in more reliable explanations and more accurate predictions.
SCSh9. Students will understand important features of the process of scientific inquiry.
a. Investigators must control certain conditions they investigate in order to produce
valuable data. When practical or ethical reasons make controlled investigations
impossible, scientists rely on the procedure of collecting data from a wide range of
natural occurrences to identify patterns.
b. Scientists working together tend to see things alike and may have trouble being
entirely objective about their methods and findings. Scientific teams are expected to
seek out the possible sources of bias in their investigationsÕ hypotheses, observations,
data analyses, and interpretations.
c. Science uses practices such as peer review and publication to reinforce the integrity
of scientific activity and reporting.
d. New ideas that challenge accepted opinions often encounter vigorous criticism.
Eventually, theories are judged by how they fit with other theories and existing
observations and how they guide further research.
e. New ideas in science are limited by the context in which they are conceived. Progress
in science and invention is influenced by what else is happening in society, and
history is often shaped by scientific and technological developments.
f. Science disciplines and traditions differ from one another in what is studied,
techniques used, and outcomes sought, but they share a common purpose and
philosophy. As science progresses, the scope and boundaries of particular disciplines
are modified and new disciplines are created. Although each discipline provides a
conceptual structure for organizing and pursuing knowledge, many problems are
studied by scientists using information and skills from many disciplines.
g. Funding influences the direction of science through the decisions that are made on which research to support. Research funding comes from various federal government agencies, industry, and private foundations. Students should be aware that there may be a conflict of interest when work is supported by groups with a stake in the outcome of the experiments.
h. The ethics of science normally require that research involving risks to human subjects
be conducted only with the informed consent of the subjects or the permission of their
guardians, even if this constraint limits some kinds of potentially important research
or influences the results. Research involving laboratory animals is subject to federal and local regulation, and committees overseeing animal research require that animal health and welfare are protected and that the number of animals used is the minimum necessary to achieve significant data.
Language science
students should use:
generalize, conclude, hypothesis, theory, variable, measure, SI units,
evidence, data, inference, infer, compare, predict, interpret, analyze,
relate, graph, significant figures, scientific notation, calculate,
observe, describe, classify, technology, experiment, investigation,
tentative, assumption, ethical, accuracy, precision, skeptical, methods
of science
Co-Requisite Ð Content
Benchmark
Every cell is covered by a membrane that controls what enters and leaves the cell. In all but quite primitive cells, a complex network of proteins within them provides organization and shape and, for some cells, movement. Within the cell are specialized parts for the transport of materials, energy capture and release, protein building, waste disposal, information feedback, and even movement. In addition to these basic cellular functions common to all cells, most cells in multi-cellular organisms perform some special functions that others do not. The work of the cell is carried out by the many
different types of molecules it assembles, such as proteins called enzymes. Protein molecules are long, usually folded chains made from combining 20 different kinds of amino acid molecules in different sequences. The function of each protein molecule depends on its specific sequence of amino acids, and the chainÕs shape is a consequence of attractions among the chainÕs parts. The genetic information in DNA molecules provides instructions for assembling protein molecules. The code used is nearly identical across all life forms. Complex interactions among the different kinds of molecules in the cell cause distinct cycles
of activities, such as growth and division. Cell behavior can also be affected by molecules from other parts of the organism or even other organisms. Gene mutation in a cell can sometimes result in uncontrolled cell division, called cancer. Exposure of cells to certain chemicals and radiation increases mutations and thus increases the chance of cancer. Most cells function best within a narrow range of temperature and acidity. At very low temperatures, reaction rates are too slow to be effective. High temperatures and extremes of acidity can irreversibly change the structure of most protein molecules. Even small changes in acidity can alter the molecules and how they interact. Both single cells and multi-cellular organisms have molecules that help to keep the cellÕs acidity within a narrow range. A living cell is
composed of a small number of chemical elements, mainly carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Carbon, because of its small size and four available bonding electrons, can join to other carbon atoms in chains and rings to form large, complex molecules.
SB1. Students will be familiar with the structures, functions, and reproduction of living cells.
a. Students will analyze the basic relationships between living and non-living things as
they relate to absorption, storage, and release of energy in cells.
b. Students will describe the structure, function, and how they regulate homeostasis as
they pertain to cell organelles.
c. Students will compare and contrast the structure and function of prokaryotic and
eukaryotic cells. They will understand the evolutionary relationships between prokaryotes and eukaryotes and will be familiar with the hypothesis that eukaryotic organelles derived from prokaryotes (endosymbiosis).
d. Students will assess and explain the importance of water to cells as well as movement of water
into and out of cells. [there is no active transport of water]
e. Students will explore the structure, function, and importance of enzymes as well as
explain their importance in biological systems.
f. Students will identify the function of the four major macromolecules (i.e.,
carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids).
Language science
students should use:
organelles, photosynthesis, respiration, cellular respiration, osmosis,
diffusion, active transport, homeostasis, cell theory, endosymbiosis, organic substance,
carbohydrate, fermentation, protein, fat, nucleic acid, enzyme,
chlorophyll, cell membrane, nucleus, cell wall, solvent, solute,
adhesion, cohesion, microorganism
An Austrian monk, Gregor Mendel, provided evidence for inheritance mechanisms and proposed that particles of inheritance were passed from both parents to their offspring. Other scientists identified the genetic code found in DNA and characteristics associated with the DNA codes. Recent discoveries include the genome sequences of humans and other organisms. New gene combinations may make little difference, may produce organisms with new and perhaps enhanced capabilities, or may lead to detrimental effects. The sorting and recombination of genes in sexual reproduction result in a great variety of possible gene combinations in the offspring of any two parents. The information passed from parents to offspring is coded in DNA molecules. Genes are
segments of DNA molecules. Inserting, deleting, or substituting DNA segments can alter genes. These processes can occur naturally, and can be experientally induced for research or medical treatment purposes. An altered gene may be passed on to every cell that develops from it. Gene mutations can be caused by such things as radiation and chemicals. When they occur in sex (germ) cells, the mutations can be passed on to offspring. The many body cells in an individual can be very different from one another, even though they are all descended from a single cell and thus have essentially identical genetic information. This occurs because not all of the genes are transcribed into messenger RNA or translated into proteins, but rather some genes can control the ability of other genes to be transcribed or translated. Different parts of that genetic information are used in different types of cells and are influenced by the cellÕs environment and past history.
SB2. Students will understand how biological traits are passed on to successive generations.
a. Students will analyze the characteristics and components of DNA and RNA.
b. Students will analyze the molecular basis of heredity/DNA including:
¥ Replication
¥ Protein synthesis (transcription, translation)
c. Students will compare the advantages of sexual reproduction and asexual
reproduction in different situations.
d. Students will explain the roles of mitosis and meiosis in reproductive variability.
e. Students will apply the laws of probability to predict patterns of inheritance.
f. Students will summarize how genetic information encoded in DNA provides instructions for
assembling protein molecules.
g. Students will describe the relationships between changes in DNA and appearances of
new traits including:
¥ Mutations of various types can occur during replication(including duplications, deletions, insertions, crossing over). The error rate in replication is approximately one in 109 base pairs
¥ Environmental Influence
h. Students will examine the use of DNA technology in forensics, medicine, and
agriculture.
i. Students will relate changes in DNA to the formation of biodiversity.
Language science
students should use:
DNA, replication, fertilization, dominant trait, recessive trait, genetic
engineering, gene splicing, phenotype, genotype, sexual reproduction,
asexual reproduction, chromosome, gene, mutation, cloning,
inheritance, bioethics, pedigree
Structure relates to function. Organs and organ systems function together to provide homeostasis in organisms. The functioning of organs depends upon multiple organ systems.
SB3. Students will understand the relationship between structure and function of organs and organ systems.
a. Students will relate the structural and functional systems of plants in terms of:
¥ Photosynthesis
¥ Transportation and use of food, water and waste products
¥ The cycling of water, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen in biological systems
¥ Reproduction and alternation of generations
b. Students will connect the general structure of animal systems to their functions, specifically:
¥ Circulatory system
¥ Respiratory system
¥ Reproductive system
¥ Endocrine system
¥ Digestive system
¥ Excretory system
¥ Nervous system
¥ Body support systems (skeletal, muscular, skin)
c. Discuss the evolution of plants and animals with respect to adaptations in each system that increased fitness in the respective environments of each group of plants as the earth changed over its history.
d. Discuss the role of homeostasis in maintaining organismal function and human health.
Language science
students should use:
evolution, adaptation, organ, organ system, organism, hormonal modification, stomata, tissue, photosynthesis, chlorophyll, oxygen, CO2,
homeostasis, structure, function
BenchmarkThe degree of similarity in the DNA sequences of organisms or
species can be used to estimate how closely related they are to each
other. The degree of relatedness as determined by DNA analysis can
frequently predict supports hypotheses of relationships previously
proposed based on anatomical similarities.
The variation in the characteristics of individuals within a population of organisms belonging to one species increases the chances that some members of the species will survive under changing environmental conditions, and a great diversity of species increases the chance that at least some living things will survive even if there are large changes in the environment.
SB4. Students will be aware of the diversity of living organisms and how they can be
compared scientifically.
a. Students will understand the ways in which scientists classify living things into kingdom,
phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species, and the concept of parsimony. They will also use dichotomous keys to identify organisms. They will learn how scientists use many characteristics to make hypotheses about relatedness, including developmental, structural, and functional characters and DNA evidence.
b.. Students will determine the internal and external factors that influence the growth and
development of organisms [relates to learning goals in health sciences?].
c. Generalize criteria used for classification of organisms (e.g., dichotomy, structure,
broad to specific).
d. omit, this did not have a clear meaning
e. Students will understand how anatomical, genetic and biochemical data are used to produce hypotheses of relationships (phylogenies) which can be used to test how closely related different species are to each other.
Language science
students should use:
Taxonomy, phylogeny, kingdom,
virus, protist, fungi, plant, animal, dichotomy, parsimony,
classification scheme, species, evolution, adaptation, Linnaeus, Darwin, Wallace.
Ecosystems can be reasonably stable over thousands of years. As any population of organisms grows, it is held in check by one or more environmental factors: e.g. depletion of food or nesting sites, increased loss to predators or parasites. If a disaster such as flood or fire occurs, the damaged ecosystem is likely to recover in stages that eventually result in a system similar to the original one (succession). Like many complex systems, ecosystems tend to have cyclic fluctuations around a state of rough equilibrium. In the long run, however, ecosystems always change when climate changes or when one or more new species appear as a result of genetic drift or local adaptation.
SB5. Students will be aware of the dependence of all organisms, including humans, on one another and their environments.
a. Students will investigate the relationships among organisms, populations,
communities, ecosystems, and biomes.
b. Students will assess and describe successional changes in ecosystems.
c. Students will assess and explain human activities that influence and modify the
environment such as global warming, population growth, pesticide use, and water
and power conservation. Human beings are part of the earth's ecosystems. Human activities can, deliberately or inadvertently, alter the equilibrium in ecosystems.
d. Students will evaluate the survival of organisms and suitable adaptive responses to
environmental pressures.
e. Students will explore plant tropisms that affect their ability to survive environmental
stress.
f. Students will assess and examine types of animal behaviors (taxis, reflexes, instincts,
and learned behavior).
Language science students
should use:
predator-prey, symbiosis, competition, ecosystem, carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle,
oxygen cycle, population, diversity, energy pyramid, consumers, producers,
limiting factor, competition, decomposers, food web, biotic, abiotic, community,
variable, evidence, inference, quantitative, qualitative
Benchmark
At times, environmental conditions are such that plants and marine organisms grow faster than decomposers can recycle them back to the environment. Layers of energy-rich organic material have been gradually turned into great coal beds and oil pools by the pressure of the overlying earth. By burning these fossil fuels, people are passing most of the stored energy back into the environment as heat and releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide. The amount of life any environment can support is limited by the available energy, water, oxygen, and minerals and by the ability of ecosystems to recycle the residue of dead organic materials. Human activities and technology can
change this flow and reduce or increase the fertility of the land. The chemical elements that make up the molecules of living things pass through food webs and are combined and recombined in different ways. At each link in a food web, some energy is stored in newly made structures, but much is dissipated into the environment as heat. Continual input of energy from sunlight keeps the process going.
SB6. Students will understand the cycling of matter and the flow of energy through systems of living things.
a. Students will analyze the cycling of water, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen in biological
systems.
b. Students will distinguish between autotrophic and heterotrophic.organisms.
c. Students will illustrate the cycling of matter and the flow of energy through
photosynthesis (e.g., by using light energy to combine CO2 and H2O to produce
oxygen and sugars) and respiration (e.g., by releasing energy from sugar and O2 to
produce CO2 and H2O).
d. Students will explain the flow of energy through ecosystems by:
¥ Arranging components of a food web according to energy flow.
¥ Comparing the quantity of energy in the steps of an energy pyramid.
e. Students will explain the cycling of matter by discussing biogeochemical cycles such as the Carbon cycle and the Nitrogen cycle.
There are historical scientific models of evolution, such as those of Lamarck, Wallace, Buffon, and Darwin. DarwinÕs and WallaceÕs theory of evolution by natural selection, in comparison to the other theories, has a great deal of empirical support. An understanding of DNA and its role in heredity provided a molecular mechanism that supports most of DarwinÕs ideas. Subsequent development of the concept of punctuated equilibrium by Niles Eldredge and Stephen J. Gould provided a theory for why there might be incontinuities in the fossil record. Evidence from fossils, molecular biology, embryology, and anatomical structures confirm evolutionary relationships between species, providing strong evidence for common ancestry. In microevolution, the proportion of individuals within a population of conspecific that have advantageous characteristics will increase. Macroevolution operates by the same general mechanism, and new species can arise when changes accumulate to such a degree that individuals within the population no longer interbreed. Heritable characteristics can be observed at molecular and whole-organism levels in structure, chemistry, and behavior. Natural selection leads to organisms that are well suited for survival in particular environments. Chance alone can result in the persistence of some heritable characteristics that have no survival or reproductive advantage or disadvantage for the organism. If an environment changes, some inherited characteristics may then have survival value.
SB7. Students
will be familiar with the evolution of living
organisms, including inherited characteristics that lead to
survival of organisms and their successive generations.
*The basic idea of biological evolution is that the earth's present-day species evolved from earlier, distinctly different species.
* Molecular evidence substantiates the anatomical evidence for evolution and provides additional detail about the sequence in which various lines of descent branched off from one another.
* Natural selection provides the following mechanism for evolution: Some variation in heritable characteristics exists within every species, some of these characteristics give individuals an advantage over others in surviving and reproducing, and the advantaged offspring, in turn, are more likely than others to survive and reproduce.
* Heritable characteristics can be observed at molecular and whole-organism levels-in structure, chemistry, or behavior. These characteristics strongly influence what capabilities an organism will have and how it will react, and therefore influence how likely it is to survive and reproduce.
* New heritable characteristics can result from new combinations of existing genes or from mutations of genes in reproductive cells. Changes in other cells of an organism cannot be passed on to the next generation.
* The theory of natural selection provides a unifying scientific explanation for the history of life on earth as depicted in the fossil record and in the similarities evident within the diversity of existing organisms.
* Life on earth is thought to have begun as simple, one-celled organisms about 4 billion years ago. During the first 2 billion years, only single-cell microorganisms existed, but once cells with nuclei developed about a billion years ago, increasingly complex multicellular organisms evolved.
* Evolution builds on what already exists, so the more variety there is, the more there can be in the future. But evolution does not necessitate long-term progress in some set direction. Evolutionary changes appear to be like the growth of a bush: Some branches survive from the beginning with little or no change, many die out altogether, and others branch repeatedly, sometimes giving rise to more complex organisms.
* Rates of evolution vary. Evolutionary changes can occur within a single generation or over many generations.
a. Students will relate the nature of science to the progression of historical scientific models of evolution.
b. Students will relate reproductive isolation to speciation.
c. Students will compare selective breeding to natural selection and relate the differences to agricultural practices.
d. Students will relate speciation and genetic variation to biodiversity.
e. Students will learn how hypotheses of relationships can be used to make predictions valuable to scientists in various disciplines.
Language
science students
should use:
evolution, common ancestry, fossil record, geologic record, punctuated equilibrium, molecular evidence, homologous, vestigial structures, mutation, recombination, hierarchy, theory, natural selection, adaptation, evidence, inference, speciation, evolutionary rates, biodiversity.
Tasks:
Cells
A) Summarize through an essay or presentation matter-energy relationships in living organisms by comparing aerobic and anaerobic respiration. (SB6a)
B) Describe or illustrate, the structure and functional relationships of cell organelles. (SB1ab)
C) Incorporate a graph into a Powerpoint presentation to illustrate how homeostasis is
maintained at the cellular level. (SB1b)
D) In a paired group setting, compare and contrast the structure and function of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. (SB1c)
E) Physically demonstrate different methods of the transport of materials into and out of cells. (SB1d)
F) Design models to demonstrate an understanding of the role of enzymes in biological systems.
(SB1e)
Heredity & Evolution of Life
A) Design and construct a model of the DNA molecule showing its structure and demonstrating the process of reproducing itself. (SB2ab)
B) Contrast the contribution of mitosis and meiosis to variation in species. (SB2d)
C) Create a PowerPoint presentation describing key scientists and their discoveries that have shaped current theories of heredity, biodiversity, and evolution.
D) Demonstrate the laws of probability to predict patterns of inheritance (recessive and
dominant traits) through the use of selected organisms. (SB2e)
E) Create a presentation that explains how crossing over, changes in DNA (genetic mutations) and random combinations of gametes contribute to the development of new traits SB2g)
F) Prepare a presentation on how DNA technology can be utilized in various fields. (SB2h)
G) Create a poster, connecting suitable adaptive responses of organisms to environmental
pressures. (SB2g)
H) Discuss how an understanding of evolutionary concepts relates to fields such as medicine (antibiotic resistance, HIV), pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and agriculture (pesticide resistance).
Plants & Animals
A) Classify organisms according to the three domain or six Kingdom taxonomic systems.
(SB4a)
B) Identify organisms using a dichotomous key to a minimum of the family level. (SB4a)
C) Research and explain how internal and external factors that influence the growth and
development of a selected organism. (SB4b)
D) In a class presentation, give examples of how homeostatic mechanisms allow organisms to adjust to changes in their environment. (SB4d, SB5ef)
E) In a group presentation, compare the body systems of various animals. (SB3b)
F) Compare two different plants from different areas in order to determine the functional
systems of plants and relate these differences to evolution. (SB3a)
G) In presentations, discuss the evolutionary history of various groups of organisms.
Ecosystems & Ecology
A) Create a flow chart that shows the relationships among organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes. (SB5a)
B) Explain the flow of matter and energy through ecosystems. (SB6c)
C) Experimentally show how organisms respond to environmental changes in terms of plant tropisms that affect their ability to survive environmental stress. (SB5e)
D) Read and write a report on a selected animal reporting how that animal responds to
environmental pressures. (SB5f)
E) Debate how human activities that influence and modify the environment such as Global warming, population growth, pesticide use, and water and power conservation. (SB5c)
F) Create a presentation that displays factors that cause successional changes in ecosystems. (SB5b)