Biocurriculumguide 2010

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Curriculum Guide
Biology 1 & 2
Biology 1 & 2 Honors
ESL Biology 1 & 2
Bilingual (Spanish) Biology 1 & 2
GOVERNING BOARD
David Lujan, President
GOVERNING BOARD
David Lujan, President
Amy J. Kobeta, Member

Steve Gallardo, Member
Rev. Jarrett Maupin, Member
Arthur Lebowitz, Superintendent (Interim)

Dr. Deborah Gonzalez, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Accountability
(Revised May, 2010)

Phoenix Union High School
District
4502 North Central Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85012
Table
of Contents
Copyright
2000 Phoenix Union High School District. All rights reserved. No part of this
document may be reproduced without the express prior written permission of the Phoenix
Union High School District.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction to the Curriculum Guide .......................................................................................................................................... 4
History ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Implications for PUHSD ................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Curriculum Coherency ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Unburdening the Curriculum ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
Inquiry-Based Teaching and Learning .................................................................................................................................... 7
Course Descriptions ............................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Biology 1-2 ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 9
Biology 1-2 Honors ............................................................................................................................................................................ 9
Background ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Development Team....................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Primer units ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 10
The Nature of Science and scientific inquiry ..................................................................................................................... 10
Characteristics of Life .................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Evolution By Natural Selection ................................................................................................................................................. 12
Biology Power Standards at a Glance ......................................................................................................................................... 13
Semester 1 ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Energy and Living Systems.................................................................................................................................................... 13
Cells .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Semester 2 ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Heredity ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Evolution ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Energy and Living Systems .............................................................................................................................................................. 19
Background Information ............................................................................................................................................................. 19
Concepts and Student Pre/Misconceptions ....................................................................................................................... 20
Enduring Understanding/Topical Understanding ......................................................................................................... 22
Concepts to Uncover: ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Suggested Activities........................................................................................................................................................................ 23
Resources ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 23
Standards Crosswalk ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24
Topical Understandings .......................................................................................................................................................... 24
Suggested Performance Assessments ................................................................................................................................... 27
Cells Unit.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 29
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Concepts to Uncover ...................................................................................................................................................................... 33
Resources ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 33
Heredity Unit ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 46
Resources ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 49
Evolution Unit ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 61
Resources ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 69
State Standard Alignment with Units ......................................................................................................................................... 77
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Introduction to the Curriculum Guide
Instructions for opening the Document Map for easy navigation of the Curriculum Guide
1) Select the View Tab from the Ribbon
S
2) Check the Document Map box
3) The document map will open
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INTRODUCTION TO THE CURRICULUM GUIDE

HISTORY
In 1997, using the national science standards as guideposts, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE)
adopted six state science standards: Science as Inquiry; History and Nature of Science; Personal and Social
Perspectives in Science and Technology; Life Science; Physical Science; Earth and Space Science. At that
time, direction was given to ensure that all of the standards be addressed in a two-year science course
sequence. This would satisfy the two-year science graduation requirement of the state as well as the
PUHSD graduation requirement of one physical science and one life science credit.
This attempt to cover all of the state science standards within two courses resulted in an overburdened
curriculum for all of the courses involved and an incoherent curriculum for Earth Science. The result was
that teachers struggled to teach the entire curriculum and, thus, were forced to abandon concepts and
units or to abandon teaching for understanding in favor of covering curriculum.
In May 2004, to comply with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, ADE adopted a new science standard
and articulated it by grade level. The new science standard is divided into six strands: Inquiry Process;
History and Nature of Science; Science in Personal and Social Perspectives; Life Science; Physical Science;
and Earth and Space Science. Within each strand there are between two and five concepts, under which
are listed specific performance objectives (for more information see http://www.ade.az.gov).
During science standard development and articulation, the State Science Articulation Committee discussed
concerns about four years of science content being included in the standard at the high school level, when
Arizona requires only two years of science for graduation and will test students at the sophomore level. An
end-of-course- biology test, with a focus on inquiry, was recommended as the AIMS science assessment.
This eliminated the pressure to cover four years of science in two years and produced a need to ensure
that students are appropriately prepared for Biology.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PUHSD

Science made it on the achievement map. This presented us with an excellent opportunity to re-examine
our science curriculum in light of current research on science teaching and learning. No longer were we
forced to overburden our science courses in an attempt to cover four years of standards in two years.
Instead, we were able to focus on essential standards: standards that provide students with leverage for
understanding complex concepts; standards that endure beyond individual courses; and standards that
prepare students for future studies. We were also able to sequence concepts and courses so that they
improve learning opportunities for students.
Thus was born the Science Curriculum Revision Project. There were three major goals for the project: 1)
Improve curriculum coherency; 2) Unburden the curriculum; and 3) Facilitate inquiry-based teaching and
learning.
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CURRICULUM COHERENCY
According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2001) a coherent curriculum is
one that focuses on the relatedness of particular knowledge and skills needed for science literacy, takes
developmental considerations into account in deciding on the grade placement of specific learning goals in
science, mathematics, and technology, and provides occasions for exploring thematic connections between
science-related subjects and other fields (p. 237). Improving curriculum coherence meant that we had to
develop curriculum intended to strengthen students grasp of concepts and skills by requiring that they
exercise them repeatedly in new contexts, at progressively higher levels of sophistication, and in relation to
other concepts.
Curriculum coherence was enhanced both through the refinement and re-sequencing of science courses
and was based on the following rationale (see Appendix A for the Science Course Sequence Flow Chart):
Students who have a strong foundation in physical science concepts (such as the structure of matter,
energy transformations, motion, etc.) will be better prepared for modern biology and higher-level sciences.
Biology is no longer merely the study of the physical characteristics of organisms; it probes more deeply
into how the chemistry of DNA, for example, determines the functions of a cell. Its study also includes the
flow of energy and matter. Learning can be enhanced if students of modern biology first have an
understanding of how atoms work (including energy and momentum concepts, and energy states).
If science is to be taught with an inquiry approach, then a physical science course preceding biology makes
the best sense. Experiments in physical science are the easiest to do as students manipulate physical
phenomena that they can touch. Further, physical science lends itself better to a modeling approach,
where mathematical and conceptual models to represent real-world phenomena are developed by
students. Biology experiments have many variables to control and often generate results that require the
use of sophisticated statistical analysis, making it a more difficult high school experimental science course
than physical science.
Earth science has the advantage of making use of all three core disciplines (biology, chemistry, and physics).
As a highly rigorous course, earth science can teach the student the power of the combination of disciplines
and earn the positive image it deserves.
UNBURDENING THE CURRICULUM

As more and more content was added over the years, many of PUHSD science courses included a great
abundance of topics that were treated in superficial detail and that employed technical language far
exceeding most students understanding. With quantity taking precedence over quality, coverage almost
always won out over student understanding. AAAS (2001) notes that Many decades of overload have
shaped curriculum, textbooks, tests, and teacher expectations into an industry of superficiality (p. 211).
Several strategies were used to maximize students eventual science literacy and to unburden the
curriculum. First, the curriculum for each course was reduced in the number of major topics taught.
Second, unnecessary details were removed from other topics. Finally, wasteful repetition was eliminated.
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Project team members utilized a backward design approach to curriculum revision and development a
planning sequence for curriculum (McTighe and Wiggins,1998). The planning sequence includes three
stages: identify desired results (enduring understandings), determine acceptable evidence (performancebased assessments), then plan learning experiences and instruction.
In the first stage, goals and content standards were considered. Because there was typically more content
than could reasonably be addressed, choices had to be made. Project team members used a framework for
establishing curricular priorities that included identification of understandings that are enduring beyond the
classroom. These, then, became the power standards for each course. Ideas that were identified as being
important to know or worth being familiar with were not included in the curriculum as being mandatory to
teach.
With inquiry-based teaching and learning as a goal, the first stage also required team members to take the
enduring understandings and shape them to engage and focus student inquiry. Thus, curriculum was built
around the questions that gave rise to the content knowledge in the first place. These became the
essential questions. Essential questions have no one obvious right answer, they are deliberately framed to
provoke and sustain student interest, and they promote uncoverage of foundational concepts important to
the discipline rather than coverage of everything known about a topic.
Determining acceptable evidence of student proficiency and understanding was the goal for stage two.
Example performance-based assessments (performance tasks) were generated for each of the enduring
understandings. Because student understanding develops as a result of ongoing inquiry and rethinking, the
assessment of understanding should be thought of in terms of a collection of evidence over time instead of
a single event.
Assessment methods should include informal checks for understanding, observations and dialogue, quizzes
and tests, and academic prompts as well as performance tasks. Units should be anchored in performance
tasks or projects as these provide evidence that students are able to use their knowledge in context. More
traditional assessments should be used to round out the picture by assessing essential knowledge and skills
that contribute to the culminating performances.
Stage three involves deciding what activities students will do during the unit in order to prepare for
demonstrating their understanding through performance tasks. This part of the planning is left to individual
teachers. Teachers should plan learning experiences that include inductive methods (inquiry-based labs
and investigations), guided reading activities, and cooperative learning group work, as well as direct
instruction. Direct instruction should also include Socratic method and frequent discussion.
INQUIRY-BASED TEACHING AND LEARNING

Curriculum that frames units around essential questions lends itself to inquiry-based teaching and learning.
Teaching science through inquiry allows students to conceptualize a question and then seek possible
explanations that respond to that question. Engaging students in authentic science experiences, where
they devise and carry out controlled investigations that test their ideas, will help students to retain
concepts that are the enduring understandings. For example, during the course of science learning all
students should acquire the ability to conduct an investigation where they keep all but one of the variables
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constant. This ability is not limited to science, but also provides a powerful general strategy for solving
many problems encountered in the workplace and in everyday life.
The term scientific inquiry refers to the abilities students should develop to be able to design and conduct
scientific investigations and the understandings they should gain about the nature of scientific inquiry. It
also refers to the teaching and learning strategies that enable scientific concepts to be mastered through
investigations drawing connections between learning science, learning to do science and learning about
science.
Essential features of classroom inquiry include: 1) learners who are engaged by scientifically oriented
questions, 2) learners who give priority to evidence, which allows them to develop and evaluate
explanations that address scientifically oriented questions, 3) learners who formulate explanations from
evidence to address scientifically oriented questions, 4) learners who evaluate their explanations in light of
alternative explanations, particularly those reflecting scientific understanding, and 5) learners who
communicate and justify their proposed explanations (NSES, 1996).
Inquiry exists on several levels and may include many variations depending on the amount of learner selfdirection and amount of direction from the teacher or learning experiences. Inquiry may be structured,
guided by the teacher, or open-ended discovery. Teaching students through inquiry should be a scaffolded
journey to a level of mastery. This can be accomplished through engaging students in a research team
approach, student inquiry projects, scientific journaling, and by creating opportunities for students to
question, and answer their own testable questions.
Using inquiry-based instruction presents science teachers with several classroom implications. An inquirybased teacher: 1) concentrates on collection and use of evidence, 2) acts as a facilitator or guide for student
learning, 3) helps students benefit from mistakes, 4) models inquiry behaviors and skills, 5) uses
appropriate process vocabulary, 6) encourages dialogue among students and with the teacher, 7) poses
thoughtful, open-ended questions and helps students do the same, 8) provides a rich variety of materials
and resources for investigation, 9) uses raw data and primary sources of scientific information, 10) assists
students with clear oral and written communication, and 11) allows students to expand upon previous
inquiry activities (NSES, 1996).
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COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
BIOLOGY 1-2
Course Description: Biology 1-2 is a laboratory science course designed to meet the Arizona and national
standards for the life sciences. It focuses on the life sciences and the manner in which science critical thinking
skills are used to study living organisms. Enduring understandings and essential questions center on Heredity,
The Cell, Evolution, and Energy and Living Systems.
BIOLOGY 1-2 HONORS

Course Description: Biology 1-2 Honors is designed for students who wish to pursue a more challenging and
quantitative approach to biology. Enduring understandings and essential questions are the same as in Biology
1-2, but students will be expected to complete more performance tasks and demonstrate a higher level of
performance.
BACKGROUND
There was a need in PUHSD to strengthen the science program for all students in the district. Traditionally,
Biology 1-2 and 1-2 Honors were survey courses developed around descriptive biology. With the national
reform movement in science (NSES and AAAS) promoting a molecular approach to biology, and the revision of
the state science standard for life sciences reflecting the same, PUHSD revised the biology curriculum to have a
more narrowed and concentrated focus of conceptual systems related to biology. Simultaneously, a new
course, Physical Science 1-2, was developed to support the biology curriculum. The new Physical Science
course was designed to equip freshmen science students with the fundamental skills of science inquiry, lab
procedures, measurement, and reporting as well as the basic concepts related to the properties of matter.
Biology 1-2, as the second science course in PUHSDs sequence, centers on the molecular basis of heredity,
cellular processes, the scientific principles and processes involved in biological evolution, and the
interdependence of organisms (particularly in relation to energy and living systems). It is a sophomore level
course and requires that students have a grasp of Physical Science concepts necessary for understanding the
difficult molecular biology (proteins, sugars, starches, lipids, DNA and nucleic acids) and biological processes
(cellular respiration, photosynthesis, and energy flow). Students who have successfully completed both
Physical Science and Biology will be well prepared for higher-level sciences, such as Chemistry, Physics, Earth
and Space Science, and Anatomy & Physiology.
DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Johnna Baca (Camelback), Jennifer Costello (North), Shoshanna Kroeger (South), and Bart James (Cesar Chavez)
worked in the Fall and Winter of 2004-2005 to evaluate the Biology course and modify it to meet the new state
science standard and the needs of our students district wide. Deedee Falls assisted by adding background
information on concepts and misconceptions for each unit and the data tables labeled Standards Crosswalk.
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Primer Units
PRIMER UNITS
Primer units are intended to engage students more deeply in the scientific process than they experienced in
prerequisite science courses, while reviewing concepts related to the characteristics of living organisms. A
third primer in the series provides the bridge for understanding living organisms, and how they go about life,
through an introduction into one of the unifying and foundational themes of biology; evolution by natural
selection. Each unit following the Primers will add to student understanding of scientific inquiry, will take
students more deeply into each of the characteristics common to living organisms, and will help students
understand evolution in terms of reproductive success and change in populations.
THE NATURE OF SCIENCE AND SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

FOR TEACHERS
FOR STUDENTS
Unit, Enduring Understanding, Topical

Understandings
Unit, Essential Question, Foundational Questions
THE NATURE OF SCIENCE & SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
THE NATURE OF SCIENCE & SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
Enduring Understanding:
Essential Question:
Scientists go about their work by collecting relevant

evidence, the use of logical reasoning, and the
application of imagination in devising explanations as
they make sense of the collected evidence.
How do scientists go about doing science?
Topical Understandings:
Foundational Questions:
There are differences between scientific and

nonscientific explanations.
Are all explanations scientific?
Hypotheses are used in science for choosing what

data to seek and focus on, and for guiding the
interpretation of the data.
Arent hypotheses just educated guesses?
When experimenting, if more than one variable

changes at the same time the outcome of the
experiment may not be clearly attributable to any one
of the variables.
What people expect to observe often affects what
they actually observe.
How do scientists go about controlling conditions for

investigation?
Is there such a thing as objectivity in scientific

research?
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Primer Units
CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
FOR TEACHERS
FOR STUDENTS

Understandings
Essential Question:
Life is defined in a variety of ways by various

disciplines, but is defined in biological terms based on
specific characteristics.
What is life?
Living organisms share characteristics that make them

different from the nonliving world, and they exhibit
these characteristics in a variety of ways.
How do biologists define life?
To sustain life, living organisms require gasses found

in the air, water, energy, atmospheric pressure, and
an environment in which to live.
What do living organisms require to sustain life?
What are other ways that life is defined?

Societal controversies often arise when definitions of
life differ.
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Primer Units
EVOLUTION BY NATURAL SELECTION

FOR TEACHERS
FOR STUDENTS

Understandings
A UNIFYING THEME IN BIOLOGY: EVOLUTION BY

NATURAL SELECTION
A UNIFYING THEME IN BIOLOGY: EVOLUTION BY

NATURAL SELECTION
Essential Question:
New species result, over time, from chance changes in

gene structure and gene expression in germ cells that
are passed to the next generation and provide
reproductive advantages.
Where do new species come from?
A structure or behavior in an organism is an inherited
adaptation, and these adaptations can acclimate to
variations in environmental conditions to a limited
degree.
Why do so many organisms share common
structures?
The differences among individuals within a population

or species are the result of small changes (mutations)
that have been retained by natural selection.
Are you a mutant?
Natural selection is a mechanism by which specific

traits are favored and cause populations to evolve
over generations.
How fast do you have to be to out-run a bear?
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Power Standards
BIOLOGY POWER STANDA RDS AT A GLANCE

SEMESTER 1
ENERGY AND LIVING SYSTEMS
FOR TEACHERS
FOR STUDENTS

Understandings
Essential Question:
The sun is the source of energy that flows through

interdependent living systems.
How would you design a self-sustaining living system?
Matter and energy flows through different levels of

organization in living systems and their environment.
Will reducing available energy impact a living system?
Population size is influenced by a variety of

environmental and heritable factors.
What are the consequences of removing limiting

factors to population growth?
Chemical elements are combined in different ways

resulting in conservation of matter and energy in
ecosystems.
How are matter and energy stored and recycled in

living systems?
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Power Standards
CELLS
FOR TEACHERS
FOR STUDENTS

Understandings
CELLS
CELLS
Essential Question:
The cell is the basic unit of structure and function in all

living systems.
What plan could you develop to decrease your

susceptibility to disease?
There are differences between prokaryotic and

eukaryotic cellular processes, such as reproductive
strategies.
Why do antibiotics affect bacteria and not the cells of

your body?
The structure of the cell membrane allows it to

regulate what enters and leaves the cell.
What are the various ways that materials get into and
out of a cells?
Growth, development and reproduction are results of

cell division.
Why and how do cells divide (Why arent humans

one giant cell)?
Proteins are essential for the survival of the organism.
What role do proteins play in the survival of an

organism?
Energy is required for cellular growth, development,

and repair.
Organ systems work together to maintain
homeostasis.
How do cells obtain and use energy?

How do systems communicate to maintain
homeostasis?
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Power Standards
SEMESTER 2
HEREDITY
FOR TEACHERS
FOR STUDENTS
UNIT, ENDURING UNDERSTANDING, TOPICAL

UNDERSTANDINGS
UNIT, ESSENTIAL QUESTION, FOUNDATIONAL

QUESTIONS
HEREDITY
HEREDITY
Essential Question:
Heredity is the mechanism by which traits are passed

from one generation to another.
What are the ethical implications of the human

genome project?
Transmission of DNA from one generation to the next

accounts for both similarities and differences in living
things.
What are genes and how do they determine traits?
Genes are segments of DNA that provide instructions

for protein synthesis.
How is the message encoded in DNA translated into a

protein?
Mutations are changes in DNA that result in altered

proteins, providing variability.
What causes variability in a species?
Meiosis and fertilization result in genetic variability.

Chromosomes are made of DNA.
Genetic engineering has the potential to affect
society.
What is the relationship between chromosomes, DNA

and genes?
Should we genetically alter organisms?
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Power Standards
EVOLUTION
FOR TEACHERS
FOR STUDENTS

Understandings
EVOLUTION
EVOLUTION
Essential Question:
Organisms change over time.
Is change necessary to sustain life?
Variation in traits determines the success of a species

in an environment.
Can a population of clones survive indefinitely?
There is evidence suggesting that all species change

over time.
Living things are classified based on their degree of
relatedness.
What evidence supports the idea that species change

over time?
Can you design a system to show relatedness among
organisms?
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Power Standards
Systems
Energy and Living Systems
Chemistry
Populations
Energy Flow
Pro- vs.
Eukaryotic
Cells
Membranes
Growth, Develop. and
Repro.
Proteins
Energy
Organ
Systems
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Power Standards
Heredity
Genes & DNA
Genetic Engineering
Mutations & Meiosis
Chromosomes
Evolution
Variation
Species change
Classification
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Students generally grasp the notion that species are dependant on one another and on their environment for
survival. Student awareness must be supported by additional knowledge such as: the many kinds of
relationships between and among organisms; the kinds of physical conditions that organisms must cope with;
the kinds of environments created by the interaction of organisms with one another and their physical
surroundings; and the complexity of such systems. In addition, students should become familiar with many
different examples of ecosystems, starting with those near at hand.
Understanding ecosystem as a concept will bring forth coherence to the complex array of relationships
among organisms and environments that students have encountered. Further, continuing to develop
students understanding of systems in general can suggest and reinforce characteristics of ecosystems
interdependence of parts, feedback oscillation, inputs, and outputs. Ideas like stability and change in
ecosystems should be considered in terms of variables such as population size, number and kinds of species,
and productivity.
The transfer and transformation of matter are what link organisms to one another and to their physical setting,
bringing together the insights from the physical and biological sciences. On the other hand, energy transfer in
biological systems is less obvious than in physical systems. In physical systems, energy is easily traced from its
origin through its various forms. In regard to the biological sciences, energy stored in molecular configurations
is difficult to show even with models.
The cycling of matter and flow of energy can be found at many levels of biological organization, from
molecules to ecosystems. The study of food webs should start in the elementary grades with the transfer of
matter, be added to in the middle grades with the flow of energy through organisms, and then be integrated in
high school as students understanding of energy storage grows slowly over time.
By high school, students should begin to notice that substances may change form and move from place to
place, but they never appear out of nowhere and never just disappear. Questions should encourage students
to consider where substances come from and where they go and to be puzzled when they cannot account for
the origin or the fate of a substance. Its all right to start students on chains of what eats what in various
environments, but labeling the steps in the chain as energy transfer is not necessary. Transfers of energy at
this level are better illustrated in physical systems; biological energy transfer is far too complicated.
Students should also learn about the division of labor among specialized cells, which is what makes possible
much more complex and efficient organisms. The development of the understanding that different cells
perform specialized tasks begins with macroscopic claims about the roles of different organs. In high school,
students can extend their previous knowledge that some organisms are made up of cooperating cells to
comprehend that different organs are made up of different kinds of cells, organs serve the various needs of all
cells and that communication between cells in the same or different organs is essential to the living system.
(Adapted from: Benchmarks for Science Literacy; National Science Education Standards; and Atlas for Science
Literacy)
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CONCEPTS AND STUDENT PRE/MISCONCEPTIONS
Energy and Living Systems: Concepts
Student Preconceptions
In all environments freshwater, marine, forest, desert, grassland,

mountain, and others organisms with similar needs may compete
with one another for resources, including food, space, water, air, and
shelter. In any particular environment, the growth and survival of
organisms depend on the physical conditions.
Students may not believe food is a scarce resource in ecosystems.
Two types of organisms may interact with one another in several

ways: They may be in a producer/consumer, predator/prey, or
parasite/host relationship. Or one organism may scavenge or
decompose another. Relationships may be competitive or mutually
beneficial. Some species have become so adapted to each other that
neither could survive without the other.
Ecosystems can be reasonably stable over hundreds or thousands of
years. As any population of organisms grows, it is held in check by
one or more environmental factors: depletion of food or nesting sites,
increased loss to increased numbers of 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.
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 migration or local
evolution.
Human beings are part of the earths ecosystems. Human activities
can, deliberately or inadvertently, alter the equilibrium in ecosystems.
Some students may believe that organisms can change their food at will
according to the availability of particular sources.
Many students think that some populations of organisms are numerous in
order to fulfill a demand for food by another population.
Students have misunderstandings about how organisms adapt and respond to

changes in the environment.
Students may believe that organisms are able to effect changes in bodily
structure to exploit particular habitats.
Many students believe that organisms respond to a changed environment by
seeking a more favorable environment.
Students meanings for energy both before and after traditional instruction are
considerable different from its scientific meaning.
Students believe energy is associated only with humans or movement, is a
fuel-like quantity with is used up, or is something that makes things happen
and is expended in the process.
Students have difficulty in identifying the sources of energy for plants and also
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Organs and organ systems are composed of cells and help to provide
all cells with basic needs.
for animals.
For the body to use food for energy and building materials, the food
must first be digested into molecules that are absorbed and
transported to cells.
To burn food for the release of energy stored in it, oxygen must be
supplied to cells, and carbon dioxide removed. Lungs take in oxygen
for the combustion of food and they eliminate the carbon dioxide
produced. The skin and lungs rid the body of heat energy. The
circulatory system moves all these substances to or from cells where
they are needed or produced, responding to changing demands.
The nervous system works by electrochemical signals in the nerves
and from one nerve to the next. The hormonal system exerts its
influences by chemicals that circulate in the blood. These two
systems also affect each other in coordinating body systems.
Communication between cells is required to coordinate their diverse
activities. Some cells secrete substances that spread only to nearby
cells. Other secrete3 hormones, molecules that are carried in the
bloodstream to widely distributed cells that have special receptor
sites to which they attach. Along nerve cells, electrical impulses carry
information much more rapidly than is possible by diffusion or blood
flow. Some drugs mimic or block the molecules involved in
transmitting nerve or hormone signals and therefore disturb normal
operations of the brain and body.
The immune system is designed to protect against microscopic
organisms and foreign substances that enter from outside the body
and against some cancer cells that arise within.
Students confuse energy and other concepts such as food, force, and
temperature.
Students may not appreciate the uniqueness and importance of energy
conversion processes like respiration and photosynthesis.
Students meanings for energy both before and after traditional instruction are
considerable different from its scientific meaning.
Students believe energy is associated only with humans or movement, is a
fuel-like quantity with is used up, or is something that makes things happen
and is expended in the process.
Students have difficulty in identifying the sources of energy for plants and also
for animals.
Students confuse energy and other concepts such as food, force, and
temperature.
Students may not appreciate the uniqueness and importance of energy
conversion processes like respiration and photosynthesis.
Students often believe that communication within the body occurs solely
through the nervous system.
Students relate hormone action to sexual maturation and functioning and to
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physical development, but do not understand them to be an important system
of communication and control for all systems.
Students think of hormones as unique to humans and they do not recognize
their action in plants and other animals (such as during metamorphosis).
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING/TOPICAL UNDERSTANDING

FOR TEACHERS
FOR STUDENTS
(INCLUDE IN LESSON PLANS)
(POST IN CLASSROOM AND INCLUDE IN STUDENT HANDOUTS)
Unit, Enduring Understanding, Topical Understandings
Unit, essential question, foundational questions
Essential Question:
The sun is the source of energy that flows through interdependent living
systems.
How would you design a self-sustaining living system?

Will reducing available energy impact a living system?
Matter and energy flows through different levels of organization in living

systems and their environment.
Population size is influenced by a variety of environmental and heritable
factors.
What are the consequences of removing limiting factors to population

growth?
Chemical elements are combined in different ways resulting in conservation

of matter and energy in ecosystems.
How are matter and energy stored and recycled in living systems?
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CONCEPTS TO UNCOVER:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Levels of organization in living systems and the environment

Conservation of matter
Principles of ecology
Principles of population size
Ecosystems, biomes, populations, communities
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Vertebrate Skull Analysis

Exploring Food Chains and Food Webs
Investigating Relationships: Lions and Hyenas
Investigating Principles of Population Growth
Investigating Biomes
Photosynthesis and Respiration
RESOURCES
SharePoint (https://sharepoint.ces)
23
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STANDARDS CROSSWALK
TOPICAL UNDERSTANDINGS
1) MATTER AND ENERGY FLOWS THROUGH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION IN LIVING SYSTEMS AND THEIR
ENVIRONMENT
UNIT: ENERGY AND LIVING SYSTEMS
State Science Standard: Concepts and
Performance Objectives
Learning Objectives
4.1.1 Describe the role of energy in cellular

growth, development, and repair.
Chemistry of Life:
Explain that energy is stored in the chemical bonds of food molecules.
4.3.2 Describe how organisms are influenced

by a particular combination of biotic (living)
and abiotic (nonliving) factors in an
environment.
Describe how cells use the chemical constituents of food molecules to synthesize carbohydrates, lipids,
proteins and nucleic acids.
4.5.1 Compare the processes of

photosynthesis and cellular respiration in
terms of energy flow, reactants, and
products.
The student will show the difference between covalent bonds that form by absorbing light energy
(photosynthesis) and covalent bonds that break down and release energy in the form of ATP
(respiration).
4.5.2 Describe the role of organic and

inorganic chemicals (e.g., carbohydrates,
proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, water, ATP)
important to living things.
4.5.3 Diagram the following biogeochemical
cycles in an ecosystem: water, carbon,
nitrogen
Create a flow-chart showing the connection between the sun and the energy needs of living things.
Compare and contrast photosynthesis and respiration by describing the reactants and products of
each.
ECOLOGY
Discuss interactions between organisms (i.e.: predator-prey, parasitism, mutualism, competition,
symbiosis, etc.).
Interpret diagrams of food chains and food webs to identify the producers, primary consumers
(herbivores), secondary consumers (carnivores), scavengers and decomposers.
4.5.4 Diagram the energy flow in an

Use an energy pyramid to trace the flow of matter and energy through organisms and the
24
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ecosystem through a food chain.
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environment, noting the recombination of chemical elements and the dissipation of energy as heat.
Interpret diagrams illustrating cycles, such as the water, the carbon and the nitrogen cycle.
Describe the processes involved in the water cycle as water moves between the biosphere and
atmosphere.
Relate the availability of matter and energy to changes in population by interpreting J- and S-shaped
population growth curves.
Apply the concepts of feedback, equilibria, and unpredictability to an ecological system.
2) CHEMICAL ELEMENTS ARE COMBINED IN DIFFERENT WAYS RESULTING IN CONSERVATION OF MATTER AND ENERGY IN
ECOSYSTEMS
State Science Standard: Concepts and Performance
Objectives
Learning Objectives
4.5.1 Compare the processes of photosynthesis and

cellular respiration in terms of energy flow, reactants,
and products.
Ecology:
Diagram the following biogeochemical cycles in an

ecosystem: water, carbon, nitrogen
Interpret diagrams illustrating cycles, such as the water, the carbon and the nitrogen cycle.
4.5.4 Diagram the energy flow in an ecosystem

through a food chain.
Predict the chemical and physical changes that occur in organisms after death.
Describe the processes involved in the water cycle as water moves between the biosphere
and atmosphere.
Describe factors that influence the reuse, recycling and conservation of water.
Apply the concepts of feedback, equilibria, and unpredictability to an ecological system.
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3) POPULATION SIZE IS INFLUENCED A VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND HERITABLE FACTORS

State Science Standard: Concepts and Performance Objectives
Learning Objectives
4.3.1 Identify the relationships among organisms within

populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes.
Ecology:
4.3.2 Describe how organisms are influenced by a particular

combination of biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) factors in an
environment.
4.3.3 Assess how the size and the rate of growth of a population
are determined by birth rate, death rate, immigration,
emigration, and carrying capacity of the environment.
Use an energy pyramid to trace the flow of matter and energy through organisms
and the environment, noting the recombination of chemical elements and the
dissipation of energy as heat.
Explain how relationships between organisms have created ecosystems which
have remained relatively stable for extended periods of time.
Relate the availability of matter and energy to changes in population by
interpreting J- and S-shaped population growth curves.
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SUGGESTED PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS
UNIT: ENERGY AND LIVING SYSTEMS (1)
Topical Understandings
Foundational Questions
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING
Matter and energy flows through different levels

of organization in living systems and their
environment.
Will reducing available energy impact a living

system?
The sun is the source of energy that flows

through interdependent living systems.
Essential Question
Chemical elements are combined in different ways

resulting in conservation of matter and energy in
ecosystems.
How are matter and energy stored and recycled

in living systems?
AUDIENCE
Product/
How would you design a self-sustaining living

system?
GOAL
ROLE
SITUATION
PERFORMANCE
Propose a model
community
Architect
City council
Global warming is causing sea

levels to rise. In preparation for
the displacement of people, you
are part of an organization
designing a floating community.
Propose a model of a self sustaining community that you
can present to the city council.
27
You could use a set of

drawing with
explanations, a
PowerPoint
presentation, a web
site or model
STANDARDS FOR
SUCCESS
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UNIT: ENERGY AND LIVING SYSTEMS (2)
Population size is influenced by a variety of environmental

and heritable factors.
What are the consequences of removing

limiting factors to population growth?
AUDIENCE
Product/

Essential Question
system?
GOAL
ROLE
SITUATION
PERFORMANCE
Determine the impact of
introducing a population
of organisms to a specific
environment.
Biologist
State
Legislature
Recently, a group of environmentalists

have proposed the introduction of a
population of organisms to control the
rapidly increasing population of another
organism. You have been hired to prepare
an analysis of the possible effects of the
introduction.
Display, Report,
Expert Panel,
Debate
Determine the impact of

reintroducing a population
of organisms to a specific
environment.
Biologist
State
Legislature
Recently, a group of environmentalists

have proposed the reintroduction of a
population of organisms previously
endangered organisms. You have been
hired to prepare an analysis of the
possible effects of this reintroduction.
Display, Report,
Expert Panel,
Debate
28
STANDARDS FOR
SUCCESS
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Cells
CELLS UNIT
Cells are complex and exemplify living systems. As the basic units of life, cells have needs and functions that
are very similar to those of whole organisms. Students at the elementary and middle school levels should
focus on idea that organisms are made up of cells and on the basic functions and needs of organisms for
sustaining life. Following ninth grade physical science once students have gained a basic understanding
about the structure of matter students will be able to understand the synthesis of protein molecules and the
interactions of molecules within and between cells.
In tenth grade biology, basic literacy related to cells should focus on the types of activities that cells engage in,
rather than on detailed processes or the names of the parts. Acquiring a general picture of cellular function
and an understanding of the idea that the cell has specialized parts to perform these functions is sufficient for
students at this level. This understanding can be accomplished without the study of large numbers of technical
terms. Emphasizing vocabulary over conceptual understanding can impede learning and take the fun out of
science. Discussion of what jobs need to be accomplished in the cell is much more important than identifying
or naming the parts that do it. For example, students should recognize that cells have specific components for
oxidizing sugar to release energy and components that link together protein chains according to instructions.
ON the other hand, students dont need to remember that one component is a mitochondrion and the other a
ribosome, or even which is which.
Students at this level should also be asked to consider how needed substances and information enter and
leave cells and the variety of tasks cells perform in organisms. Understanding how protein molecules are
assembled by cells and the idea that they conduct the work that goes on inside and outside the cells in an
organism, can be accomplished without going into the biochemical details. For tenth grade biology students,
knowing that the molecules involved in cellular processes are different configurations of a relatively few kinds
of amino acids, and that the different shapes of the molecules influence what they do, is sufficient. In
addition, thinking of cells as a community, with each cell having common tasks as well as specialized functions,
may help students to understand the interdependency of cells.
Finally, the individual cell can be considered as a system itself as well as a part of larger systems sometimes
as part of a multicellular organism, and always a part of an ecosystem. Thus, an understanding of how systems
work is of particular importance for students (for more information refer to the systems maps in the Atlas of
Science Literacy). Like all systems, cells can be viewed as having inputs, outputs, and boundaries. For example,
the cell membrane serves as a boundary between the cell and its environment and it allows the cell to contain
for its own use the proteins it makes, the equipment it uses to make them, and stored fuel for future use.
This unit has an important connection to the unit on Heredity through the idea that DNA provides the
instructions for the functions common to all cells and the specialized tasks of cells in different organs.
Literacy)
29
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Cells

Cells: Concepts
A membrane that controls what enters and leaves covers every cell. Proteins form a complex
network, in all but primitive cells, providing organization and shape, and for animals cells,
movement.
Students often associate molecules only with

physical science. Students may indicate that
they know about cells, but they may say that
living systems are made of cells but not
molecules.
Cells contain specialized parts for engaging in various tasks that are common to all cells:
transportation of materials, capture and release of energy, constructing proteins, disposing of waste
products, information feedback, and movement. In multicellular organisms, most cells perform
some special function(s) that others do not.
The cell assembles proteins, which carry out the work of the cell. Protein molecules are long chains,
that are usually folded, made from 20 different amino-acid molecules. The specific sequence of
amino acids and the shape of the protein molecule determine its function. The shape of the protein
molecule is determined by the attractions between the amino-acids.
DNA, the genetic information, provides assembly instructions for protein molecules. All life forms
use virtually the same code.
Cycles of activities, such as growth and division, are produced by complex interactions among
different kinds of molecules in the cell. Molecules from other parts of the organism or other
organisms can have an effect on cellular behavior.
Cellular gene mutation can cause cancer, uncontrolled cell division. Cellular exposure to certain
chemicals and radiation may increase the number of cellular mutations and thus increases the
chance of an organism developing cancer.
A narrow range of temperature and acidity is important for cellular efficient cellular function: low
temperatures reduce reaction rates, and high temperatures and/or 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. All organisms, both single celled and multicellular, contain
molecules that help to keep their cells acidity within a narrow range.
30
Students meanings for energy both before and

after traditional instruction are considerable
different from its scientific meaning.
Students believe energy is associated only with
humans or movement, is a fuel-like quantity
with is used up, or is something that makes
things happen and is expended in the process.
Students have difficulty in identifying the

sources of energy for plants and also for
animals.
Students confuse energy and other concepts
such as food, force, and temperature.
Students may not appreciate the uniqueness
and importance of energy conversion processes
like respiration and photosynthesis.
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Cells
A small number of chemical elements, mainly carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and
sulfur, make up living cells. Carbon has the ability to form large, complex molecules. Its small size
and four available bonding electrons allows it to join to other carbon atoms in chains and rings.
Students often believe that communication

within the body occurs solely through the
nervous system.
Organs and organ systems are composed of cells and help to provide all cells with basic needs.
Students relate hormone action to sexual

maturation and functioning and to physical
development, but do not understand them to be
an important system of communication and
control for all systems.
For the body to use food for energy and building materials, the food must first be digested into
molecules that are absorbed and transported to cells.
To burn food for the release of energy stored in it, oxygen must be supplied to cells, and carbon
dioxide removed. Lungs take in oxygen for the combustion of food and they eliminate the carbon
dioxide produced. The skin and lungs rid the body of heat energy. The circulatory system moves all
these substances to or from cells where they are needed or produced, responding to changing
demands.
The nervous system works by electrochemical signals in the nerves and from one nerve to the next.
The hormonal system exerts its influences by chemicals that circulate in the blood. These two
systems also affect each other in coordinating body systems.
Communication between cells is required to coordinate their diverse activities. Some cells secrete
substances that spread only to nearby cells. Other secrete3 hormones, molecules that are carried in
the bloodstream to widely distributed cells that have special receptor sites to which they attach.
Along nerve cells, electrical impulses carry information much more rapidly than is possible by
diffusion or blood flow. Some drugs mimic or block the molecules involved in transmitting nerve or
hormone signals and therefore disturb normal operations of the brain and body.
The immune system is designed to protect against microscopic organisms and foreign substances
that enter from outside the body and against some cancer cells that arise within.
31
Students think of hormones as unique to

humans and they do not recognize their action
in plants and other animals (such as during
metamorphosis).
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FOR TEACHERS
FOR STUDENTS
CELLS
CELLS
Essential Question:
The cell is the basic unit of structure and function in all living systems.
What plan could you develop to decrease your susceptibility to disease?
There are differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cellular

processes, such as reproductive strategies.
Why do antibiotics affect bacteria and not the cells of your body?
The structure of the cell membrane allows it to regulate what enters and
leaves the cell.
What are the various ways that materials get into and out of cells?
Growth, development and reproduction are results of cell division.
Why and how do cells divide (Why arent humans one giant cell)?
Proteins are essential for the survival of the organism.
What role do proteins play in the survival of an organism?
Energy is required for cellular growth, development, and repair.
Organ systems work together to maintain homeostasis.
How do systems communicate to maintain homeostasis?
32
Cells
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CONCEPTS TO UNCOVER
1)
2)
3)
4)
Differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes

Cell structure and function
Cellular processes: reproduction, development, homeostasis, respiration, photosynthesis
Relationship between energy and the cell as a living system
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
Molecules Found in Living Things

Factors Affecting the Function of a Protein
Differences Between Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells
Energy in Cells Part 1: Introduction to Photosynthesis
Energy in Cells Part 2: Photosynthesis
Energy in Cells Part 3: Cellular Respiration
Movement of Materials Into and Out of the Cell
Why Arent Humans One Giant Cell?
How and Why do Cells Divide?
What is Cancer?
Investigating Homeostasis
RESOURCES
33
Cells
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STANDARDS CROSSWALK
1) THERE ARE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PROKARYOTIC AND EUKARYOTIC CELLULAR PROCESSES, SUCH AS REPRODUCTIVE
STRATEGIES
UNIT: CELL
Learning Objectives
4.1.1 Describe the role of energy in cellular growth, development,

and repair.
Cell:
Relate the structure of cell parts and organelles to their functions.
4.1.2 Compare the form and function of prokaryotic and eukaryotic

cells and their cellular components.
Compare and contrast eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells.
4.1.5 Describe the purposes and processes of cellular reproduction.
Evolution:
4.4.6 Analyze, using a biological classification system (i.e., cladistics,

phylogeny, morphology, DNA analysis), the degree of relatedness
among various species.
Describe current theories and experiments relating to the first forms of life on
earth (e.g.: changing from an oxygen-poor atmosphere to an oxygen-rich
atmosphere).
3.2.2 Recognize the importance of basing arguments on a thorough

understanding of the core concepts and principles of science and
technology.
Describe patterns of evolutionary change in organisms (e.g.: simple complex,

prokaryotes eukaryotes, nonvascular plants vascular plants, fish
amphibians).
3.2.3 Support a position on a science or technology issue.
34
Cells
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2) THE STRUCTURE OF THE CELL MEMBRANE ALLOWS IT TO REGULATE WHAT ENTERS AND LEAVES THE CELL
UNIT: CELL
Learning Objectives

and repair.
Cell:
4.1.3 Explain the importance of water to cells.

4.1.4 Analyze mechanisms of transport of materials (e.g., water,
ions, macromolecules) into and out of cells:
passive transport
active transport

Chemistry of Life:
Given a description or a diagram of cell transport, identify it as an example of
diffusion, osmosis, passive transport or active transport.
Physiology and Behavior:
Describe the transport systems of unicellular and multicellular organisms with an
emphasis on the movement of nutrients, wastes and gases.
35
Cells
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3) GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND REPRODUCTION ARE RESULTS OF CELL DIVISION

UNIT: CELL
Learning Objectives

and repair.
Cell:
4.1.5 Describe the purposes and processes of cellular reproduction.

4.2.4 Describe how meiosis and fertilization maintain genetic
variation.
4.5.5 Describe the levels of organization of living things from cells,
through tissues, organs, organ systems, organisms, populations, and
communities to ecosystems.
2.1.1 Describe how human curiosity and needs have influenced
science, impacting the quality of life worldwide.
3.3.2 Describe biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) factors that
affect human populations.
Identify the components of the cell theory and the contributions made by
various scientists.
Identify the purposes of mitotic cell division as:
a way to maintain cell size small enough for diffusion to be effective
a method of growth, repair and regeneration in multicellular organisms
a method of asexual reproduction in unicellular organisms
Relate the process of meiosis to the production of gametes (e.g.: eggs and
sperm).
Compare and contrast the processes and products of mitosis and meiosis.
Describe these processes in living organisms:
Egg production
Sperm formation
Fertilization
Embryo development
36
Cells
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Cells
4) ENERGY IS REQUIRED FOR CELLULAR GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT, AND REPAIR

UNIT: CELL
State Science Standard:
Concepts and Performance
Objectives
Learning Objectives
4.1.1 Describe the role of

energy in cellular growth,
development, and repair.
Cell:
4.1.4 Analyze mechanisms

of transport of materials
(e.g., water, ions,
macromolecules) into and
out of cells.
Given a series of diagrams depicting the stages of mitosis, SWBAT arrange the diagrams in proper sequence and describe what
is happening to the chromosomes.
passive transport
Chemistry of Life:
active transport
Recognize the basic molecular structure of organic molecules (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids) and describe
their major functions.
4.5.2 Describe the role of

organic and inorganic
chemicals (e.g.,
carbohydrates, proteins,
lipids, nucleic acids, water,
ATP) important to living
things.
Describe the synthesis and breakdown of organic molecules and the role of enzymes in these processes.
Explain that energy is stored in the chemical bonds of food molecules.
Describe how cells use the chemical constituents of food molecules to synthesize carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic
acids.
Create a flow-chart showing the connection between the sun and the energy needs of living things.
Show the difference between covalent bonds that form by absorbing light energy (photosynthesis) and covalent bonds that
break down and release energy in the form of ATP (respiration).
Given a description or a diagram of cell transport, SWBAT identify it as an example of diffusion, osmosis, passive transport or
active transport.
37
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Cells

Describe the transport systems of unicellular and multicellular organisms with an emphasis on the movement of nutrients,
wastes and gases.
5) PROTEINS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THE SURVIVAL OF THE ORGANISM

UNIT: CELL
Learning Objectives
4.1.3 Explain the importance of water to

cells.
Cell:
4.1.4 Analyze mechanisms of transport of

materials (e.g., water, ions, macromolecules)
into and out of cells:

Chemistry of Life:
passive transport
Recognize the basic molecular structure of organic molecules (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic
acids) and describe their major functions.
active transport
Describe the synthesis and breakdown of organic molecules and the role of enzymes in these processes.
4.2.2 Describe the molecular basis of

heredity, in viruses and living things, including
DNA replication and synthesis.
Describe how cells use the chemical constituents of food molecules to synthesize carbohydrates, lipids,
proteins and nucleic acids.
4.2.3 Explain how genotypic variation occurs

and results in phenotypic diversity.
4.4.2 Explain how genotypic and phenotypic
variation can result in adaptations that
influence an organisms success in an
environment.
Design and conduct an experiment that tests the factors that affect enzyme activity.
Genetics:
Explain how genetic information is stored in DNA & directs protein synthesis, which regulates cell functions.
Differentiate between genetic mutations which are expressed (affect the production of amino acids) and
those which are not expressed (do not affect amino acid production).
38
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Evolution:
4.5.2 Describe the role of organic and

inorganic chemicals (e.g., carbohydrates,
proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, water, ATP)
important to living things.
Support the theory of evolution using the following independent lines of evidence: fossil record,
homologous structures, embryonic development, vestigial organs, radioactive dating of fossils, and
biochemistry (e.g.: DNA hybridization and amino acid sequencing).
Explain how mutations lead to genetic variability, which allows organisms to change over time.
Relate the process of digestion in organisms to nutritional needs of cells & selective nature of cell
membranes.
39
Cells
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6) ORGAN SYSTEMS WORK TOGETHER TO MAINTAIN HOMEOSTASIS

UNIT: CELLS
Learning Objectives
4.5.5 Describe the levels of organization of living things from cells,

through tissues, organs, organ systems, organisms, populations, and
communities to ecosystems.

Describe the transport systems of unicellular and multicellular organisms with
an emphasis on the movement of nutrients, wastes and gases.
Describe the increased efficiency of animal circulation over evolutionary time
(e.g.: as circulation evolved from an open to a closed system and from a
simple to a four-chambered heart in vertebrates) - Describe the evolution of
digestion and excretion in organisms, from simple to complex systems.
Relate the process of digestion in organisms to the nutritional needs of cells
and the selective nature of cell membranes.
Explain the importance of surface area to the efficiency of nutrient absorption
(e.g.: as demonstrated by villi and microvilli).
Describe the relationship between excretion and homeostasis.
Classify behavioral responses to internal changes or external stimuli as innate
or learned.
Describe hormonal control of an organism, and compare it with nervous
control of an organism.
Illustrate the concept of biological feedback mechanisms in homeostasis,
using hormones and their target organs as examples.
40
Cells
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Cells

UNIT: CELL (1)
There are differences between prokaryotic and

eukaryotic cellular processes, such as reproductive
strategies.
Why do antibiotics affect bacteria and not the

cells of your body?
AUDIENCE
Product/
The cell is the basic unit of structure and

function in all living systems.
Essential Question
What plan could you develop to decrease
your susceptibility to disease?
GOAL
ROLE
SITUATION
PERFORMANCE
Convince doctors that a
new drug will be
effective without
causing harm to your
cells.
Marketing
Representative for
a Pharmaceutical
company
Doctors
You work for a pharmaceutical

company as a representative to
doctors. You have been assigned
to write an information bulletin
to convince doctors that your
new drug will be effective in
stopping infections and causes no
harm to patients.
41
Information Bulletin
STANDARDS FOR
SUCCESS
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[Type text]
Cells
UNIT: CEll (2)
The structure of the cell membrane allows it to regulate

what enters and leaves the cell.
What are various ways that materials get

into and out of a cell?
AUDIENCE
Product/

Essential Question
GOAL
ROLE
SITUATION
PERFORMANCE
Create an analogy to
account for the way in
which different substances
are transported across cell
membranes.
Peer tutor
Fellow
student
You are a peer tutor and someone has

come to you after school for help, create
an analogy to account for the way in
which different substances are
transported across cell membranes.
Picture, diagram,
model
Describe cellular transport

mechanisms.
Game developer
High school
biology
students
You develop educational games for high

school students. Youve been asked to
develop a game that teaches students
about cellular transport mechanisms
and their role in moving nutrients,
wastes, and gases into and out of cells.
Game
42
STANDARDS FOR
SUCCESS
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[Type text]
Cells
UNIT: CELL (3)
Growth, development and reproduction are results of cell

division.
Why and how do cells divide? Why

arent humans one giant cell?
Energy is required for cellular growth, development, and

repair.
AUDIENCE
Product/

Essential Question
GOAL
ROLE
SITUATION
PERFORMANCE
Tell the story of how you
came to be, from a single
cell to the multicelled
adolescent you are.
Yourself
Investigate various cancer

rates worldwide.
Medical
Information
Specialist
Trace glucose from

formation to breakdown.
You are a
journalist
Younger
sibling
Your younger sibling is learning about cells for

the first time. He is curious about why humans
arent just one giant cell and has asked you for
an explanation. Explain how humans grow
and develop from a single cell that forms
through the fusion of two specialized cells.
Childrens book,
comic book
General
public
A consortium or doctors have asked you to

develop an informational brochure on cancer,
cancer rates, and its impact on society.
Informational
brochure
Newspaper
readers
You are a journalist interviewing a glucose

molecule. You are writing an article that will
trace the life of the molecule from its
formation to its break down.
Article,
PowerPoint,
Interview script
43
PowerPoint
STANDARDS
FOR SUCCESS
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[Type text]
Cells
UNIT: CELL (4)
Proteins are essential for the survival of the

organism.
What role do proteins play in the survival of an

organism?
AUDIENCE
Product/

Essential Question
What plan could you develop to decrease cell
damage over a lifetime?
GOAL
ROLE
SITUATION
PERFORMANCE
Design a healthy vegan
diet.
Cytologist
A friend
You are a cytologist. Your friend

has decided to become a vegan.
Advise your friend about the
importance of getting a sufficient
amount of protein in his/her diet.
44
Nutrition plan as
Letter, PowerPoint,
Script for role-play
STANDARDS FOR
SUCCESS
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[Type text]
Cells
UNIT: Cells (5)
Organ systems work together to maintain

homeostasis.
How do systems communicate to maintain

homeostasis?
AUDIENCE
Product/

Essential Question
system?
GOAL
ROLE
SITUATION
PERFORMANCE
Describe the interations of
body systems
Blood cell
New blood
cell
Assume the role of a blood cell

and tell your story to a newly
formed blood cell: the changes
in you and your environment as
you journey through the body.
For example, hormones, Oxygen,
carbon dioxide, size of vessels,
vessels with valves, parts of the
heart, spleen.
45
Flow diagram, poster,

booklet,
Comic book
STANDARDS FOR
SUCCESS
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Heredity
HEREDITY UNIT
There are some basic ideas that are important for students to understand as they pursue the study of heredity,
which is an enormously complex subject. First, early on, students understand that organisms produce
offspring that are in some ways alike and in some ways different from both their parents and their siblings.
Second, students recognize that these similarities and differences are produced through the transmission of
DNA from one generation to the next. At an early age, students also learn that similar animals have similar
offspring dogs have puppies, rabbits have bunnies and that there exists a wide variety among living things
on earth.
As students move to high school, the focus for instruction about heredity should move to the origin of
variation (i.e., the recombination of parents genes or genetic mutations in reproductive cells are what
produce differences between individuals within the same species and within the same family). High school
level biology should present students with opportunities to understand how variation arises in the process of
passing genetic information from one generation to the next. Further, understanding that recombination and
mutation over many generations can eventually lead to very different descendants, has a direct relationship to
understanding the principles that underlie the mechanisms for evolution.
The unit on heredity is grounded in student understanding of sexual reproduction and the mechanism of
inheritance that should be developed through elementary and middle school (see the Arizona Science
Standard articulated by grade level for more information about concepts addressed at the middle school level).
Basic literacy does not include the ability to explain the structure and function of DNA beyond its being a
molecular string of genetic code that directs the assembly of proteins. Advanced students, such as high school
students, however, are expected to learn more about the details once the literacy base is established. This
literacy base should be developed through the elementary and middle school levels, and through an
understanding of the basic concepts taught in ninth-grade physical science (such as the structure of matter).
With an appropriate literacy base, students should be ready to understand an explanation of genes and DNA,
what characteristics are heritable, and the mechanism by which heritable characteristics are passed from
parent to offspring.
Further, high school students should understand that both the continuity of traits, from generation to
generation, and the variation that leads to differences within species and to entirely new species, are possible
because of DNA. A high level of understanding about DNA promotes complex thinking and makes possible an
explanation of such phenomena as the similarities and differences between parents and offspring, hereditary
diseases, and the evolution of new species. Gene manipulation for the creation of new combinations of traits
and new varieties of organisms is also possible because of the scientific understanding about the structure,
function, and nature of DNA, and the principles of heredity.
Literacy)
46
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Heredity

Heredity: Concepts
Some organisms have sexes so that half of their genes come from each of their parents, whereas all
of the genes come from a single parent in other kinds of organisms.
When asked to explain how physical traits are

passed from parents to offspring, many students are
not able to produce arguments based on chance to
predict the outcome of inherited characteristics
from observing those characteristics in parents.
Some students think that:
Sexual reproduction is the process by which one specialized cell from each parent (a male parent
and a female parent) merges to produce a new individual. This fertilized egg carries genetic
information from each parent and, as it multiplies to form a complete organism, the same genetic
information is copied in each new cell. In humans this produces an individual with approximately
one trillion cells.
Selective breeding for specific traits has produced new varieties of cultivated plants and domestic
animals.
Traits are inherited from only one parent (e.g., traits

are inherited from the mother, because she gives
birth or has the most contact as children grow up; or
traits are inherited from the same-sex parent).
New gene combinations may produce organisms with enhanced capabilities, with deleterious
genotypes, or with genotypes that have no effect.
An individuals traits are a blending of its parents

characteristics.
In offspring with two parents (sexual reproduction), sorting and recombination of genes results in a
wide variety of possible gene combinations and traits.
Inheritance involves only observable features.
Information transmitted from parents to offspring is coded in the molecules of DNA.
Some characteristics produced by the environment

can be inherited, particularly over many
generations.
Some segments of DNA molecules are genes. Thus, genes may be altered when segments of DNA
are inserted, deleted, or substituted during synthesis, recombination, and translation. Altered
genes may be passed on to every cell that develops from it. The offsprings success in its
environment may be improved, reduced, or unaffected by its altered genes.
Radiation and chemicals are sources of gene mutation. Mutations that occur in sex cells can be
passed on to offspring. Mutations occurring in other cells can only be passed on to descendant
cells. Only experiences that change the genetic makeup of an organisms sex cells can affect its
offspring.
Even though an individuals many body cells are descended from a single cell and have essentially
identical genetic instructions, they be very different from one another. This is because different
47
By high school, students typically know that babies

result from the fusion between a sperm and an egg.
They often dont understand how the fusion brings
new life, however. Students commonly believe that:
The baby exists in the sperm and that the egg is
only for food and protection.
The baby exists in the egg and requires the sperm as
a trigger for growth.
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Heredity
regions of the DNA are used in different types of cells as they are influenced by the cells
environment and past history.

FOR TEACHERS
FOR STUDENTS
HEREDITY
HEREDITY
Essential Question:
Heredity is the mechanism by which traits are passed from one generation
to another.
What are the ethical implications of the human genome project?
What are genes and how do they determine traits?
Transmission of DNA from one generation to the next accounts for both
similarities and differences in living things.
Genes are segments of DNA that provide instructions for protein synthesis.
Mutations are changes in DNA that result in altered proteins, providing
variability.
How is the message encoded in DNA translated into a protein?
What is the relationship between chromosomes, DNA and genes?

Genetic engineering has the potential to affect society.
48
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CONCEPTS TO UNCOVER
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
DNA Replication
DNA Transmission
DNA Translation
Meiosis
Protein synthesis
Genetic engineering
Mutation
Relationship between DNA, genes and chromosomes
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
DNA Replication
Design a Pet (CATTACA)
Flower Dissection
Meiosis Activity
DNA Electrophoresis
Fast Plant Activity
Build a Species
RESOURCES
49
Heredity
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Heredity
STANDARDS CROSSWALK
1) TRANSMISSION OF DNA FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT ACCOUNTS FOR BOTH SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN
LIVING THINGS
UNIT: HEREDITY
State Science Standard: Concepts and Performance
Objectives
Learning Objectives
4.2.1 Analyze the relationships among nucleic acids (DNA,

RNA), genes, and chromosomes.
Cell:
4.2.2 Describe the molecular basis of heredity, in viruses and

living things, including DNA replication and protein synthesis.
4.2.3 Explain how genotypic variation occurs and results in
phenotypic diversity.
4.2.4 Describe how meiosis and fertilization maintain
genetic variation.
4.4.2 Explain how genotypic and phenotypic variation can
result in adaptations that influence an organisms success in
an environment.
2.1.1 Describe how human curiosity and needs have
influenced science, impacting the quality of life worldwide.
Identify the components of the cell theory and the contributions made by various
scientists.
Relate the process of meiosis to the production of gametes (e.g.: eggs and sperm).
Explain how genetic variability is increased during the events of meiosis.
Genetics:
2.1.3 Analyze how specific changes in science have affected

society.
2.1.4 Analyze how specific cultural and/or societal issues
promote or hinder scientific advancements.
Use the following terms to discuss and solve genetic problems: phenotype, genotype,
homozygous, heterozygous, dominant, recessive, codominant alleles, sex-linked traits,
multiple alleles.
Given the genotypes of the parents, SWBAT predict the genotypic and phenotypic ratios
50
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3.2.2 Recognize the importance of basing arguments on a

thorough understanding of the core concepts and principles
of science and technology.
3.2.3 Support a position on a science or technology issue.
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Heredity
of the offspring (as ratios or percentages), using a Punnett square or an algebraic

equation.
Describe relationship between DNA, genes, and chromosomes.
Explain how genetic information is stored in DNA and directs synthesis of proteins,
which regulates functions of cell.
Describe a mutation as a change in the genetic code that occurs spontaneously at a
slow rate and more frequently under certain conditions (i.e.: exposure to radiation,
carcinogens, UV)
Differentiate between mutations which will not affect offspring (mutations in somatic
cells) and mutations which create new variations in the offspring (mutations in sex
cells).
Differentiate between genetic mutations which are expressed (affect the production of
amino acids) and those which are not expressed (do not affect amino acid production).
51
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Heredity
2) GENES ARE SEGMENTS OF DNA THAT PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROTEIN SYNTHESIS
UNIT: HEREDITY
State Science Standard:
Concepts and Performance
Objectives
Learning Objectives
4.2.1 Analyze the relationships

among nucleic acids (DNA, RNA),
genes, and chromosomes.
Cell:
4.2.2 Describe the molecular

basis of heredity, in viruses and
living things, including DNA
replication and protein
synthesis.
Genetics:
Explain how genetic information is stored in DNA and directs synthesis of proteins, which regulates functions of cell.
4.2.3 Explain how genotypic

variation occurs and results in
Given a model of a DNA molecule, SWBAT identify the following: nucleotide, sugar (deoxyribose), phosphate group, and
the four bases: adenine (A), cytosine (C), thymine (T), and guanine (G).
Demonstrate the replication of DNA, transcription of mRNA from DNA, and translation of mRNA.
Describe a mutation as a change in the genetic code that occurs spontaneously at a slow rate and more frequently under
certain conditions (i.e.: exposure to radiation, carcinogens, UV)
Differentiate between mutations which will not affect offspring (mutations in somatic cells) and mutations which create
new variations in the offspring (mutations in sex cells).
Describe examples of genetic engineering and discuss ethical issues related to their use (i.e.: production of drugs by
bacteria, treatments for genetic disorders, information on fetal genetics, and improvements in crops and livestock
through gene transfers).
Evolution:
Support the theory of evolution using the following independent lines of evidence: fossil record, homologous structures,
embryonic development, vestigial organs, radioactive dating of fossils, and biochemistry (e.g.: DNA hybridization and
amino acid sequencing).
52
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Heredity
3) MUTATIONS ARE CHANGES IN DNA THAT RESULT IN ALTERED PROTEINS, PROVIDING VARIABILITY
UNIT: HEREDITY
Learning Objectives
4.2.2 Describe the molecular basis of

heredity, in viruses and living things,
including DNA replication and protein
synthesis.
Cell:
4.2.3 Explain how genotypic variation

occurs and results in phenotypic
diversity.
4.4.2 Explain how genotypic and
phenotypic variation can result in
adaptations that influence an organisms
success in an environment.
Genetics:
Explain how genetic information is stored in DNA and directs synthesis of proteins, which regulates
functions of cell.
Given a model of a DNA molecule, SWBAT identify the following: nucleotide, sugar (deoxyribose),
phosphate group, and the four bases: adenine (A), cytosine (C), thymine (T), and guanine (G).
Demonstrate the replication of DNA, transcription of mRNA from DNA, and translation of mRNA.
Describe a mutation as a change in the genetic code that occurs spontaneously at a slow rate and more
frequently under certain conditions (i.e.: exposure to radiation, carcinogens, UV)
Differentiate between mutations which will not affect offspring (mutations in somatic cells) and mutations
which create new variations in the offspring (mutations in sex cells).
Describe examples of genetic engineering and discuss ethical issues related to their use (i.e.: production of
drugs by bacteria, treatments for genetic disorders, information on fetal genetics, and improvements in
crops and livestock through gene transfers).
Evolution:
Support the theory of evolution using the following independent lines of evidence: fossil record,
homologous structures, embryonic development, vestigial organs, radioactive dating of fossils, and
biochemistry (e.g.: DNA hybridization and amino acid sequencing).
53
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Heredity
4) MEIOSIS AND FERTILIZATION RESULT IN GENETIC VARIABILITY

UNIT: HEREDITY
Learning Objectives
4.1.5 Describe the purposes and processes of

cellular reproduction.
Cell:
4.2.4 Describe how meiosis and fertilization

maintain genetic variation.
4.4.1 Identify the following components of
natural selection, which can lead to speciation:
Potential for a species to increase its numbers
Genetic variability and inheritance of offspring
due to mutation and recombination of genes
Genetics:
Use the following terms to discuss and solve genetic problems: phenotype, genotype, homozygous,
heterozygous, dominant, recessive, codominant alleles, sex-linked traits, multiple alleles.
Finite supply of resources required for life
Given the genotypes of the parents, SWBAT predict the genotypic and phenotypic ratios of the
offspring (as ratios or percentages), using a Punnett square or an algebraic equation.
Selection by the environment of those offspring

better able to survive and produce offspring.
functions of cell.
54
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Heredity
5) CHROMOSOMES ARE MADE OF DNA

UNIT: HEREDITY
Learning Objectives
4.1.5 Describe the purposes and processes of

cellular reproduction.
Cell:
Given a series of diagrams depicting the stages of mitosis, SWBAT arrange the diagrams in proper
sequence and describe what is happening to the chromosomes.
4.2.4 Describe how meiosis and fertilization

maintain genetic variation.
4.4.1 Identify the following components of
natural selection, which can lead to speciation:

Potential for a species to increase its numbers
Genetic variability and inheritance of offspring

due to mutation and recombination of genes
Finite supply of resources required for life

Selection by the environment of those offspring
better able to survive and produce offspring.
Genetics:
Describe the relationship between DNA, genes, and chromosomes.
functions of cell.
Given a karyotype, the student will be able to identify the sex of an individual and any
chromosomal disorders (e.g.: trisomy 21).
Describe examples of genetic engineering and discuss ethical issues related to their use (i.e.:
production of drugs by bacteria, treatments for genetic disorders, information on fetal genetics,
and improvements in crops and livestock through gene transfers).
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Heredity
6) GENETIC ENGINEERING HAS THE POTENTIAL TO AFFECT SOCIETY

UNIT: HEREDITY
Learning Objectives
3.2.3 Support a position on a science or

technology issue.
Genetics:
Describe examples of genetic engineering and discuss ethical issues related to their use (i.e.:
production of drugs by bacteria, treatments for genetic disorders, information on fetal genetics,
and improvements in crops and livestock through gene transfers).

UNIT: HEREDITY
Transmission of DNA from one generation to the next

accounts for both similarities and differences in living
things
What are genes and how do they determine

traits?
Heredity is the mechanism by which traits

are passed from one generation to
another.
Essential Question
Genes are segments of DNA that provide instructions

for protein synthesis.
What are the ethical implications of the

human genome project?
56
How is the message encoded in DNA translated

into a protein?
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GOAL
[Type text]
ROLE
AUDIENCE
SITUATION
Heredity
Product/
PERFORMANCE
Your best friend was absent for the

classes when we learned about protein
synthesis. He has asked you to help him
understand the process. Create an
analogy that will teach your friend how
a gene is translated into a protein and
ultimately a trait.
Explain protein
synthesis.
Student/peer mentor
Previously
absent
student
Use DNA evidence

(DNA fingerprint,
blood type) to
identify a suspect
in a crime.
Expert witness
Judge and
Jury
A crime has been committed. At the

scene blood and hair that does not
belong to the victim was left behind. A
DNA fingerprint and blood type from the
crime scene as well as the defendant are
available for comparison.
Expert witness testimony

(oral and/or written)
Identify the
political and social
consequences of
using the various
applications for
DNA
fingerprinting.
Concerned citizen
Newspaper
readers
Recently you have been hearing about

the use of DNA for a variety of purposes.
Concerned about its reliability you
conduct some of your own research
related to the social and political issues
around its use. You write a letter to the
editor with your findings.
Editorial promoting or
disputing the reliability of
DNA fingerprinting.
57
Analogy in form of picture,

diagram
STANDARDS
FOR SUCCESS
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Heredity
UNIT: HEREDITY (2)
Mutations are changes in DNA that result in altered

proteins, providing variability.
Heredity is the mechanism by which traits are

passed from one generation to another.
Essential Question
(What are the ethical implications of the
GOAL
ROLE

Mitosis
AUDIENCE
SITUATION
Product/
PERFORMANCE
Explain the inheritance of a

trait
You are a
parent
Your child
An older sibling has told your daughter

that she is adopted. She is now
questioning you as to why s/he has a
trait that has never appeared in either
family. Help your child make sense of
how s/he inherited this trait.
An album or family
pictures, a pedigree of
family inheritance, and a
written explanation.
Demonstrate how meiosis and

fertilization result in genetic
variability.
You are a
breeder
(select
animal/plan
t)
Prospective
buyer
A prospective buyer has come to you

with a request for offspring with specific
traits (horse, dog, cat, flower, vegetable,
etc.). You must convince the buyer that
the linage of the offspring s/he is
requesting is what s/he has in mind.
Visual display of the

processes of meiosis and
fertilization resulting in
the pedigree of family
inheritance.
Differentiate between
mutations which will not
affect offspring (mutations in
somatic cells) and mutations,
You are a
Talk Show
host that is
Guests of
the show
You are doing a talk show on physical

traits that result from mutation and
whether they can be passed on to
children. Your guests, who were
Write a script for a talk

show.
58
STANDARDS
FOR SUCCESS
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which create new variations in

the offspring (mutations in sex
cells).
a Doctor
Heredity
exposed to environmental hazards, are

concerned about passing on mutations
to their future children. You must
counsel them on whether to have
children.
UNIT: HEREDITY (3)
What is the relationship between

chromosomes, DNA and genes?
AUDIENCE
Product/

Essential Question
What are the ethical implications of the human
genome project?
GOAL
ROLE
SITUATION
PERFORMANCE
Explain likely
consequences of the
inheritance of a lethal
trait.
Genetic counselor
Prospective
parents
You are a genetic counselor advising

prospective parents who are aware of a
genetic disorder in both families. Tests
have revealed they are carriers for this
lethal trait. You must explain the likely
consequences should they decide to
have children.
59
Role Play, Letter
STANDARDS FOR
SUCCESS
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[Type text]
Heredity
UNIT: HEREDITY (4)

Genetic engineering has the potential to affect

society.
AUDIENCE
Product/

Essential Question
What are the ethical implications of the

GOAL
ROLE
SITUATION
PERFORMANCE
Decide whether to use

genetic engineering to
alter traits.
Yourself
Friend
Biologists have developed the

ability to use genetic engineering
to alter genetic traits. Under
what circumstances would you
choose to take advantage of this
technology? Justify your decision.
60
Persuasive paper,
role-play, debate
STANDARDS FOR
SUCCESS
[Type text]
[Type text]
Evolution
EVOLUTION UNIT
The living world around us is most striking in its diversity and complexity. Yet the deeper scientists have
probed, the greater the similarities that have emerged. Evolution is a scientific principle drawing on
observable evidence and facts about life on earth, which provide an explanation for similarities within the
diversity of life and support the idea of decent from common ancestors.
Two kinds of observations provide evidence for biological evolution: patterns of similarity and variety
among living organisms, and corresponding patterns of similarity and variety among living organisms that
are now extinct.
Isotopic dating techniques, used to determine the actual age of fossils, contribute to the evidence
supporting evolutionary change. Understanding of radioactivity makes it possible for students to
comprehend these techniques and hence to appreciate that sufficient time may have elapsed for successive
changes to have accumulated. Also contributing to evidence for evolutionary change is DNA, which
supports the notion that life evolved from common ancestors and provides a plausible mechanism for the
origin of new traits.
Evolutionary history and fossil evidence for change over time are two ideas that should be addressed in
middle school. High school instruction related to evolution should focus on the mechanism by which
organisms change over time. Students at this level need to shift their thinking from individuals to
populations. Rather than thinking in terms of selection of individuals with a trait students should be
introduced to the idea of changing proportions of a trait in populations. Familiarizing students with
artificial selection, coming from studies of pedigrees and their own experiments, can then be applied to
natural systems, in which selection is directed by environmental conditions.
The theory of natural selection explains how the diversity of species we see today and in the fossil records
could all descend from common ancestors. For students to understand the idea of natural selection, they
must have a fairly complex sense of both similarities and differences evident in diverse organisms. They
must also be knowledgeable of the advantages or disadvantages of those differences, relative to particular
environments.
An understanding of artificial selection (breeding), how characteristics are inherited, variation and
advantage, and changes in the environment, is critical for students understanding about the mechanism of
natural selection. An often-missed subtlety in this story is that other organisms, too, are part of the
environment. Meaning that organisms adapt in part to one another all life evolves together.
Consequently, enduring understandings related to the interdependence of life relate closely to the unit on
evolution.
When learning about evolution, history should not be overlooked. What led Darwin and Wallace to the
concept of evolution by natural selection illuminates the interacting roles of evidence and theory in
scientific inquiry. Moreover, organizing new as well as old biological knowledge into a coherent picture
of life forms can be accomplished using evolution as a framework.
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Evolution
Finally, the matter of public response should be considered. Opposition continues to come from people
whose interpretation of religious writings may conflict with the story of evolution. Unfortunately, people
have misconceptions about evolution. Often these are simple misunderstandings originating in the course
of learning about evolution, possibly from school experiences or the media.
One of our roles as teachers is to treat all student questions with respect and initially to accept each
question as the reflection of a legitimate desire to learn. Further, as teachers of biology it is our obligation
to teach to the state science standard, of which evolution is a major conceptual system.
Many misconceptions about the history of life and how it came about are very common. Most of these
misunderstandings have to do with assumptions that evolution proceeds in a particular direction or that
individual living things can choose to adapt (see the section on student preconceptions below). These
misconceptions or common misunderstandings are not unique to our students and therefore will be
addressed here in this introduction.
Misconception One: Evolution is a theory about the origin of life. Clarification: Evolution is a scientific
principle which deals mainly with how life changed after its origin. Scientists do investigate how life started
(e.g., whether or not it happened near a deep-sea vent, which organic molecules came first, etc.), but these
considerations are not the central focus of study for evolutionary biologists. According to the principle of
evolution life branched and diversified, regardless of how it started. Whether or not we understand how
life began, does not change what we know about what happened during the history of life.
Misconception Two: Evolution means that organisms are always getting better. Reality: Although natural
selection weeds out individuals that are unfit in a particular situation, no organism has to be perfect. In
reality, many taxa (like some mosses, protests, fungi, sharks, opossums, and crayfish) have changed little
over great expanses of time. They are not climbing up a ladder of progress. If they are fit enough to survive
long enough to reproduce, then that is all that is necessary to ensure their existence as a population. On
the other hand, many taxa have changed and diversified a great deal. This doesnt mean that they got
better. With changing climates, rivers shifting courses, and new competitors invading, what was better
a million years ago, may not be better today. Better is relative to time and place. What works better
in one location might not work so well in another as fitness is linked to environment, not to progress.
Misconception Three: When organisms evolve it means that they changed by chance. Clarification: Chance
is certainly a factory in evolution, but there are also non-random evolutionary mechanisms. Random
mutation is the ultimate source of genetic variation, however natural selection, the process by which some
variants survive and others do not, is not random. For example, aquatic animals are more likely to survive
and reproduce if they can move quickly through the water. Speed helps them to capture prey, escape
danger, and thus to survive and reproduce. Individuals that survive and reproduce better in their
environment will have more offspring (displaying the same traits) in the next generation. Thats not
random selection. To say that evolution happens by chance ignores half of the picture.
Misconception Four: Natural selection involves organisms trying to adapt. Clarification: Natural selection
leads to adaptation, but the process doesnt involve trying. Natural selection involves genetic variation
and selection among variants present in a population. Either an individual has genes that are good enough
to survive and reproduce, or it does not but it cant get the right genes by trying.
Misconception Five: Natural selection gives organisms what they need. Clarification: Natural selection
has no intentions or senses; it cannot sense what a species needs. If a population happens to have the
genetic variation that allows some individuals to survive a particular challenge better than others, then
62
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Evolution
those individuals will have more offspring in the next generation, and the population will evolve. If that
genetic variation is not in the population, the population may still survive (but not evolve much) or it may
die out. But, it will not be granted what it needs by natural selection.
There are also many misconceptions about the evidence supporting evolution. Following are several of the
most prominent misconceptions related to support for evolution.
Misconception One: Evolution is just a theory. Clarification: Scientific theories are explanations that are
based on lines of evidence, enable valid predictions, and have been tested in many ways. In contrast, there
is also a popular definition of theory a guess or conjecture. These conflicting definitions often cause
unnecessary confusion about evolution.
Misconception Two: Evolution is a theory in crisis and is collapsing as scientists lose confidence in it.
Clarification: Scientists do not debate whether evolution (decent with modification) took place, but they do
argue about how it took place. Details of the processes and mechanisms are vigorously debated. Evolution
is sound science and is treated accordingly by scientists and scholars worldwide.
Misconception Three: Gaps in the fossil record disprove evolution. Clarification: The fact that some
transitional fossils are not preserved does not disprove evolution. Evolutionary biologists do not expect
that all transitional forms will be found and realize that many species leave no fossils at all. Lots of
organisms do not fossilize well and the environmental conditions for forming good fossils are not that
common. So, science actually predicts that for many evolutionary changes there will be gaps in the record.
Also as predicted, scientists have found many fossils that show the presence of new, complex structures.
For example, there are fossils of transitional organisms between modern birds and their theropod dinosaur
ancestors, and between whales and their terrestrial mammal ancestors.
Misconception Four: Evolutionary theory is incomplete and is currently unable to give a total explanation of
life. Clarification: evolutionary science is a work in progress. New discoveries are made and explanations
adjusted when necessary. And, in this respect, evolution is just like all other sciences. Research continues
to add to our knowledge. While we dont know everything about evolution (or any scientific discipline, for
that matter), we do know a great deal about the history of life, the pattern of lineage-splitting through
time, and the mechanisms that have caused these changes. And more will be learned in the future. To
date, evolution is the only well-supported explanation for lifes diversity.
Misconception Five: Evolution is not science because it is not observable or testable. Clarification:
Evolution is observable and testable. The misconception here is that science is limited to controlled
experiments that are conducted in laboratories by people in white lab coats. Actually, much of science is
accomplished by gathering evidence from the real world and inferring how things work. Astronomers
cannot hold stars in their hands and geologists cannot go back in time, but in both cases scientists can learn
a great deal by using multiple lines of evidence to make valid and useful inferences about their objects of
study. The same is true of the study of the evolutionary history of life on Earth, and as a matter of fact,
many mechanisms of evolution are studied through direct experimentation as in more familiar sciences.
Misconception Six: Most biologists have rejected Darwinism (i.e., no longer really agree with the ideas
put forth by Darwin and Wallace). Clarification: Darwins idea that evolution generally proceeds at a slow,
deliberate pace has been modified to include the idea that evolution can proceed at a relatively rapid pace
under some circumstances. In this sense, Darwinism is continually being modified. Modification of
theories to make them more representative of how things work is the role of scientists and of science itself.
Thus far, however, there have been no credible challenges to the basic Darwinian principles that evolution
63
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Evolution
proceeds primarily by the mechanism of natural selection acting upon variation in populations and that
different species share common ancestors. Scientists have not rejected Darwins natural selection, but
have improved and expanded it as more information has become available. For example, we now know
(although Darwin did not) that genetic mutations are the source of variation acted on by natural selection,
but we havent rejected Darwins idea of natural selection weve just added to it.
Misconception Seven: Evolution supports the idea that might makes right and rationalizes the oppression
of some people by others. Clarification: In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a philosophy
called Social Darwinism arose from a misguided effort to apply lessons from biological evolution to
society. According to this view, society should allow the weak and less fit to fail and die, and that this is not
only good policy, but morally right. Supposedly, evolution by natural selection provided support for these
ideas. Pre-existing prejudices were rationalized by the notion that colonized nations, poor people, or
disadvantaged minorities must have deserved their situations because the were less fit than those who
were better off. This misapplication of science was used to promote social and political agendas. The
science of Social Darwinism was refuted. Biological evolution has stood the test of time, but Social
Darwinism has not.
Misconception Eight: Evolution and religion are incompatible. Clarification: Religion and science
(evolution) are very different things. In science (as in science class), only natural causes are used to explain
natural phenomena, while religion deals with beliefs that are beyond the natural world. The misconception
that one has to choose between science and religion is divisive. Most Christian and Jewish religious groups
have no conflict with evolution or other scientific findings. In fact, many religious people, including
theologians, fell that a deeper understanding of nature actually enriches their faith. Moreover, in the
scientific community there are thousands of scientists who are devoutly religious and also accept evolution.
(Adapted from: Benchmarks for Science Literacy; National Science Education Standards; and Atlas for
Science Literacy)
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Evolution

Evolution (1): Concepts
The premise that earths present-day species developed from earlier, distinctly
different species is the basic idea of biological evolution.
A lack of integration between the two distinct processes in

evolution (occurrence of new traits in a population and their effect
on long-term survival) often hinders student understanding of
natural selection. Many students believe that:
Molecular evidence for evolution is substantiated by anatomical evidence, and

both provide additional detail about the sequence of various lines of descent,
which branched off from one another.
Natural selection describes a mechanism for evolution and includes the ideas
that:
Within every species some variation in heritable characteristics exists,
Survival and reproductive advantages for individuals are produced by some of
these characteristics, and
Advantaged offspring, in turn, are more likely than others to survive and
reproduce.
Structure, chemistry, or behavior reveals heritable characteristics, which can be
observed at molecular and whole-organism levels. These characteristics strongly
influence an organisms capabilities and responses, and therefore influence how
likely an organism is to survive and reproduce.
New combinations of existing genes and mutations of genes in reproductive cells
can result in new heritable characteristics. Changes in cells other than
reproductive cells are not heritable.
Natural selection is the mechanism by which organisms become well suited for
survival in particular environments. In some cases, chance alone may result in
the persistence of heritable characteristics, which have no apparent survival or
reproductive advantage or disadvantage. Environmental changes may result in
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Environmental conditions are responsible for changes in traits,

Organisms develop new traits because they need them to survive,
Organisms over- or under-use bodily organs or abilities, resulting in
them becoming lost or magnified.
Student have little understanding how chance alone can act to

produce new heritable characteristics by forming new
combinations of existing genes or by mutations of genes. Some
students believe that:
MUTATIONS ARE SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE THEY MODIFY
AN INDIVIDUALS OWN FORM DURING ITS LIFE RATHER
THAN ONLY ITS GERM CELLS AND OFFSPRING (ONLY
MUTATIONS IN GERM CELLS ARE SIGNIFICANT FOR
EVOLUTION).
Students also have difficulty understanding that it is not the gradual
change of all individuals in the population that causes a population
to change, but that changing a population results from the survival
of a few individuals that preferentially reproduce. Explanations
about insects or pathogens becoming more resistant rather than
more insects or pathogens becoming resistant may reinforce
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the survival value of some inherited characteristics to change.
Evolution
these misunderstandings.
Natural selection, as a theory, presents a scientific explanation for the history of

life on earth, using the fossil record and the similarities evident within the
diversity of existing organisms as evidence for support.
Current scientific thought suggests that life on earth began as simple, one-celled
organisms approximately 4 billion years ago. Only single-cell microorganisms
existed during the first 2 billion years, but once nucleated cells developed,
approximately 1 billion years ago, increasingly complex multicellular organisms
evolved.
Evolution within living systems is dependent on what already exists, thus variety
is important for future diversity. Evolution does not compel long-term progress
in some set direction. On the contrary, evolutionary changes are similar to the
growth of a tree; some branches survive relatively unchanged from the
beginning, some branches die out altogether, and others branch repeatedly,
giving rise to more complex organisms.
One of the most general distinctions among organisms is between plants, which
use sunlight to make their own food, and animals, which consume energy-rich
foods. Some kinds of organisms, many of them microscopic, cannot be neatly
classified as either plants or animal.
Animals and plants have a great variety of body plans and internal structures that
contribute to their being able to make or find food and reproduce.
Similarities among organisms are found in internal anatomical features, which
can be used to infer the degree of relatedness among organisms. In classifying
organisms, biologists consider details of internal and external structures to be
more important than behavior or general appearance.
The various uses of the word adaptation also presents students

with difficulties. Many students believe that:
Individuals adapt deliberately, rather than, as described in natural
selection, populations change or adapt over generations,
inadvertently.
Adaptations result from some overall purpose or design, or
students describe adaptation as a conscious process to fulfill some
need or want.
Students also tend to confuse acquired adaptations within an
individuals lifetime with adaptive features that are inherited in a
population.
Students may hold a much more restricted meaning than biologists
for the concept animal.
Most students list only vertebrates as animals.
Student may use such criteria as number of legs, body covering, and
habitat to decide whether things are animals.
Some students may use attributes that are common to both plants
and animals as criteria, such as reproduction and respiration.
For sexually reproducing organisms, a species comprises all organisms that can
mate with one another to produce fertile offspring.
Students recognize the idea of species as a basis for classifying

organisms, but few students will refer to the genetic basis of
species.
All organisms, including the human species, are part of and depend on two main
Students sometimes appeal to everyday classifications, such as
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interconnected global food webs. One includes microscopic ocean plants, the
animals that feed on them, and finally the animals that feed on those animals.
The other web includes land plants, the animals that feed on them, and so forth.
The cycles continue indefinitely because organisms decompose after death to
return food material to the environment.
The variation of organisms within a species increases the likelihood that at least
some members of the species will survive under changed environmental
conditions, and a great diversity of species increases the chance that at least
some living things will survive in the face of large changes in the environment.
The degree of kinship between organisms or species can be estimated from the
similarity of their DNA sequences, which often closely matches their
classification based on anatomical similarities.
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Evolution
viewing jellyfish as fish because of the term fish, and penguins as
amphibians because they live on land and in water.
Students typically use criteria such as movement, breath,

reproduction, growth, and death to decide whether things
are alive.
Some students believe that certain animals, such as sponges, are
nonliving.
Students rarely mention structural criteria (cells) or biochemical
characteristics (DNA, RNA) as criteria for living organisms.
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Evolution

FOR TEACHERS
FOR STUDENTS
EVOLUTION
EVOLUTION
Essential Question:
Variation in traits determines the success of a species in an environment.
There is evidence suggesting that all species change over time.
What evidence supports the idea that species change over time?
Living things are classified based on their degree of relatedness.
Can you design a system to show relatedness among organisms?
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CONCEPTS TO UNCOVER
1)
2)
3)
4)
Natural selection
Common decent models
Cladistics & Taxonomy
Evidence for evolution
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Investigating Natural Selection

Investigating Common Decent: Formulating Explanations and Models
Proposing Explanations for Fossil Footprints
Understanding earths Changes Over Time
Proposing the Theory of Biological Evolution: Historical Perspective
Connecting Population Growth and Biological Evolution
RESOURCES
Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science: National Academy Press.
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Evolution
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Evolution
STANDARDS CROSSWALK
1) VARIATION IN TRAITS DETERMINES THE SUCCESS OF A SPECIES IN AN ENVIRONMENT
UNIT: EVOLUTION
STATE SCIENCE STANDARD: CONCEPTS
AND PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES
Learning Objectives
4.4.1 Identify the following components

of natural selection, which can lead to
speciation:
Evolution:
potential for a species to increase its

numbers
Describe the basic ideas of natural selection as:
genetic variability and inheritance of

offspring due to mutation and
recombination of genes
More offspring are produced than can survive

Offspring differ from one another in their genetic make-up
This genetic variability can be inherited
finite supply of resources required for life
Individuals with favorable variations survive and reproduce at a higher rate
selection by the environment of those

offspring better able to survive and
produce offspring
Predict how a change in an environmental factor can affect the number of organisms in a population and
the biodiversity in an ecosystem.
4.4.2 Explain how genotypic and

phenotypic variation can result in
adaptations that influence an organisms
success in an environment.
4.4.3 Describe how the continuing
operation of natural selection underlies a
Compare the evolution of behavior by natural selection to the evolution of physical characteristics
(adaptations) and describe the adaptive value of each.
Summarize how natural selection results in the diversity of species as well as the extinction of other
species.
Describe how organisms evolved from common ancestors and diverged to fill niches.
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populations ability to adapt to changes in
the environment and leads to biodiversity
and the origin of new species.
4.2.3 Explain how genotypic variation
occurs and results in phenotypic diversity.
4.3.2 Describe how organisms are
influenced by a particular combination of
biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving)
factors in a n environment.
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Evolution
The Cell:
Genetics:
Differentiate between mutations which will not affect offspring (mutations in somatic cells) and mutations
which create new variations in the offspring (mutations in sex cells).
Differentiate between genetic mutations which are expressed (affect the production of amino acids) and
those which are not expressed (do not affect amino acid production).
ECOLOGY
Relate the availability of matter and energy to changes in population by interpreting J- and S-shaped
population growth curves.
2) THERE IS EVIDENCE SUGGESTING THAT ALL SPECIES CHANGE OVER TIME

UNIT: EVOLUTION
4.2.3 Explain how genotypic variation occurs and results in
4.3.2 Describe how organisms are influenced by a particular
combination of biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) factors in a
n environment.
4.4.1 Identify the following components of natural selection,
which can lead to speciation:
potential for a species to increase its numbers
genetic variability and inheritance of offspring due to mutation
The Cell:
Compare and contrast eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells.
CLASSIFICATION:
Describe modern methods used for classification such as comparative anatomy,
amino acid sequencing, DNA studies, and evolutionary relationships.
Evolution:
Support the theory of evolution using the following independent lines of
evidence: fossil record, homologous structures, embryonic development,
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and recombination of genes
finite supply of resources required for life
selection by the environment of those offspring better able to
survive and produce offspring
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Evolution
vestigial organs, radioactive dating of fossils, and biochemistry (e.g.: DNA

hybridization and amino acid sequencing).
Describe current theories and experiments relating to the first forms of life on
earth (e.g.: changing from an oxygen-poor atmosphere to an oxygen-rich
atmosphere).
4.4.3 Describe how the continuing operation of natural

selection underlies a populations ability to adapt to changes in
the environment and leads to biodiversity and the origin of new
species.
Explain how mutations lead to genetic variability, which allows organisms to

change over time.
4.4.4 Predict how a change in an environmental factor (e.g.,

rainfall, habitat loss, non-native species) can affect the number
and diversity of species in an ecosystem.
More offspring are produced than can survive
4.4.5 Analyze how patterns in the fossil record, nuclear

chemistry, geology, molecular biology, and geographical
distribution give support to the theory of organic evolution
through natural selection over billions of years and the resulting
present day biodiversity.
This genetic variability can be inherited
Describe the basic ideas of natural selection as:
Offspring differ from one another in their genetic make-up
Individuals with favorable variations survive and reproduce at a higher rate

Predict how a change in an environmental factor can affect the number of
organisms in a population and the biodiversity in an ecosystem.
Summarize how natural selection results in the diversity of species as well as the
extinction of other species.
Describe how organisms evolved from common ancestors and diverged to fill
niches.
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Evolution
3) LIVING THINGS ARE CLASSIFIED BASED ON THEIR DEGREE OF RELATEDNESS

UNIT: EVOLUTION
Learning Objectives
4.4.6 Analyze, using a biological

classification system (i.e., cladistics,
phylogeny, morphology, DNA analysis), the
degree of relatedness among various
species.
Classification:
Use binomial nomenclature to name organisms.
Describe an organism using the following levels of classification; kingdom phylum (division), class, order,
family, genus, and species.
Given an organism, correctly place it in the kingdom system of classification based upon:
Mode of nutrition (heterotroph/autotrophy)
Presence and composition of cell wall
Number of cells (unicellular/multicellular)
Describe modern methods used for classification such as comparative anatomy, amino acid sequencing,
DNA studies, and evolutionary relationships.
Compare and contrast viruses and bacteria according to structure, reproduction and the characteristics
of life.
Discuss the major characteristics of protests, including algae and protozoa.
Discuss the major characteristics of fungi, including molds, yeasts, mildews, and mushrooms.
Discuss the major characteristics of plants, including mosses, ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms.
Identify the characteristics used to place animals into the various phyla: symmetry, tissue layers, body
cavities, segmentation, cephalization, and appendages.
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Evolution

UNIT: Evolution (1)
Variation in traits determines the success of a

species in an environment.
AUDIENCE
Product/
Essential Question
GOAL
ROLE
SITUATION
PERFORMANCE
Argue the points
completing a full cycle of
antibiotics.
Doctor
Patient
You are a doctor treating a

patient with a bacterial infection.
Convince the patient of the
importance of completing a
course of antibiotics.
Written paper,
debate, role play
Describe the evolution of a

new species and its
biological niche.
Childrens story
writer
Elementary
age students
You are a writer of childrens

stories and have been asked to
write a story that teaches
elementary aged students about
speiciation.
Illustrated short story
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STANDARDS FOR
SUCCESS
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Evolution
UNIT: Evolution (2)
There is evidence suggesting that all species

change over time.
What evidence supports the idea that species

change over time?
AUDIENCE
Product/

Essential Question
GOAL
ROLE
SITUATION
PERFORMANCE
Demonstrate a line of
evidence supporting a
hypothesis that an extinct
organism is the ancestor
of a currently living
organism.
Scientist
Scientific
Community
You have discovered what you

believe to be an extinct species
and the ancestor for a species of
organism that is currently living.
You have been asked to present
your findings and evidence to a
panel of scientists.
Graphic organizer or
Display and
Presentation.
Demonstrate a line of
evidence supporting a
hypothesis that an extinct
organism is the ancestor
of a currently living
organism.
Museum
Curator
General public
You are the curator of a museum

and must create a display
proposing an evolutionary tree
for a currently living organism.
Museum Display with

informational plaques
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STANDARDS FOR
SUCCESS
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Evolution
UNIT: Evolution (3)
Living things are classified based on their degree

of relatedness.
Can you design a system to show relatedness

among organisms?
AUDIENCE
Product/
Essential Question
GOAL
ROLE
SITUATION
PERFORMANCE
Design an arrangement of
species in a zoo
Zoo curator
Zoo visitors
You are the curator at a newly

organized zoo. Your task is to
design the arrangement of the
species that will convey to
visitors the relationships among
your collection of animals.
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Diagram, illustration
or model of the zoo,
with written
justification for the
arrangement
STANDARDS FOR
SUCCESS
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State Standard Alignment With Units
STATE STANDARD ALIGN MENT WITH UNITS

State Science Standard: Strand and Concept
Heredity Cells
Evolution InterHomeostasis Classification

dependence
STRAND 2 HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE

Concept 1: History of Science as a Human Endeavor Identify
individual, cultural, and technological contributions to scientific
knowledge.
Concept 2: Nature of Scientific Knowledge Understand how science
is a process for generating knowledge.
STRAND 3 SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE
Concept 1: Changes in Environments Describe the interactions
between human populations, natural hazards, and the environment.
Concept 2: Science and Technology in Society Develop viable
solutions to a need or problem.
Concept 3: Human Population Characteristics Analyze factors that
affect human populations.
STRAND 4 LIFE SCIENCE
Concept 1: The Cell Understand the role of the cell and cellular
processes.
Concept 2: Molecular Basis of Heredity Understand the molecular
basis of heredity and resulting genetic diversity.
Concept 3: Interdependence of Organisms Analyze the relationships

among various organisms and their environment.
X
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Concept 4: Biological Evolution Understand the scientific principles

and processes involved in biological evolution.
State Standard Alignment With Units
Concept 5: Matter, Energy, and Organization in Living Systems

(Including Human Systems) Understand the organization of living
systems, and the role of energy within those systems.
X
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79

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Amy J. Kobeta, Member

Arthur Lebowitz, Superintendent (Interim)

(Revised May, 2010)

Background Information ............................................................................................................................................................. 29

Introduction to the Curriculum Guide

3) The document map will open

Introduction to the Curriculum Guide

INTRODUCTION TO THE CURRICULUM GUIDE

IMPLICATIONS FOR PUHSD

Introduction to the Curriculum Guide

UNBURDENING THE CURRICULUM

Introduction to the Curriculum Guide

INQUIRY-BASED TEACHING AND LEARNING

Introduction to the Curriculum Guide

Introduction to the Curriculum Guide

BIOLOGY 1-2 HONORS

THE NATURE OF SCIENCE AND SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

Unit, Enduring Understanding, Topical

Unit, Essential Question, Foundational Questions

THE NATURE OF SCIENCE & SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

THE NATURE OF SCIENCE & SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

Scientists go about their work by collecting relevant

How do scientists go about doing science?

There are differences between scientific and

Are all explanations scientific?

Hypotheses are used in science for choosing what

Arent hypotheses just educated guesses?

When experimenting, if more than one variable

How do scientists go about controlling conditions for

Is there such a thing as objectivity in scientific

Unit, Enduring Understanding, Topical

Unit, Essential Question, Foundational Questions

Life is defined in a variety of ways by various

Living organisms share characteristics that make them

How do biologists define life?

To sustain life, living organisms require gasses found

What do living organisms require to sustain life?

What are other ways that life is defined?

EVOLUTION BY NATURAL SELECTION

Unit, Enduring Understanding, Topical

Unit, Essential Question, Foundational Questions

A UNIFYING THEME IN BIOLOGY: EVOLUTION BY

A UNIFYING THEME IN BIOLOGY: EVOLUTION BY

New species result, over time, from chance changes in

Where do new species come from?

The differences among individuals within a population

Are you a mutant?

Natural selection is a mechanism by which specific

How fast do you have to be to out-run a bear?

BIOLOGY POWER STANDA RDS AT A GLANCE

Unit, Enduring Understanding, Topical

Unit, Essential Question, Foundational Questions

ENERGY AND LIVING SYSTEMS

ENERGY AND LIVING SYSTEMS

The sun is the source of energy that flows through

How would you design a self-sustaining living system?

Matter and energy flows through different levels of

Will reducing available energy impact a living system?

Population size is influenced by a variety of

What are the consequences of removing limiting

Chemical elements are combined in different ways