B2: Students describe the general structure and function of cells. They can explain that all living systems are composed of cells and that organisms may be unicellular or multicellular. They understand that cells are composed of biological macromolecules and that the complex processes of the cell allow it to maintain a stable internal environment necessary to maintain life. They make predictions based on these understandings.

B2.p1: All organisms are composed of cells, from just one cell to many cells. Water accounts for more than two-thirds of the weight of a cell, which gives cells many of their properties. In multicellular organisms, specialized cells perform specialized functions. Organs and organ systems are composed of cells and function to serve the needs of organisms for food, air, and waste removal. The way in which cells function is similar in all living organisms.

B2.p1.C: Describe growth and development in terms of increase in cell number, cell size, and/or cell products. (prerequisite)

Cell Division

B2.p1.D: Explain how the systems in a multicellular organism work together to support the organism. (prerequisite)

Circulatory System
Digestive System

B2.p1.E: Compare and contrast how different organisms accomplish similar functions (e.g., obtain oxygen for respiration, and excrete waste). (prerequisite)

Cell Energy Cycle
Dichotomous Keys
Pollination: Flower to Fruit

B2.p2: Cells carry out the many functions needed to sustain life. They grow and divide, thereby producing more cells. Food is used to provide energy for the work that cells do and is a source of the molecular building blocks from which needed materials are assembled.

B2.p2.A: Describe how organisms sustain life by obtaining, transporting, transforming, releasing, and eliminating matter and energy. (prerequisite)

Cell Structure
Osmosis
Paramecium Homeostasis

B2.p4: All animals, including humans, are consumers; they obtain food by eating other organisms or their products. Consumers break down the structures of the organisms they eat to obtain the materials they need to grow and function. Decomposers, including bacteria and fungi, use dead organisms or their products for food. (prerequisite)

B2.p4.A: Classify different organisms based on how they obtain energy for growth and development. (prerequisite)

Food Chain
Forest Ecosystem

B2.p4.B: Explain how an organism obtains energy from the food it consumes. (prerequisite)

Food Chain

B2.p5: Living systems are made of complex molecules that consist mostly of a few elements, especially carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorous. (prerequisite)

B2.p5.B: Identify the most common complex molecules that make up living organisms. (prerequisite)

RNA and Protein Synthesis

B2.1: In multicellular organisms, cells are specialized to carry out specific functions such as transport, reproduction, or energy transformation.

B2.1.A: Explain how cells transform energy (ultimately obtained from the sun) from one form to another through the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. Identify the reactants and products in the general reaction of photosynthesis.

Cell Energy Cycle
Photosynthesis Lab

B2.1.B: Compare and contrast the transformation of matter and energy during photosynthesis and respiration.

Cell Energy Cycle

B2.1.C: Explain cell division, growth, and development as a consequence of an increase in cell number, cell size, and/or cell products.

Cell Division

B2.2: There are four major categories of organic molecules that make up living systems: carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and nucleic acids.

B2.2.D: Explain the general structure and primary functions of the major complex organic molecules that compose living organisms.

RNA and Protein Synthesis

B2.2.E: Describe how dehydration and hydrolysis relate to organic molecules.

Dehydration Synthesis

B2.2.f: Explain the role of enzymes and other proteins in biochemical functions (e.g., the protein hemoglobin carries oxygen in some organisms, digestive enzymes, and hormones).

Digestive System

B2.2.g: Propose how moving an organism to a new environment may influence its ability to survive and predict the possible impact of this type of transfer.

Natural Selection
Rabbit Population by Season
Rainfall and Bird Beaks - Metric

B2.3: The internal environment of living things must remain relatively constant. Many systems work together to maintain stability. Stability is challenged by changing physical, chemical, and environmental conditions as well as the presence of disease agents.

B2.3.A: Describe how cells function in a narrow range of physical conditions, such as temperature and pH (acidity), to perform life functions.

Paramecium Homeostasis

B2.3.d: Identify the general functions of the major systems of the human body (digestion, respiration, reproduction, circulation, excretion, protection from disease, and movement, control, and coordination) and describe ways that these systems interact with each other.

Circulatory System
Digestive System

B2.3.e: Describe how human body systems maintain relatively constant internal conditions (temperature, acidity, and blood sugar).

Circulatory System
Digestive System
Human Homeostasis

B2.3.f: Explain how human organ systems help maintain human health.

Circulatory System
Digestive System

B2.4: In multicellular organisms, specialized cells perform specialized functions. Organs and organ systems are composed of cells and function to serve the needs of cells for food, air, and waste removal. The way in which cells function is similar in all living organisms.

B2.4.A: Explain that living things can be classified based on structural, embryological, and molecular (relatedness of DNA sequence) evidence.

Dichotomous Keys
Human Evolution - Skull Analysis

B2.4.B: Describe how various organisms have developed different specializations to accomplish a particular function and yet the end result is the same (e.g., excreting nitrogenous wastes in animals, obtaining oxygen for respiration).

Cell Energy Cycle

B2.4.e: Explain how cellular respiration is important for the production of ATP (build on aerobic vs. anaerobic).

Cell Energy Cycle

B2.4.g: Explain that some structures in the modern eukaryotic cell developed from early prokaryotes, such as mitochondria, and in plants, chloroplasts.

Cell Energy Cycle
Cell Structure

B2.4.h: Describe the structures of viruses and bacteria.

Virus Lytic Cycle

B2.5: All living or once-living organisms are composed of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Carbohydrates and lipids contain many carbon-hydrogen bonds that also store energy.

B2.5.B: Explain how major systems and processes work together in animals and plants, including relationships between organelles, cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, and organisms. Relate these to molecular functions.

Circulatory System

B2.5.C: Describe how energy is transferred and transformed from the Sun to energy-rich molecules during photosynthesis.

Cell Energy Cycle
Photosynthesis Lab

B2.5.e: Explain the interrelated nature of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in terms of ATP synthesis and degradation.

Cell Energy Cycle

B2.5.f: Relate plant structures and functions to the process of photosynthesis and respiration.

Cell Energy Cycle
Photosynthesis Lab

B2.5.g: Compare and contrast plant and animal cells.

Cell Structure

B2.5.h: Explain the role of cell membranes as a highly selective barrier (diffusion, osmosis, and active transport).

Cell Structure
Osmosis

B2.5.i: Relate cell parts/organelles to their function.

Cell Structure
Paramecium Homeostasis
RNA and Protein Synthesis

B2.6.a: Explain that the regulatory and behavioral responses of an organism to external stimuli occur in order to maintain both short- and long-term equilibrium.

Human Homeostasis

B2.6.d: Explain how higher levels of organization result from specific complex interactions of smaller units and that their maintenance requires a constant input of energy as well as new material. (recommended)

Cell Structure

B2.6.e: Analyze the body's response to medical interventions such as organ transplants, medicines, and inoculations. (recommended)

Human Karyotyping

B3: Students describe the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration and how energy is transferred through food webs. They recognize and analyze the consequences of the dependence of organisms on environmental resources and the interdependence of organisms in ecosystems.

B3.p1: Organisms of one species form a population. Populations of different organisms interact and form communities. Living communities and the nonliving factors that interact with them form ecosystems. (prerequisite)

B3.p1.A: Provide examples of a population, community, and ecosystem. (prerequisite)

Coral Reefs 1 - Abiotic Factors
Food Chain
Rabbit Population by Season

B3.p2: 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. (prerequisite)

B3.p2.A: Describe common relationships among organisms and provide examples of producer/consumer, predator/ prey, or parasite/host relationship. (prerequisite)

Food Chain
Forest Ecosystem
Prairie Ecosystem

B3.p2.B: Describe common ecological relationships between and among species and their environments (competition, territory, carrying capacity, natural balance, population, dependence, survival, and other biotic and abiotic factors). (prerequisite)

Coral Reefs 1 - Abiotic Factors
Food Chain
Natural Selection
Pond Ecosystem
Prairie Ecosystem

B3.p2.C: Describe the role of decomposers in the transfer of energy in an ecosystem. (prerequisite)

Forest Ecosystem

B3.p3: The number of organisms and populations an ecosystem can support depends on the biotic resources available and abiotic factors, such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition. (prerequisite)

B3.p3.A: Identify the factors in an ecosystem that influence fluctuations in population size. (prerequisite)

Coral Reefs 1 - Abiotic Factors
Food Chain
Pond Ecosystem
Rabbit Population by Season

B3.p3.B: Distinguish between the living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) components of an ecosystem. (prerequisite)

Pond Ecosystem

B3.p3.C: Explain how biotic and abiotic factors cycle in an ecosystem (water, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen). (prerequisite)

Cell Energy Cycle
Pond Ecosystem

B3.p3.D: Predict how changes in one population might affect other populations based upon their relationships in a food web. (prerequisite)

Forest Ecosystem

B3.p4: All organisms cause changes in their environments. Some of these changes are detrimental, whereas others are beneficial. (prerequisite)

B3.p4.A: Recognize that, and describe how, human beings are part of Earth's ecosystems. Note that human activities can deliberately or inadvertently alter the equilibrium in ecosystems. (prerequisite)

Coral Reefs 1 - Abiotic Factors
Coral Reefs 2 - Biotic Factors
Pond Ecosystem

B3.1: Organisms acquire their energy directly or indirectly from sunlight. Plants capture the Sun's energy and use it to convert carbon dioxide and water to sugar and oxygen through the process of photosynthesis. Through the process of cellular respiration, animals are able to release the energy stored in the molecules produced by plants and use it for cellular processes, producing carbon dioxide and water.

B3.1.B: Illustrate and describe the energy conversions that occur during photosynthesis and respiration.

Cell Energy Cycle
Photosynthesis Lab

B3.1.C: Recognize the equations for photosynthesis and respiration and identify the reactants and products for both.

Cell Energy Cycle
Photosynthesis Lab

B3.1.e: Write the chemical equation for photosynthesis and cellular respiration and explain in words what they mean.

Cell Energy Cycle
Photosynthesis Lab

B3.1.f: Summarize the process of photosynthesis.

Cell Energy Cycle
Photosynthesis Lab
Pond Ecosystem

B3.2: The chemical elements that make up the molecules of living things pass through food webs and are combined and recombined in different ways. At each link in an ecosystem, some energy is stored in newly made structures, but much is dissipated into the environment as heat. Continual input of energy from sunlight keeps the process going.

B3.2.B: Describe energy transfer through an ecosystem, accounting for energy lost to the environment as heat.

Food Chain

B3.2.C: Draw the flow of energy through an ecosystem. Predict changes in the food web when one or more organisms are removed.

Food Chain
Forest Ecosystem

B3.3: As matter cycles and energy flows through different levels of organization of living systems-cells, organs, organisms, and communities-and between living systems and the physical environment, chemical elements are recombined in different ways. Each recombination results in storage and dissipation of energy into the environment as heat. Matter and energy are conserved in each change.

B3.3.A: Use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers, and decomposers and explain the transfer of energy through trophic levels.

Forest Ecosystem
Prairie Ecosystem

B3.4: Although the interrelationships and interdependence of organisms may generate biological communities in ecosystems that are stable for hundreds or thousands of years, ecosystems always change when climate changes or when one or more new species appear as a result of migration or local evolution. The impact of the human species has major consequences for other species.

B3.4.C: Examine the negative impact of human activities.

Coral Reefs 1 - Abiotic Factors
Coral Reefs 2 - Biotic Factors
Pond Ecosystem

B3.4.d: Describe the greenhouse effect and list possible causes.

Carbon Cycle
Greenhouse Effect - Metric

B3.4.e: List the possible causes and consequences of global warming.

Carbon Cycle
Coral Reefs 1 - Abiotic Factors
Greenhouse Effect - Metric

B3.5: Populations of living things increase and decrease in size as they interact with other populations and with the environment. The rate of change is dependent upon relative birth and death rates.

B3.5.e: Recognize that and describe how the physical or chemical environment may influence the rate, extent, and nature of population dynamics within ecosystems.

Food Chain
Rabbit Population by Season

B3.5.f: Graph an example of exponential growth. Then show the population leveling off at the carrying capacity of the environment.

Food Chain
Prairie Ecosystem
Rabbit Population by Season

B4: Students recognize that the specific genetic instructions for any organism are contained within genes composed of DNA molecules located in chromosomes. They explain the mechanism for the direct production of specific proteins based on inherited DNA. Students diagram how occasional modifications in genes and the random distribution of genes from each parent provide genetic variation and become the raw material for evolution. Content Statements, Performances, and Boundaries

B4.p2: The characteristics of organisms are influenced by heredity and environment. For some characteristics, inheritance is more important. For other characteristics, interactions with the environment are more important. (prerequisite)

B4.p2.A: Explain that the traits of an individual are influenced by both the environment and the genetics of the individual. Acquired traits are not inherited; only genetic traits are inherited. (prerequisite)

Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
Inheritance
Mouse Genetics (One Trait)
Mouse Genetics (Two Traits)

B4.1: Hereditary information is contained in genes, located in the chromosomes of each cell. Cells contain many thousands of different genes. One or many genes can determine an inherited trait of an individual, and a single gene can influence more than one trait. Before a cell divides, this genetic information must be copied and apportioned evenly into the daughter cells.

B4.1.B: Explain that the information passed from parents to offspring is transmitted by means of genes that are coded in DNA molecules. These genes contain the information for the production of proteins.

Mouse Genetics (One Trait)
Mouse Genetics (Two Traits)
RNA and Protein Synthesis

B4.1.c: Differentiate between dominant, recessive, codominant, polygenic, and sex-linked traits.

Chicken Genetics
Inheritance
Mouse Genetics (One Trait)
Mouse Genetics (Two Traits)

B4.1.d: Explain the genetic basis for Mendel's laws of segregation and independent assortment.

Mouse Genetics (One Trait)

B4.1.e: Determine the genotype and phenotype of monohybrid crosses using a Punnett Square.

Chicken Genetics
Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
Mouse Genetics (One Trait)
Mouse Genetics (Two Traits)

B4.2: The genetic information encoded in DNA molecules provides instructions for assembling protein molecules. Genes are segments of DNA molecules. Inserting, deleting, or substituting DNA segments can alter genes. An altered gene may be passed on to every cell that develops from it. The resulting features may help, harm, or have little or no effect on the offspring's success in its environment.

B4.2.C: Describe the structure and function of DNA.

Building DNA

B4.2.E: Propose possible effects (on the genes) of exposing an organism to radiation and toxic chemicals.

Evolution: Natural and Artificial Selection

B4.2.f: Demonstrate how the genetic information in DNA molecules provides instructions for assembling protein molecules and that this is virtually the same mechanism for all life forms.

RNA and Protein Synthesis

B4.2.g: Describe the processes of replication, transcription, and translation and how they relate to each other in molecular biology.

RNA and Protein Synthesis

B4.3: Sorting and recombination of genes in sexual reproduction results in a great variety of possible gene combinations from the offspring of any two parents.

B4.3.C: Explain how it might be possible to identify genetic defects from just a karyotype of a few cells.

Human Karyotyping
Evolution: Mutation and Selection

B4.3.f: Predict how mutations may be transferred to progeny.

Evolution: Mutation and Selection
Evolution: Natural and Artificial Selection

B4.4.a: Describe how inserting, deleting, or substituting DNA segments can alter a gene. Recognize that an altered gene may be passed on to every cell that develops from it and that the resulting features may help, harm, or have little or no effect on the offspring's success in its environment.

Evolution: Mutation and Selection
Evolution: Natural and Artificial Selection

B4.4.c: Explain how mutations in the DNA sequence of a gene may be silent or result in phenotypic change in an organism and in its offspring.

Evolution: Natural and Artificial Selection

B5: Students recognize that evolution is the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing environments. They can explain that modern evolution includes both the concepts of common descent and natural selection. They illustrate how the consequences of natural selection and differential reproduction have led to the great biodiversity on Earth.

B5.p1: Individual organisms with certain traits in particular environments are more likely than others to survive and have offspring. When an environment changes, the advantage or disadvantage of characteristics can change. Extinction of a species occurs when the environment changes and the characteristics of a species are insufficient to allow survival. Fossils indicate that many organisms that lived long ago are extinct. Extinction of species is common; most of the species that have lived on the Earth no longer exist. (prerequisite)

B5.p1.B: Define a population and identify local populations. (prerequisite)

Food Chain
Rabbit Population by Season

B5.p1.D: Explain the importance of the fossil record. (prerequisite)

Human Evolution - Skull Analysis

B5.p2: Similarities among organisms are found in 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. (prerequisite)

B5.p2.A: Explain, with examples, that ecology studies the varieties and interactions of living things across space while evolution studies the varieties and interactions of living things across time. (prerequisite)

Coral Reefs 1 - Abiotic Factors
Evolution: Mutation and Selection

B5.1: The theory of evolution provides a scientific explanation for the history of life on Earth as depicted in the fossil record and in the similarities evident within the diversity of existing organisms.

B5.1.A: Summarize the major concepts of natural selection (differential survival and reproduction of chance inherited variants, depending on environmental conditions).

Evolution: Mutation and Selection
Evolution: Natural and Artificial Selection
Inheritance
Microevolution
Natural Selection
Rainfall and Bird Beaks - Metric

B5.1.B: Describe how natural selection provides a mechanism for evolution.

Evolution: Mutation and Selection
Evolution: Natural and Artificial Selection
Microevolution
Rainfall and Bird Beaks - Metric

B5.1.c: Summarize the relationships between present-day organisms and those that inhabited the Earth in the past (e.g., use fossil record, embryonic stages, homologous structures, chemical basis).

Evolution: Mutation and Selection
Human Evolution - Skull Analysis

B5.1.d: Explain how a new species or variety originates through the evolutionary process of natural selection.

Evolution: Mutation and Selection

B5.1.e: Explain how natural selection leads to organisms that are well suited for the environment (differential survival and reproduction of chance inherited variants, depending upon environmental conditions).

Evolution: Natural and Artificial Selection
Inheritance
Rainfall and Bird Beaks - Metric

B5.1.f: Explain, using examples, how the fossil record, comparative anatomy, and other evidence supports the theory of evolution.

Human Evolution - Skull Analysis

B5.1.g: Illustrate how genetic variation is preserved or eliminated from a population through natural selection (evolution) resulting in biodiversity.

Rainfall and Bird Beaks - Metric

B5.2.a: Describe species as reproductively distinct groups of organisms that can be classified based on morphological, behavioral, and molecular similarities.

Dichotomous Keys
Human Evolution - Skull Analysis

B5.2.b: Explain that the degree of kinship between organisms or species can be estimated from the similarity of their DNA and protein sequences.

RNA and Protein Synthesis

B5.3: Evolution is the consequence of natural selection, the interactions of (1) the potential for a population to increase its numbers, (2) the genetic variability of offspring due to mutation and recombination of genes, (3) a finite supply of the resources required for life, and (4) the ensuing selection from environmental pressure of those organisms better able to survive and leave offspring.

B5.3.A: Explain how natural selection acts on individuals, but it is populations that evolve. Relate genetic mutations and genetic variety produced by sexual reproduction to diversity within a given population.

Microevolution
Rainfall and Bird Beaks - Metric

B5.3.d: Explain how evolution through natural selection can result in changes in biodiversity.

Evolution: Mutation and Selection
Evolution: Natural and Artificial Selection
Rainfall and Bird Beaks - Metric

B5.3.e: Explain how changes at the gene level are the foundation for changes in populations and eventually the formation of new species.

Evolution: Mutation and Selection