1: Properties and Principles of Matter and Energy

1.1: Changes in properties and states of matter provide evidence of the atomic theory of matter

1.1.I: Mass is conserved during any physical or chemical change

1.1.I.a: Compare the mass of the reactants to the mass of the products in a chemical reaction or physical change (e.g., biochemical processes, carbon dioxide-oxygen cycle, nitrogen cycle, decomposition and synthesis reactions involved in a food web) as support for the Law

Chemical Equations

1.2: Energy has a source, can be stored, and can be transferred but is conserved within a system

1.2.F: Energy can be transferred within a system as the total amount of energy remains constant (i.e., Law of Conservation of Energy)

1.2.F.a: Classify the different ways to store energy (i.e., chemical, nuclear, thermal, mechanical, electromagnetic) and describe the transfer of energy as it changes from kinetic to potential, while the total amount of energy remains constant, within a system (e.g., biochemical processes, carbon dioxide-oxygen cycle, nitrogen cycle, food web)

Energy Conversion in a System
Energy of a Pendulum
Inclined Plane - Sliding Objects
Roller Coaster Physics

3: Characteristic and Interactions of Living Organisms

3.1: There is a fundamental unity underlying the diversity of all living organisms

3.1.B: Organisms progress through life cycles unique to different types of organisms

3.1.B.a: Recognize cells both increase in number and differentiate, becoming specialized in structure and function, during and after embryonic development

Cell Division

3.1.C: Cells are the fundamental units of structure and function of all living things

3.1.C.a: Recognize all organisms are composed of cells, the fundamental units of structure and function

Cell Structure

3.1.C.b: Describe the structure of cell parts (e.g., cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, chloroplast, mitochondrion, ribosome, vacuole) found in different types of cells (e.g., bacterial, plant, skin, nerve, blood, muscle) and the functions they perform (e.g., structural support, transport of materials, storage of genetic information, photosynthesis and respiration, synthesis of new molecules, waste disposal) that are necessary to the survival of the cell and organism

Cell Energy Cycle
Cell Structure
Osmosis
Paramecium Homeostasis
RNA and Protein Synthesis

3.1.E: Biological classifications are based on how organisms are related

3.1.E.b: Explain how and why the classification of any taxon might change as more is learned about the organisms assigned to that taxon

Dichotomous Keys
Human Evolution - Skull Analysis

3.2: Living organisms carry out life processes in order to survive

3.2.A: The cell contains a set of structures called organelles that interact to carry out life processes through physical and chemical means

3.2.A.a: Compare and contrast the structure and function of mitochondria and chloroplasts

Cell Energy Cycle
Cell Structure

3.2.A.b: Compare and contrast the structure and function of cell wall and cell membranes

Cell Structure

3.2.A.c: Explain physical and chemical interactions that occur between organelles (e.g. nucleus, cell membrane, chloroplast, mitochondrion, ribosome) as they carry out life processes

Cell Energy Cycle
RNA and Protein Synthesis

3.2.B: Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are complementary processes necessary to the survival of most organisms on Earth

3.2.B.a: Explain the interrelationship between the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration (e.g., recycling of oxygen and carbon dioxide), comparing and contrasting photosynthesis and cellular respiration reactions (Do NOT assess intermediate reactions)

Cell Energy Cycle

3.2.B.b: Determine what factors affect the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration (i.e., light intensity, availability of reactants, temperature)

Cell Energy Cycle
Photosynthesis Lab
Pond Ecosystem

3.2.D: Cells carry out chemical transformations that use energy for the synthesis or breakdown of organic compounds

3.2.D.a: Summarize how energy transfer occurs during photosynthesis and cellular respiration as energy is stored in and released from the bonds of chemical compounds (i.e. ATP)

Cell Energy Cycle
Photosynthesis Lab

3.2.E: Protein structure and function are coded by the DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) molecule

3.2.E.a: Explain how the DNA code determines the sequence of amino acids necessary for protein synthesis

RNA and Protein Synthesis

3.2.F: Cellular activities and responses can maintain stability internally while external conditions are changing (homeostasis)

3.2.F.a: Explain the significance of the selectively permeable membrane to the transport of molecules

Osmosis

3.2.F.b: Predict the movement of molecules across a selectively permeable membrane (i.e., diffusion, osmosis, active transport) needed for a cell to maintain homeostasis given concentration gradients and different sizes of molecules

Osmosis

3.3: There is a genetic basis for the transfer of biological characteristics from one generation to the next through reproductive processes

3.3.B: All living organisms have genetic material (DNA) that carries hereditary information

3.3.B.a: Describe the chemical and structural properties of DNA (e.g., DNA is a large polymer formed from linked subunits of four kinds of nitrogen bases; genetic information is encoded in genes based on the sequence of subunits; each DNA molecule in a cell forms a single chromosome)

Building DNA

3.3.B.e: Identify possible external causes (e.g., heat, radiation, certain chemicals) and effects of DNA mutations (e.g., altered proteins which may affect chemical reactions and structural development)

Evolution: Natural and Artificial Selection

3.3.C: Chromosomes are components of cells that occur in pairs and carry hereditary information from one cell to daughter cells and from parent to offspring during reproduction

3.3.C.a: Recognize the chromosomes of daughter cells, formed through the processes of asexual reproduction and mitosis, the formation of somatic (body) cells in multicellular organisms, are identical to the chromosomes of the parent cell

Cell Division

3.3.C.d: Identify the implications of human sex chromosomes for sex determination

Human Karyotyping

3.3.D: There is heritable variation within every species of organism

3.3.D.b: Describe how genes can be altered and combined to create genetic variation within a species (e.g., mutation, recombination of genes)

Evolution: Mutation and Selection

3.3.D.c: Recognize that new heritable characteristics can only result from new combinations of existing genes or from mutations of genes in an organism's sex cells

Evolution: Mutation and Selection
Evolution: Natural and Artificial Selection

3.3.E: The pattern of inheritance for many traits can be predicted by using the principles of Mendelian genetics

3.3.E.b: Predict the probability of the occurrence of specific traits, including sex-linked traits, in an offspring by using a monohybrid cross

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

3.3.E.c: Explain how sex-linked traits may or may not result in the expression of a genetic disorder (e.g., hemophilia, muscular dystrophy, color blindness) depending on gender

Human Karyotyping

4: Changes in Ecosystems and Interactions of Organisms with their Environments

4.1: Organisms are interdependent with one another and with their environment

4.1.A: All populations living together within a community interact with one another and with their environment in order to survive and maintain a balanced ecosystem

4.1.A.a: Explain the nature of interactions between organisms in predator/prey relationships and different symbiotic relationships (i.e., mutualism, commensalisms, parasitism)

Food Chain

4.1.A.b: Explain how cooperative (e.g., symbiotic) and competitive (e.g., predator/prey) relationships help maintain balance within an ecosystem

Food Chain

4.1.B: Living organisms have the capacity to produce populations of infinite size, but environments and resources are finite

4.1.B.a: Identify and explain the limiting factors (biotic and abiotic) that may affect the carrying capacity of a population within an ecosystem

Food Chain
Rabbit Population by Season

4.1.B.b: Predict how populations within an ecosystem may change in number and/or structure in response to hypothesized changes in biotic and/or abiotic factors

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

4.1.C: All organisms, including humans, and their activities cause changes in their environment that affect the ecosystem

4.1.C.a: Devise a multi-step plan to restore the stability and/or biodiversity of an ecosystem when given a scenario describing the possible adverse effects of human interactions with that ecosystem (e.g., destruction caused by direct harvesting, pollution, atmospheric changes)

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

4.1.D: The diversity of species within an ecosystem is affected by changes in the environment, which can be caused by other organisms or outside processes

4.1.D.a: Predict the impact (beneficial or harmful) a natural or human caused environmental event (e.g., forest fire, flood, volcanic eruption, avalanche, acid rain, global warming, pollution, deforestation, introduction of an exotic species) may have on the diversity of different species in an ecosystem

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

4.2: Matter and energy flow through the ecosystem

4.2.A: As energy flows through the ecosystem, all organisms capture a portion of that energy and transform it to a form they can use

4.2.A.a: Illustrate and describe the flow of energy within a food web

Forest Ecosystem

4.2.A.b: Explain why there are generally more producers than consumers in an energy pyramid

Food Chain
Forest Ecosystem

4.2.A.c: Predict how the use and flow of energy will be altered due to changes in a food web

Forest Ecosystem

4.2.B: Matter is recycled through an ecosystem

4.2.B.a: Explain the processes involved in the recycling of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon through an ecosystem

Carbon Cycle
Cell Energy Cycle
Pond Ecosystem

4.2.B.b: Explain the importance of the recycling of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon within an ecosystem

Carbon Cycle
Cell Energy Cycle
Pond Ecosystem

4.3: Genetic variation sorted by the natural selection process explains evidence of biological evolution

4.3.A: Evidence for the nature and rates of evolution can be found in anatomical and molecular characteristics of organisms and in the fossil record

4.3.A.b: Evaluate the evidence that supports the theory of biological evolution (e.g., fossil records, similarities between DNA and protein structures, similarities between developmental stages of organisms, homologous and vestigial structures)

Human Evolution - Skull Analysis

4.3.C: Natural selection is the process of sorting individuals based on their ability to survive and reproduce within their ecosystem

4.3.C.a: Identify examples of adaptations that may have resulted from variations favored by natural selection (e.g., long-necked giraffes, long-eared jack rabbits) and describe how that variation may have provided populations an advantage for survival

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

4.3.C.c: Explain how environmental factors (e.g., habitat loss, climate change, pollution, introduction of non-native species) can be agents of natural selection

Natural Selection
Rainfall and Bird Beaks

4.3.C.d: Given a scenario describing an environmental change, hypothesize why a given species was unable to survive

Rabbit Population by Season
Rainfall and Bird Beaks

5: Processes and Interactions of the Earth's Systems (Geosphere, Atmosphere, and Hydrosphere)

5.3: Human activity is dependent upon and affects Earth's resources and systems

5.3.A: Earth's materials are limited natural resources affected by human activity

5.3.A.a: Predict local and/or global effects of environmental changes when given a scenario describing how the composition of the geosphere, hydrosphere, or atmosphere is altered by natural phenomena or human activities

Coral Reefs 2 - Biotic Factors