1: The student will demonstrate an understanding of biomolecules as building blocks of cells, and that cells are the basic unit of structure and function of living things.

1.B.4: The student knows that cells are the basic structures of all living things with specialized parts that perform specific functions and that viruses are different from cells.

1.B.4.B: investigate and explain cellular processes, including homeostasis, energy conversions, transport of molecules, and synthesis of new molecules; and

Cell Structure
Osmosis
Paramecium Homeostasis
RNA and Protein Synthesis

1.B.5: The student knows how an organism grows and the importance of cell differentiation.

1.B.5.A: describe the stages of the cell cycle, including deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) replication and mitosis, and the importance of the cell cycle to the growth of organisms;

Cell Division

1.B.9: The student knows the significance of various molecules involved in metabolic processes and energy conversions that occur in living organisms.

1.B.9.A: compare the structures and functions of different types of biomolecules, including carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids; and

RNA and Protein Synthesis

2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the mechanisms of genetics.

2.B.6: The student knows the mechanisms of genetics, including the role of nucleic acids and the principles of Mendelian Genetics.

2.B.6.A: identify components of DNA, and describe how information for specifying the traits of an organism is carried in the DNA;

DNA Analysis
Mouse Genetics (One Trait)
Mouse Genetics (Two Traits)

2.B.6.C: explain the purpose and process of transcription and translation using models of DNA and RNA;

RNA and Protein Synthesis

2.B.6.F: predict possible outcomes of various genetic combinations such as monohybrid crosses, dihybrid crosses and non-Mendelian inheritance;

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

3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the theory of biological evolution and the hierarchical classification of organisms.

3.B.7: The student knows evolutionary theory is a scientific explanation for the unity and diversity of life.

3.B.7.A: analyze and evaluate how evidence of common ancestry among groups is provided by the fossil record, biogeography, and homologies, including anatomical, molecular, and developmental;

Human Evolution - Skull Analysis

3.B.7.B: analyze and evaluate scientific explanations concerning any data of sudden appearance, stasis, and sequential nature of groups in the fossil record;

Human Evolution - Skull Analysis

3.B.7.C: analyze and evaluate how natural selection produces change in populations, not individuals;

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

3.B.7.D: analyze and evaluate how the elements of natural selection, including inherited variation, the potential of a population to produce more offspring than can survive, and a finite supply of environmental resources, result in differential reproductive success;

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

3.B.7.E: analyze and evaluate the relationship of natural selection to adaptation and to the development of diversity in and among species;

Evolution: Mutation and Selection
Rainfall and Bird Beaks

3.B.7.F: analyze and evaluate the effects of other evolutionary mechanisms, including genetic drift, gene flow, mutation, and recombination; and

Evolution: Mutation and Selection
Evolution: Natural and Artificial Selection

3.B.8: The student knows that taxonomy is a branching classification based on the shared characteristics of organisms and can change as new discoveries are made.

3.B.8.B: categorize organisms using a hierarchical classification system based on similarities and differences shared among groups; and

Dichotomous Keys
Human Evolution - Skull Analysis

4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of metabolic processes, energy conversions, and interactions and functions of systems in organisms.

4.B.9: The student knows the significance of various molecules involved in metabolic processes and energy conversions that occur in living organisms.

4.B.9.B: compare the reactants and products of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in terms of energy and matter; and

Cell Energy Cycle

4.B.11: The student knows that biological systems work to achieve and maintain balance.

4.B.11.A: describe the role of internal feedback mechanisms in the maintenance of homeostasis.

Human Homeostasis
Paramecium Homeostasis

5: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the interdependence and interactions that occur within an environmental system and their significance.

5.B.11: The student knows that biological systems work to achieve and maintain balance.

5.B.11.B: investigate and analyze how organisms, populations, and communities respond to external factors;

Human Homeostasis

5.B.12: The student knows that interdependence and interactions occur within an environmental system.

5.B.12.A: interpret relationships, including predation, parasitism, commensalism, mutualism, and competition among organisms;

Food Chain

5.B.12.B: compare variations and adaptations of organisms in different ecosystems;

Food Chain

5.B.12.C: analyze the flow of matter and energy through trophic levels using various models, including food chains, food webs, and ecological pyramids;

Food Chain
Forest Ecosystem

5.B.12.D: recognize that long-term survival of species is dependent on changing resource bases that are limited;

Rainfall and Bird Beaks

5.B.12.E: describe the flow of matter through the carbon and nitrogen cycles and explain the consequences of disrupting these cycles; and

Carbon Cycle
Cell Energy Cycle

6: These skills will not be listed under a separate reporting category. Instead, they will be incorporated into at least 40% of the test questions from reporting categories 1?5 and will be identified along with content standards.

6.B.2: The student uses scientific methods and equipment during laboratory and field investigations.

6.B.2.B: know that hypotheses are tentative and testable statements that must be capable of being supported or not supported by observational evidence. Hypotheses of durable explanatory power which have been tested over a wide variety of conditions are incorporated into theories;

Effect of Temperature on Gender

6.B.2.E: plan and implement descriptive, comparative, and experimental investigations, including asking questions, formulating testable hypotheses, and selecting equipment and technology;

Pendulum Clock
Real-Time Histogram
Sight vs. Sound Reactions

6.B.2.G: analyze, evaluate, make inferences, and predict trends from data; and

Effect of Environment on New Life Form
Pendulum Clock