1. Investigation and Experimentation

Understand: that scientific progress is made by asking

meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations.

Students develop their own questions and perform investigations.

1.1 Students will communicate the logical connection among and between hypothesis and science concepts,

from tests conducted, data collected and organized, and conclusions drawn from the scientific evidence.

1.2 Select&Use Tools and Technology: calculator, computer, balance, spring scale, microscope, binoculars &

equipment to perform experiments & collect data for display using models, maps and labeled diagrams.

1.3 Utilize print, electronic resources, and the World Wide Web for researching and collecting information.

1.4 Demonstrate proper and safe handling of laboratory chemicals and proper use of laboratory equipment.

2. Characteristics of Living Things

Explain: living organisms exhibit certain characteristics

that distinguish them from non-living systems,

and that living organisms are classified

according to observable physical

characteristics.

2.1 Students will understand that all living things are characterized by the fact that they are made of cells –

and that they all can: metabolize energy from food, reproduce offspring, respond to stimuli, and grow

2.2 Classify all known living things into 6 kingdoms. Give examples of identification by genus and species.

3. Cells

Demonstrate and explain

that all living organisms are composed of one or more cells,

whose details usually are visible only

through a microscope.

3.1 Students will understand that the cell is the basic unit of life and cells only come from pre-existing cells.

Understand that organisms are unicellular, or multicellular which develop when their cells differentiate.

3.2 Describe the levels of organization in living things. Relate each structure, at each level, to their function:

cells make tissues, that make organs, that make organ systems, that make organisms, in the environment.

3.3 Explain that all cells have similar structures: cell membrane, cytoplasm, ribosomes and DNA molecules.

Identify structures through a microscope and describe their function: include nucleus and mitochondria.

3.4 All cells perform respiration. Analyze those structures that distinguish all plant cells from an animal cell:

a vacuole, cell wall and chloroplasts containing chlorophyll so plants can make food by photosynthesis.

4. Genetics

Understand that

a typical cell of any organism

contains genetic instructions

that specify its traits.

4.1 Compare and contrast: mitosis- asexual reproduction makes cells with chromosomes identical the parent,

with meiosis- sexual reproduction where each offspring inherits one half of their genes from each parent

resulting in genetic variation. Describe each structure in plants and animals that carry out reproduction.

4.2 Understand that DNA, the genetic material of all organisms, is in the chromosomes of every cell. All cells

contain the genetic instructions, called genes, that determine each of the traits of cells and / or organisms.

4.3 Explain that each cell contains thousands of genes. Each gene typically has two copies called alleles that

may or may not be the same because one allele came from the mother and the other came from the father.

Using a Punnett Square, demonstrate how a dominant allele may determine a trait if the one is recessive.

5. Life on Earth

Evidence from rocks and

fossils, allow us to understand

a theory of evolution.

5.1 Students will understand that Earth processes today, are similar to those that have occurred through time.

Slow geologic processes, such as plate tectonics, have large cumulative effects over long periods of time.

5.2 Describe how the geologic layers provide evidence for the relative age of rocks or fossils. Relative dating

allows us to infer the relative age of a fossil, if the age of the layer where the fossil came from is known.

The absolute age of a fossil, and even the Earth, is determined by radioactive dating which indicate that

Earth is approximately 4.6 x 10⁹ years old, and that life may have existed for more than 3.0 x 10⁹ years.

Compare Earth’s four major geologic eras in history to explain how life seems to have changed over time

due to asteroid impacts, volcanic activity, cyclic comet impacts, Earth’s changing axis, mass extinctions,

and, relevant to the impact of modern humans, environmental conditions arising from industrialization.

5.3 Explain how Darwin used his evidence and a variety of others, to develop the theory of natural selection.

The five principles of natural selection may explain some biological changes of some species over time.