Life Sciences, Investigation and Experimentation, and Earth Sciences when applicable to Life Sciences.

California State Science Content Standards for Life Science
Selections by Henrik Kibak for BIOL 305

Life Sciences

Different types of plants and animals inhabit the earth. As a basis for understanding this concept:

Students know how to observe and describe similarities and differences in the appearance and behavior of plants and animals (e.g., seed-bearing plants, birds, fish, insects).

Students know stories sometimes give plants and animals attributes they do not really have.

Students know how to identify major structures of common plants and animals (e.g., stems, leaves, roots, arms, wings, legs).

Investigation and Experimentation

Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

Observe common objects by using the five senses.

Describe the properties of common objects.

Describe the relative position of objects by using one reference (e.g., above or below).

Compare and sort common objects by one physical attribute (e.g., color, shape, texture, size, weight).

Communicate observations orally and through drawings.

Life Sciences

Plants and animals meet their needs in different ways. As a basis for understanding this concept:

Students know different plants and animals inhabit different kinds of environments and have external features that help them thrive in different kinds of places.

Students know both plants and animals need water, animals need food, and plants need light.

Students know animals eat plants or other animals for food and may also use plants or even other animals for shelter and nesting.

Students know how to infer what animals eat from the shapes of their teeth (e.g., sharp teeth: eats meat; flat teeth: eats plants).

Students know roots are associated with the intake of water and soil nutrients and green leaves are associated with making food from sunlight.

Investigation and Experimentation

Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

Draw pictures that portray some features of the thing being described.

Record observations and data with pictures, numbers, or written statements.

Record observations on a bar graph.

Describe the relative position of objects by using two references (e.g., above and next to, below and left of).

Make new observations when discrepancies exist between two descriptions of the same object or phenomenon.

Life Sciences

Plants and animals have predictable life cycles. As a basis for understanding this concept:

Students know that organisms reproduce offspring of their own kind and that the offspring resemble their parents and one another.

Students know the sequential stages of life cycles are different for different animals, such as butterflies, frogs, and mice.

Students know many characteristics of an organism are inherited from the parents. Some characteristics are caused or influenced by the environment.

Students know there is variation among individuals of one kind within a population.

Students know light, gravity, touch, or environmental stress can affect the germination, growth, and development of plants.

Students know flowers and fruits are associated with reproduction in plants.

Students know that soil is made partly from weathered rock and partly from organic materials and that soils differ in their color, texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to support the growth of many kinds of plants.

Students know that fossils provide evidence about the plants and animals that lived long ago and that scientists learn about the past history of Earth by studying fossils.

Students know rock, water, plants, and soil provide many resources, including food, fuel, and building materials, that humans use.

Investigation and Experimentation

Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

Make predictions based on observed patterns and not random guessing.

Measure length, weight, temperature, and liquid volume with appropriate tools and express those measurements in standard metric system units.

Compare and sort common objects according to two or more physical attributes (e.g., color, shape, texture, size, weight).

Write or draw descriptions of a sequence of steps, events, and observations.

Construct bar graphs to record data, using appropriately labeled axes.

Use magnifiers or microscopes to observe and draw descriptions of small objects or small features of objects.

Follow oral instructions for a scientific investigation.

Life Sciences

Adaptations in physical structure or behavior may improve an organismís chance for survival. As a basis for understanding this concept:

Students know plants and animals have structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.

Students know examples of diverse life forms in different environments, such as oceans, deserts, tundra, forests, grasslands, and wetlands.

Students know living things cause changes in the environment in which they live: some of these changes are detrimental to the organism or other organisms, and some are beneficial.

Students know when the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or move to new locations.

Students know that some kinds of organisms that once lived on Earth have completely disappeared and that some of those resembled others that are alive today.

Investigation and Experimentation

Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

Repeat observations to improve accuracy and know that the results of similar scientific investigations seldom turn out exactly the same because of differences in the things being investigated, methods being used, or uncertainty in the observation.

Differentiate evidence from opinion and know that scientists do not rely on claims or conclusions unless they are backed by observations that can be confirmed.

Use numerical data in describing and comparing objects, events, and measurements.

Predict the outcome of a simple investigation and compare the result with the prediction.

Collect data in an investigation and analyze those data to develop a logical conclusion.

Life Sciences

All organisms need energy and matter to live and grow. As a basis for understanding this concept:

Students know plants are the primary source of matter and energy entering most food chains.

Students know producers and consumers (herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and decomposers) are related in food chains and food webs and may compete with each other for resources in an ecosystem.

Students know decomposers, including many fungi, insects, and microorganisms, recycle matter from dead plants and animals.

Living organisms depend on one another and on their environment for survival. As a basis for understanding this concept:

Students know ecosystems can be characterized by their living and nonliving components.

Students know that in any particular environment, some kinds of plants and animals survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.

Students know many plants depend on animals for pollination and seed dispersal, and animals depend on plants for food and shelter.

Students know that most microorganisms do not cause disease and that many are beneficial.

Investigation and Experimentation

Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

Differentiate observation from inference (interpretation) and know scientistsí explanations come partly from what they observe and partly from how they interpret their observations.

Measure and estimate the weight, length, or volume of objects.

Formulate and justify predictions based on cause-and-effect relationships.

Conduct multiple trials to test a prediction and draw conclusions about the relationships between predictions and results.

Construct and interpret graphs from measurements.

Follow a set of written instructions for a scientific investigation.

Students know living organisms and most materials are composed of just a few elements.

Students know the common properties of salts, such as sodium chloride (NaCl).

Life Sciences

2. Plants and animals have structures for respiration, digestion, waste disposal, and transport of materials. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know many multicellular organisms have specialized structures to supportthe transport of materials.

b. Students know how blood circulates through the heart chambers, lungs, and bodyand how carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2) are exchanged in the lungs andtissues.

c. Students know the sequential steps of digestion and the roles of teeth and the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and colon in thefunction of the digestive system.

d. Students know the role of the kidney in removing cellular waste from blood and converting it into urine, which is stored in the bladder.

e. Students know how sugar, water, and minerals are transported in a vascular plant.

f. Students know plants use carbon dioxide (CO2) and energy from sunlight to build molecules of sugar and release oxygen.

g. Students know plant and animal cells break down sugar to obtain energy, a process resulting in carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (respiration).

Investigation and Experimentation

Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

Classify objects (e.g., rocks, plants, leaves) in accordance with appropriate criteria.

Develop a testable question.

Plan and conduct a simple investigation based on a student-developed question and write instructions others can follow to carry out the procedure.

Identify the dependent and controlled variables in an investigation.

Identify a single independent variable in a scientific investigation and explain how this variable can be used to collect information to answer a question about the results of the experiment.

Select appropriate tools (e.g., thermometers, meter sticks, balances, and graduated cylinders) and make quantitative observations.

Record data by using appropriate graphic representations (including charts, graphs, and labeled diagrams) and make inferences based on those data.

Draw conclusions from scientific evidence and indicate whether further information is needed to support a specific conclusion.

Write a report of an investigation that includes conducting tests, collecting data or examining evidence, and drawing conclusions.

Ecology (Life Science)

Organisms in ecosystems exchange energy and nutrients among themselves and with the environment. As a basis for understanding this concept:

Students know energy entering ecosystems as sunlight is transferred by producers into chemical energy through photosynthesis and then from organism to organism through food webs.

Students know matter is transferred over time from one organism to others in the food web and between organisms and the physical environment.

Students know populations of organisms can be categorized by the functions they serve in an ecosystem.

Students know different kinds of organisms may play similar ecological roles in

similar biomes.

Students know the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available and on abiotic factors, such as quantities of light and water, a range of temperatures, and soil composition.

Investigation and Experimentation

7. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

a. Develop a hypothesis.

b. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (including calculators, computers, balances, spring scales, microscopes, and binoculars) to perform tests, collect data, and display data.

c. Construct appropriate graphs from data and develop qualitative statements about the relationships between variables.

d. Communicate the steps and results from an investigation in written reports and oral presentations.

e. Recognize whether evidence is consistent with a proposed explanation.

f. Read a topographic map and a geologic map for evidence provided on the maps and construct and interpret a simple scale map.

g. Interpret events by sequence and time from natural phenomena (e.g., the relative ages of rocks and intrusions).

h. Identify changes in natural phenomena over time without manipulating the phenomena (e.g., a tree limb, a grove of trees, a stream, a hillslope).

rade Seven

Focus on Life Science

Cell Biology

1. All living organisms are composed of cells, from just one to many trillions, whose details usually are visible only through a microscope. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know cells function similarly in all living organisms.

b. Students know the characteristics that distinguish plant cells from animal cells, including chloroplasts and cell walls.

c. Students know the nucleus is the repository for genetic information in plant and animal cells.

d. Students know that mitochondria liberate energy for the work that cells do and that chloroplasts capture sunlight energy for photosynthesis.

e. Students know cells divide to increase their numbers through a process of mitosis, which results in two daughter cells with identical sets of chromosomes.

f. Students know that as multicellular organisms develop, their cells differentiate.

Genetics

2. A typical cell of any organism contains genetic instructions that specify its traits. Those traits may be modified by environmental influences. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know the differences between the life cycles and reproduction methods of sexual and asexual organisms.

b. Students know sexual reproduction produces offspring that inherit half their genes from each parent.

c. Students know an inherited trait can be determined by one or more genes.

d. Students know plant and animal cells contain many thousands of different genes and typically have two copies of every gene. The two copies (or alleles) of the gene may or may not be identical, and one may be dominant in determining the phenotype while the other is recessive.

e. Students know DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the genetic material of living organisms and is located in the chromosomes of each cell.

Evolution

3. Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know both genetic variation and environmental factors are causes of evolution and diversity of organisms.

b. Students know the reasoning used by Charles Darwin in reaching his conclusion that natural selection is the mechanism of evolution.

c. Students know how independent lines of evidence from geology, fossils, and comparative anatomy provide the bases for the theory of evolution.

d. Students know how to construct a simple branching diagram to classify living groups of organisms by shared derived characteristics and how to expand the diagram to include fossil organisms.

e. Students know that extinction of a species occurs when the environment changes and that the adaptive characteristics of a species are insufficient for its survival.

Earth and Life History (Earth Science)

4. Evidence from rocks allows us to understand the evolution of life on Earth. As a basis for understanding this concept:

e. Students know fossils provide evidence of how life and environmental conditions have changed.

f. Students know how movements of Earthís continental and oceanic plates through time, with associated changes in climate and geographic connections, have affected the past and present distribution of organisms.

g. Students know how to explain significant developments and extinctions of plant and animal life on the geologic time scale.

Structure and Function in Living Systems

5. The anatomy and physiology of plants and animals illustrate the complementary nature of structure and function. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know plants and animals have levels of organization for structure and function, including cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, and the whole organism.

b. Students know organ systems function because of the contributions of individual organs, tissues, and cells. The failure of any part can affect the entire system.

c. Students know how bones and muscles work together to provide a structural framework for movement.

d. Students know how the reproductive organs of the human female and male generate eggs and sperm and how sexual activity may lead to fertilization and pregnancy.

e. Students know the function of the umbilicus and placenta during pregnancy.

f. Students know the structures and processes by which flowering plants generate pollen, ovules, seeds, and fruit.

g. Students know how to relate the structures of the eye and ear to their functions.

Investigation and Experimentation

7. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

a. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (including calculators, computers, balances, spring scales, microscopes, and binoculars) to perform tests, collect data, and display data.

b. Use a variety of print and electronic resources (including the World Wide Web) to collect information and evidence as part of a research project.

c. Communicate the logical connection among hypotheses, science concepts, tests conducted, data collected, and conclusions drawn from the scientific evidence.

d. Construct scale models, maps, and appropriately labeled diagrams to communicate scientific knowledge (e.g., motion of Earthís plates and cell structure).

e. Communicate the steps and results from an investigation in written reports and oral presentations.

Reactions

5. Chemical reactions are processes in which atoms are rearranged into different combinations of molecules. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know reactant atoms and molecules interact to form products with different chemical properties.

b. Students know the idea of atoms explains the conservation of matter: In chemical reactions the number of atoms stays the same no matter how they are arranged, so their total mass stays the same.

c. Students know chemical reactions usually liberate heat or absorb heat.

d. Students know physical processes include freezing and boiling, in which a material changes form with no chemical reaction.

e. Students know how to determine whether a solution is acidic, basic, or neutral.

Chemistry of Living Systems (Life Science)

6. Principles of chemistry underlie the functioning of biological systems. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know that carbon, because of its ability to combine in many ways with itself and other elements, has a central role in the chemistry of living organisms.

b. Students know that living organisms are made of molecules consisting largely of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur.

c. Students know that living organisms have many different kinds of molecules, including small ones, such as water and salt, and very large ones, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and DNA.

Periodic Table

7. The organization of the periodic table is based on the properties of the elements and reflects the structure of atoms. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know how to identify regions corresponding to metals, nonmetals, and inert gases.

b. Students know each element has a specific number of protons in the nucleus (the atomic number) and each isotope of the element has a different but specific number of neutrons in the nucleus.

c. Students know substances can be classified by their properties, including their melting temperature, density, hardness, and thermal and electrical conductivity.

Density and Buoyancy

8. All objects experience a buoyant force when immersed in a fluid. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know density is mass per unit volume.

b. Students know how to calculate the density of substances (regular and irregular solids and liquids) from measurements of mass and volume.

c. Students know the buoyant force on an object in a fluid is an upward force equal to the weight of the fluid the object has displaced.

d. Students know how to predict whether an object will float or sink.

Investigation and Experimentation

9. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations.

Students will:

a. Plan and conduct a scientific investigation to test a hypothesis.

b. Evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of data.

c. Distinguish between variable and controlled parameters in a test.

d. Recognize the slope of the linear graph as the constant in the relationship y  =  kx and apply this principle in interpreting graphs constructed from data.

e. Construct appropriate graphs from data and develop quantitative statements about the relationships between variables.

f. Apply simple mathematic relationships to determine a missing quantity in a mathematic expression, given the two remaining terms (including speed = distance/time, density = mass/volume, force = pressure ¥ area, volume = area ¥ height).

g. Distinguish between linear and nonlinear relationships on a graph of data.