Key Idea 1: Living things are both similar to and different from each other and from nonliving things.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.1: Explain how diversity of populations within ecosystems relates to the stability of ecosystems.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.1a: Populations can be categorized by the function they serve. Food webs identify the relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers carrying out either autotropic or heterotropic nutrition.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.1b: An ecosystem is shaped by the nonliving environment as well as its interacting species. The world contains a wide diversity of physical conditions, which creates a variety of environments.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.1c: In all environments, organisms compete for vital resources. The linked and changing interactions of populations and the environment compose the total ecosystem.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.1d: The interdependence of organisms in an established ecosystem often results in approximate stability over hundreds and thousands of years. For example, as one population increases, it is held in check by one or more environmental factors or another species.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.1f: Every population is linked, directly or indirectly, with many others in an ecosystem. Disruptions in the numbers and types of species and environmental changes can upset ecosystem stability.

Key Idea 5: Organisms maintain a dynamic equilibrium that sustains life.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 5.1: Explain the basic biochemical processes in living organisms and their importance in maintaining dynamic equilibrium.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.1a: The energy for life comes primarily from the Sun. Photosynthesis provides a vital connection between the Sun and the energy needs of living systems.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.1b: Plant cells and some one-celled organisms contain chloroplasts, the site of photosynthesis. The process of photosynthesis uses solar energy to combine the inorganic molecules carbon dioxide and water into energy-rich organic compounds (e.g., glucose) and release oxygen to the environment.

Key Idea 6: Plants and animals depend on each other and their physical environment.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 6.1: Explain factors that limit growth of individuals and populations.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 6.1a: Energy flows through ecosystems in one direction, typically from the Sun, through photosynthetic organisms including green plants and algae, to herbivores to carnivores and decomposers.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 6.1b: The atoms and molecules on the Earth cycle among the living and nonliving components of the biosphere. For example, carbon dioxide and water molecules used in photosynthesis to form energy-rich organic compounds are returned to the environment when the energy in these compounds is eventually released by cells. Continual input of energy from sunlight keeps the process going. This concept may be illustrated with an energy pyramid.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 6.1c: The chemical elements, such as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, that make up the molecules of living things pass through food webs and are combined and recombined in different ways. At each link in a food web, some energy is stored in newly made structures but much is dissipated into the environment as heat.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 6.3: Explain how the living and nonliving environments change over time and respond to disturbances.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 6.3a: The interrelationships and interdependencies of organisms affect the development of stable ecosystems.

KEY IDEA 1: The central purpose of scientific inquiry is to develop explanations of natural phenomena in a continuing and creative process

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.1: Elaborate on basic scientific and personal explanations of natural phenomena, and develop extended visual models and mathematical formulations to represent one's thinking.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.2: Hone ideas through reasoning, library research, and discussion with others, including experts

KEY IDEA 3: The observations made while testing proposed explanations, when analyzed using conventional and invented methods, provide new insights into natural phenomena.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 3.1: Use various methods of representing and organizing observations (e.g. diagrams, tables, charts, graphs, equations matrices) and insightfully interpret the organized data

Follows safety rules in the laboratory

Selects and uses correct instruments: Uses graduated cylinders to measure volume

Makes observations of biological processes

Follows directions to correctly use and interpret chemical indicators

Collects, organizes, and analyzes data, using a computer and/or other laboratory equipment

Organizes data through the use of data tables and graphs

Reading: Key Ideas and Details

Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text’s explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.

Reading: Key Ideas and Details

Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks attending to special cases or exceptions defined in the text. 

Reading: Craft and Structure

Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 9–10 texts and topics.

Reading: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.

Reading: Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and proficiently

Writing: Range of Writing

Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.