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

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.2: Describe and explain the structures and functions of the human body at different organizational levels (e.g., systems, tissues, cells, organelles).

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.2h: Many organic and inorganic substances dissolved in cells allow necessary chemical reactions to take place in order to maintain life. Large organic food molecules such as proteins and starches must initially be broken down (digested to amino acids and simple sugars respectively), in order to enter cells. Once nutrients enter a cell, the cell will use them as building blocks in the synthesis of compounds necessary for life.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.1f: Biochemical processes, both breakdown and synthesis, are made possible by a large set of biological catalysts called enzymes. Enzymes can affect the rates of chemical change. The rate at which enzymes work can be influenced by internal environmental factors such as pH and temperature.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.1g: Enzymes and other molecules, such as hormones, receptor molecules, and antibodies, have specific shapes that influence both how they function and how they interact with other molecules.

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

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

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.3: Work towards reconciling competing explanations; clarify points of agreement and disagreement

KEY IDEA 2: Beyond the use of reasoning and consensus, scientific inquiry involves the testing of proposed explanations involving the use of conventional techniques and procedures and usually requiring considerable ingenuity

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 2.1: Devise ways of making observations to test proposed explanations

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 2.2: Refine research ideas through library investigations, including electronic information retrieval and reviews of the literature, and through peer feedback obtained from review and discussion.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 2.3: Develop and present proposals including formal hypotheses to test explanations; i.e., predict what should be observed under specific conditions if the explanation is true.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 2.4: Carry out a research plan for testing explanations, including selecting and developing techniques, acquiring and building apparatus, and recording observations as necessary.

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

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 3.2: Apply statistical anaysis techniques when appropriate to test if chance alone explains the results

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 3.3: Assess correspondence between the predicted result contained in the hypothesis and actual result, and reach a conclusion as to whether the explanation on which the prediction was based is supported

Follows safety rules in the laboratory

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

Selects and uses correct instruments: Uses thermometer to measure temperature

Makes observations of biological processes

Designs and carries out a controlled, scientific experiment based on biological processes

States an appropriate hypothesis

Differentiates between independent and dependent variables

Identifies the control group and/or controlled variables

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

Organizes data through the use of data tables and graphs

Analyzes results from observations/expressed data

Formulates an appropriate conclusion or generalization from the results of an experiment

Recognizes assumptions and limitations of the experiment

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: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Compare and contrast findings presented in a text to those from other sources (including their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict previous explanations or accounts.

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

Reading: Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11–12 text complexity band independently and proficiently.