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 1.2b: Humans are complex organisms. They require multiple systems for digestion, respiration, reproduction, circulation, excretion, movement, coordination, and immunity. The systems interact to perform the life functions.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.2c: The components of the human body, from organ systems to cell organelles, interact to maintain a balanced internal environment. To successfully accomplish this, organisms possess a diversity of control mechanisms that detect deviations and make corrective actions.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.2d: If there is a disruption in any human system, there may be a corresponding imbalance in homeostasis.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.2e: The organs and systems of the body help to provide all the cells with their basic needs. The cells of the body are of different kinds and are grouped in ways that enhance how they function together.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.2f: Cells have particular structures that perform specific jobs. These structures perform the actual work of the cell. Just as systems are coordinated and work together, cell parts must also be coordinated and work together.

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 1.2i: Inside the cell a variety of specialized structures, formed from many different molecules, carry out the transport of materials (cytoplasm), extraction of energy from nutrients (mitochondria), protein building (ribosomes), waste disposal (cell membrane), storage (vacuole), and information storage (nucleus).

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.2j: Receptor molecules play an important role in the interactions between cells. Two primary agents of cellular communication are hormones and chemicals produced by nerve cells. If nerve or hormone signals are blocked, cellular communication is disrupted and the organism’s stability is affected.

Key Idea 3: Individual organisms and species change over time.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 3.1: Explain the mechanisms and patterns of evolution.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 3.1b: New inheritable characteristics can result from new combinations of existing genes or from mutations of genes in reproductive cells.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 3.1d: Mutations occur as random chance events. Gene mutations can also be caused by such agents as radiation and chemicals. When they occur in sex cells, the mutations can be passed on to offspring; if they occur in other cells, they can be passed on to other body cells only.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 3.1g: Some characteristics give individuals an advantage over others in surviving and reproducing, and the advantaged offspring, in turn, are more likely than others to survive and reproduce. The proportion of individuals that have advantageous characteristics will increase.

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 5.1c: In all organisms, organic compounds can be used to assemble other molecules such as proteins, DNA, starch, and fats. The chemical energy stored in bonds can be used as a source of energy for life processes.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.1d: In all organisms, the energy stored in organic molecules may be released during cellular respiration. This energy is temporarily stored in ATP molecules. In many organisms, the process of cellular respiration is concluded in mitochondria, in which ATP is produced more efficiently, oxygen is used, and carbon dioxide and water are released as wastes.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.1e: The energy from ATP is used by the organism to obtain, transform, and transport materials, and to eliminate wastes.

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.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 5.2: Explain disease as a failure of homeostasis.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2a: Homeostasis in an organism is constantly threatened. Failure to respond effectively can result in disease or death.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2b: Viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other parasites may infect plants and animals and interfere with normal life functions.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2c: The immune system protects against antigens associated with pathogenic organisms or foreign substances and some cancer cells.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2d: Some white blood cells engulf invaders. Others produce antibodies that attack them or mark them for killing. Some specialized white blood cells will remain, able to fight off subsequent invaders of the same kind.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2e: Vaccinations use weakened microbes (or parts of them) to stimulate the immune system to react. This reaction prepares the body to fight subsequent invasions by the same microbes.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2f: Some viral diseases, such as AIDS, damage the immune system, leaving the body unable to deal with multiple infectious agents and cancerous cells.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2g: Some allergic reactions are caused by the body’s immune responses to usually harmless environmental substances. Sometimes the immune system may attack some of the body’s own cells or transplanted organs.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2h: Disease may also be caused by inheritance, toxic substances, poor nutrition, organ malfunction, and some personal behavior. Some effects show up right away; others may not show up for many years.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2i: Gene mutations in a cell can result in uncontrolled cell division, called cancer. Exposure of cells to certain chemicals and radiation increases mutations and thus increases the chance of cancer.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2j: Biological research generates knowledge used to design ways of diagnosing, preventing, treating, controlling, or curing diseases of plants and animals.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 5.3: Relate processes at the system level to the cellular level in order to explain dynamic equilibrium in multicelled organisms.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.3a: Dynamic equilibrium results from detection of and response to stimuli. Organisms detect and respond to change in a variety of ways both at the cellular level and at the organismal level.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.3b: Feedback mechanisms have evolved that maintain homeostasis. Examples include the changes in heart rate or respiratory rate in response to increased activity in muscle cells, the maintenance of blood sugar levels by insulin from the pancreas, and the changes in openings in the leaves of plants by guard cells to regulate water loss and gas exchange.

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 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

Uses a compound microscope/stereoscope effectively to see specimens clearly, using different magnifications: Compares relative sizes of cells and organelles

Makes observations of biological processes

Follows directions to correctly use and interpret chemical indicators

States an appropriate hypothesis

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

Reading: Key Ideas and Details

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.

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: Craft and Structure

Analyze the structure of the relationships among concepts in a text, including relationships among key terms (e.g., force, friction, reaction force, energy). 

Reading: Craft and Structure

Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.

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

Writing: Production and Distribution of Writing

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Writing: Production and Distribution of Writing

Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

Writing: Production and Distribution of Writing

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

Writing: Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Writing: Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

Writing: Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

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.