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Human population growth, globalization, and industrialization are having profound impacts on the long term health and stability of ecosystems, permanently altering the products of billions of years of evolutionary history on planet Earth. In this unit, students create plans to address the population decline of endangered species, gaining a greater understanding of how humans have altered ecosystems and what actions may be taken (including the use of biotechnology) to preserve biodiversity. Students create models and utilize simulations to gain a deeper understanding of large scale geological and biological processes.

The incidence of disease at different point in history, and in different communities, is affected by lifestyle, access to healthy infrastructure, emerging pathogens, and new treatments. In this unit students will explore both the disappearance of certain diseases thanks to antibiotics and vaccines (strep and polio for example), and the emergence or growth of other diseases (such as asthma and diabetes). As a part of this unit, students may review cellular processes such as cell division. Accessing data from maps, graphs, and other non-print texts and using that data to draw conclusions and ask further questions is a key component to this unit.

Examining the relationship between the Earth's interior and exterior systems is a key part of understanding how the Earth has developed over its history. In Unit 2, students will begin to make these connections as they gather evidence to develop a model of the Earth's interior, its internal processes, and resulting continental plate movements.

Energy flows and matter cycles among organisms, and between organisms and their environment, creating dynamic interconnected systems. In this unit, students learn about the biotic and abiotic factors in a river ecosystem, using the Hudson River as a case study. They then investigate the impact of an invasive species (zebra mussels) on this ecosystem, using teaching case materials created by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History.

In this unit students will analyze and create topographic maps of human cities as they consider how geographical features such as oceans, lakes, and mountains have influenced where humans have chosen to live. Students will also make predictions about how changes in the Earth's surface features that may take place?whether due to climate change or other factors?can influence the migration of human populations in the future.

Humans are complex organisms that maintain a narrow set of internal conditions through a system of feedback and communication mechanisms between multiple organ systems. In this unit, students will explore how body systems interact to effectively monitor and respond to both internal and external environmental changes. Students complete both Making Connections (a New York State required lab) and a human thermoregulation laboratory, both of which focus on skills of experimental design.

As human populations grow and continue to migrate across the Earth, it is important that we use our understanding of why and how natural disasters take place to identify which populations are most at risk, so that measures can be taken to minimize loss of life and property. In this unit students will revisit tectonic plate boundaries when they observe and analyze earthquake activity data associated with a range of fault lines across the globe. Students will then evaluate the risk of various natural disasters in New York City and learn about effective emergency preparedness.