MLR+PEI's


 * E. **__**The Living Environment: **__ **Students understand that cells are the basic unit of life, that all life as we know it has evolved through genetic transfer and natural selection to create a great diversity of organisms, and that these organisms create interdependent webs through which ma tter and energy flow. Students understand similarities and differences between humans and other organisms and the interconnections of these interdependent webs. **

**1. Biodiversity: **Students describe and analyze the evidence for relatedness among and within diverse populations of organisms and the importance of biodiversity **. a. Explain how the variation in structure and behavior of a population of organisms may influence the likelihood that some members of the species will have adaptations that allow them to survive in a changing environment. ** b. Describe the role of DNA sequences in determining the degree of kinship among organisms and the identification of species. c. Analyze the relatedness among organisms using structural and molecular evidence. d. Analyze the effects of changes in biodiversity and predict possible consequences.

** a. Explain why ecosystems can be reasonably stable over hundreds or thousands of years, even though populations may fluctuate. ** b. Describe dynamic equilibrium in ecosystems and factors that can, in the long run, lead to change in the normal pattern of cyclic fluctuations and apply that knowledge to actual situtations. ** c. Explain the concept of //carrying capacity// and list factors that determine the amount of life that any environment can support. d. Describe the critical role of photosynthesis and how energy and the chemical elements that make up molecules are transformed in ecosystems and obey basic conservation laws.
 * 2. Ecosystems: Students describe and analyze the interactions, cycles, and factors that affect short-term and long-term ecosystem stability and change.

 3. Cells: Students describe structure and function of cells at the intracellular and molecular level including differentiation to form //systems // , interactions between cells and their environment, and the impact of cellular processes and changes on individuals.  a. Describe the similarities and differences in the basic functions of cell membranes and of the specialized parts within cells that allow them to transport materials, capture and release energy, build proteins, dispose of waste, communicate, and move. b. Describe the relationship among DNA, protein molecules, and amino acids in carrying out the work of cells and how this is similar among all organisms. c. Describe the interactions that lead to cell growth and division (mitosis) and allow new cells to carry the same information as the original cell (meiosis). d. Describe ways in which cells can malfunction and put an organism at risk. e. Describe the role of regulation and the processes that maintain an internal environment amidst changes in the external environment. f. Describe the process of metabolism that allows a few key biomolecules to provide cells with necessary materials to perform their functions.

 **4. Heredity and Reproduction: Students examine the role of DNA in transferring traits from generation to generation, in differentiating cells, and in evolving new species.** a. Explain some of the effects of the sorting and recombination of genes in sexual reproduction. b. Describe genes as segments of DNA that contain instructions for the cells and include information that leads to the differentiation of cells. c. Explain how the instructions in DNA that lead to cell differentiation result in varied cell functions in the organism and DNA. d. Describe the possible causes and effects of gene mutations. 5. Evolution: Students describe the interactions between and among species, populations, and environments that lead to natural selection and evolution. ** a. Describe the premise of biological evolution, citing evidence from the fossil record and evidence based on the observation of similarities within the diversity of existing organisms. b. Describe the origins of life and how the concept of natural selection provides a mechanism for evolution that can be advantageous or disadvantageous to the next generation. c. Explain why some organisms may have characteristics that have no apparent survival or reproduction advantage. d. Relate structural and behavioral adaptations of an organism to its survival in the environment.
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