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Real-World Examples:
Extract DNA from strawberries and use microscopes to look at the double-helix
structure of the DNA.
Explain why some students can taste Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and other
students cannot.
Discuss the inheritance patterns seen in pedigrees for the inheritance of dimples,
unibrows, and Hemophilia.
Discuss the helpful, harmful and neutral mutations seen in plants and animals
(i.e. bacteria, mouse, pig, dog, gorilla, red blood cell, orange, daisy).
Model helpful, harmful and neutral mutations using a platypus puppet and
scientific inquiry.
MS-LS4-4.
Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic
variations of traits in a population increasesome individuals probability of
surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.
MS-LS4-5.
Gather and synthesize information about the technologies that have changed the
way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.
MS-LS4-6.
Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural
selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations
over time.
Big Ideas:
Evolution explains the similarities and differences among species and suggests
that all species are related through ancestry (MS-LS4-2; MS-LS4-3). For example, there
are similarities in the development of embryos across multiple species that show the
relatedness of various species, not seen in the fully-formed anatomy. The process of
natural selection acting on populations is the main driving force of evolution. Although
individuals in a population share many similarities, they vary in their genetic information
due to random mutations in DNA, which leads to a range of traits in the population.
In any particular environment individuals with particular traits may be more likely
than others to survive and produce offspring. This process is called natural selection
and may lead to the predominance of certain inherited traits in a population and the
suppression of others (MS-LS4-6). Natural selection occurs only if there is variation in
the heritable genetic information within a population that is expressed in traits that lead
to differences in survival and reproductive ability among individuals under specific
environmental conditions. If the trait differences do not affect reproductive success, then
natural selection will not favor one trait over others (MS-LS4-4).
Natural selection can lead to adaptation, that is, to a distribution of traits in the
population that is matched to and can change with environmental conditions. Such
adaptations can eventually lead to the development of separate species in separated
populations (p. 141). In some cases, however, traits that are adaptive to the changed
environment do not exist in the population and the species becomes extinct (p.165).
Adaption by natural selection is ongoing. For example it is seen in the emergence of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Organisms like bacteria, in which multiple generations
occur over shorter time spans, evolve more rapidly than those for which each
generation takes multiple years (p. 165). Humans influence the inheritance of desired
traits in organisms, using various forms of technology. Through processes called
artificial selection and genetic engineering, humans can change the genetic outcomes
through genetic modification, gene therapy, and selective breeding (MS-LS4-5).
Real-World Examples:
Explain how modern-day organisms have been domesticated over thousands of
years through artificial selection.
Analyze and explain the advantages and disadvantages of gene therapy.
Develop a scientific explanation, with evidence, in support of or against using
human technology to genetically modify the food we consume everyday.
Explain how genetic variation in a bunny population causes some individuals to be
more likely to survive and reproduce.
Explain the relationship between an organisms environment and its ability to
survive and reproduce, using Peppered moths as your evidence.
Compare embryological similarities across multiple species of organisms.
Find similarities and differences between modern organisms and extinct organisms
in the fossil record.
There are laws of physics that dictate how and why an object moves. The motion
of objects can be explained by Newtons three laws of motion. Newtons laws of motion
describe how forces are exerted on objects and the nature of the objects motion as a
result of these forces. A force is a push or pull acting on an object. Forces can
sometimes be seen and other times, you dont see forces. Forces always come in pairs.
Also, objects exert forces on each other. Forces can cause an object to start moving,
stop moving or change direction. The motion of the object depends on the net force on
the object. If the net force is greater than zero, the force is unbalanced, producing a
change in motion. Unbalanced forces can cause an unmoving object to start moving or
cause a moving object to change direction. If the net force on the object is equal to zero,
the object is balanced and there will be no change in motion (MS-PS-2).
Newtons first law of motion states that an object in motion will stay in motion or
an object at rest will stay at rest, unless acted on by an outside unbalanced force.
Newtons second law of motion states that the force of an object is determined by the
objects mass and acceleration, using the formula: F=ma. Newtons third law of motion
states that two colliding objects will exert an equal amount of force on each other, in
opposite directions (MS-PS2-1; MS-PS2-2). The Newtonian laws of motion are applied
and demonstrated in the engineering design process in constructing things like bridges,
buildings and machines.
There are also magnetic, electromagnetic and gravitational forces that act on
interacting objects. Electric and magnetic (electromagnetic) forces can be either
attractive or repulsive and their magnitude depend on the charges, current and
magnetic strengths involved, as well as the distance between the two interacting objects
(MS-PS2-3). In the same way, gravity is also an attractive force between two objects
and the magnitude depends on the distance between two interacting objects and the
mass of each object (MS-PS2-4). These forces can be felt by objects, because of the
fields surrounding objects, even though the interacting objects may not be in contact
with one another (MS-PS2-5).
Real-World Examples:
Explain why a 2-ton truck and a 1400 pound car collide with the same force, using
Newtons third law as your scientific reasoning.
Investigate the differences in the motion of a small marble and a more massive golf
ball and explain why the inertia for each of the two objects differs.
Construct an electromagnet and investigate how to increase and decrease the
strength of the electromagnet, using batteries and copper wire.
Explain where magnetic fields are strongest, using the shape and formation of the
magnetic field lines as your evidence.
Construct a Rube Goldberg machine that demonstrates the three laws of motion
and incorporates magnetic forces to the machines sequence of events.