High School (9-12)

Construct an explanation of the Big Bang theory based on astronomical evidence of light spectra, motion of distant galaxies, and composition of matter in the universe.

Performance Expectation

Grade:  High School (9-12)
Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation.

Performance Expectation

Grade:  High School (9-12)
Create or revise a simulation to test a solution to mitigate adverse impacts of human activity on biodiversity.*

Performance Expectation

Grade:  High School (9-12)
Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species.

Performance Expectation

Grade:  High School (9-12)
Construct an explanation based on evidence for how natural selection leads to adaptation of populations.

Performance Expectation

Grade:  High School (9-12)
Apply concepts of statistics and probability to support explanations that organisms with an advantageous heritable trait tend to increase in proportion to organisms lacking this trait.

Performance Expectation

Grade:  High School (9-12)
Construct an explanation based on evidence that the process of evolution primarily results from four factors: (1) the potential for a species to increase in number, (2) the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction, (3) competition for limited resources, and (4) the proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment.

Performance Expectation

Grade:  High School (9-12)
Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.

Performance Expectation

Grade:  High School (9-12)
Apply concepts of statistics and probability to explain the variation and distribution of expressed traits in a population.

Performance Expectation

Grade:  High School (9-12)
Make and defend a claim based on evidence that inheritable genetic variations may result from (1) new genetic combinations through meiosis, (2) viable errors occurring during replication, and/or (3) mutations caused by environmental factors.

Performance Expectation

Grade:  High School (9-12)