Biodiversity

Pre-K-2
Students describe similarities and differences in the observable behaviors, features, and needs of plants and animals.

a. Describe similarities and differences in the way plants and animals look and the things that they do. b. Describe some features of plants and animals that help them live in different environments. c. Describe how organisms change during their lifetime.

3-5
Students compare living things based on their behaviors, external features, and environmental needs.

a. Describe how living things can be sorted in many ways, depending on which features or behaviors are used to sort them, and apply this understanding to sort living things. b. Describe the changes in external features and behaviors of an organism during its life cycle.

6-8
Students differentiate among organisms based on biological characteristics and identify patterns of similarity.

a. Compare physical characteristics that differentiate organisms into groups (including plants that use sunlight to make their own food, animals that consume energy-rich food, and organisms that cannot easily be classified as either). b. Explain how biologists use internal and external anatomical features to determine relatedness among organisms and to form the basis for classification systems. c. Explain ways to determine whether organisms are the same species. d. Describe how external and internal structures of animals and plants contribute to the variety of ways organisms are able to find food and reproduce.

9-Diploma
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.