Structure and Function in Living Systems

• Cells as the fundamental unit of life.
• Levels of organization in living systems for structure and functions, e.g., cells, organs, tissues, organ systems, whole organisms, and ecosystems.
• Life functions in cells.
• Specialized cells, tissues, and organs and their functions.

Reproduction and Heredity

• Reproduction as essential to a species.
• Sexual reproduction in plants and animals.
• Introduction to heredity.
• Genes, chromosomes, inherited human traits.
• Characteristics of an organism resulting from inheritance and from interactions with the environment.

Populations and Ecosystems

• Makeup of a population and an ecosystem.
• Producers, consumers, decomposers, food webs.
• Sunlight as the major source of energy.
• Limiting factors of biotic and abiotic resources.
• Population growth and decline.

Diversity and Adaptations of Organisms

• Similarity and diversity in living species.
• Biological diversity and adaptation.
• Species extinction, fossil evidence, rate of extinction.

Science As Inquiry

Abilities Necessary To Do Scientific Inquiry

• Ask questions that can be answered through scientific investigations.
• Design and conduct a scientific investigation.
• Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data.
• Use mathematics in all aspects of scientific inquiry.
• Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence.
• Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and predictions.
• Communicate scientific procedures and explanations.
• Think critically and logically to develop the relationship between evidence and explanation.

Understanding About Scientific Inquiry

• The relationship of the different types of questions to the kinds of scientific investigations.
• Effect of current scientific knowledge on scientific investigations. Different approaches used to advance knowledge.
• Value of technology in science.
• Importance of mathematics.
• Characteristics of scientific explanations. Process of displacement of ideas by better explanations.
• Value and practice skepticism, questioning, evaluation, and suggesting alternatives in making scientific advances.
• There are multiple outcomes to scientific investigations.

Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

Populations, Resources, and Environments

• Effects of overpopulation.
• Causes of environmental degradation and resource depletion

Risks and Benefits

• Risk analysis and use for reducing or eliminating risks.
• Risks associated with natural, chemical, biological, social, and personal hazards.
• Use of a systematic approach to thinking critically about risks and benefits.
• Basing decisions on perceptions of benefits and risks.

Science and Technology in Society

• Influences of science on society
• Influence of technology of society
• Contributions of science and technology to society.
• Variety of settings in which scientists and engineers work.
• Ethical codes for research involving humans.
• Limitations of science and technology in solving human problems.

History and Nature of Science

Science as a Human Endeavor

• Kinds of people engaged in science and engineering and ways they work.
• Human capacities and qualities required for science.

Nature of Science

• Normalcy of disagreement in areas of active research.
• Importance of evaluating results of scientific inquiry and of open communication among scientists.
• Importance of experimentation and observational confirmation in testing and changing ideas in science.

History of Science

• Value of studying the contributions of individuals.
• Value of looking at science in the history of many peoples.
• Challenges for innovators from historical perspectives.

Unifying Concepts and Processes

systems, order, and organization

evidence, models, and explanation

constancy, change, and measurement

evolution and equilibrium

form and function