Life Science

Classification of Organisms

LS-1 Classify organisms into the currently recognized kingdoms according to characteristics that they share. Be familiar with organisms from each kingdom.

Structure and Function of Cells

LS-2 Recognize that all organisms are composed of cells, and that many organisms are single-celled (unicellular), e.g., bacteria, yeast. In these single-celled organisms, one cell must carry out all of the basic functions of life.

LS-3 Compare and contrast plant and animal cells, including major organelles (cell membrane, cell wall, nucleus, cytoplasm, chloroplasts, mitochondria, vacuoles).

LS-4 Recognize that within cells, many of the basic functions of organisms (e.g., extracting energy from food and getting rid of waste) are carried out. The way in which cells function is similar in all living organisms.

Systems in Living Things

LS-5 Describe the hierarchical organization of multicellular organisms from cells to tissues to organs to systems to organisms.

LS-6 Identify the general functions of the major systems of the human body (digestion, respiration, reproduction, circulation, excretion, protection from disease, and movement, control, and coordination) and describe ways that these systems interact with each other.

Reproduction and Heredity

LS-7 Recognize that every organism requires a set of instructions that specifies its traits. These instructions are stored in the organism’s chromosomes. Heredity is the passage of these instructions from one generation to another.

LS-8 Recognize that hereditary information is contained in genes located in the chromosomes of each cell. A human cell contains about 30,000 different genes on 23 different chromosomes.

LS-9 Compare sexual reproduction (offspring inherit half of their genes from each parent) with asexual reproduction (offspring is an identical copy of the parent’s cell).

Evolution and Biodiversity

LS-10 Give examples of ways in which genetic variation and environmental factors are causes of evolution and the diversity of organisms.

LS-11 Recognize that evidence drawn from geology, fossils, and comparative anatomy provides the basis of the theory of evolution.

LS-12 Relate the extinction of species to a mismatch of adaptation and the environment.

Living Things and Their Environment

LS-13 Give examples of ways in which organisms interact and have different functions within an ecosystem that enable the ecosystem to survive.

Energy and Living Things

LS-14 Explain the roles and relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers in the process of energy transfer in a food web.

LS-15 Explain how dead plants and animals are broken down by other living organisms and how this process contributes to the system as a whole.

LS-16 Recognize that producers (plants that contain chlorophyll) use the energy from sunlight to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water through a process called photosynthesis. This food can be used immediately, stored for later use, or used by other organisms.

Changes in Ecosystems Over Time

LS-17 Identify ways in which ecosystems have changed throughout geologic time in response to physical conditions, interactions among organisms, and the actions of humans. Describe how changes may be catastrophes such as volcanic eruptions or ice storms.

LS-18 Recognize that biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations.