Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Grades 9–12 NJSLS-Science: Life Science
LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
- HS-LS1-1
- Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the structure of DNA determines the structure of proteins which carry out the essential functions of life through systems of specialized cells.
- HS-LS1-2
- Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical organization of interacting systems that provide specific functions within multicellular organisms.
- HS-LS1-3
- Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis.
- HS-LS1-4
- Use a model to illustrate the role of cellular division (mitosis) and differentiation in producing and maintaining complex organisms.
- HS-LS1-5
- Use a model to illustrate how photosynthesis transforms light energy into stored chemical energy.
- HS-LS1-6
- Construct and revise an explanation based on evidence for how carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen from sugar molecules may combine with other elements to form amino acids and/or other large carbon-based molecules.
- HS-LS1-7
- Use a model to illustrate that cellular respiration is a chemical process whereby the bonds of food molecules and oxygen molecules are broken and the bonds in new compounds are formed, resulting in a net transfer of energy.
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
- HS-LS2-1
- Use mathematical and/or computational representations to support explanations of factors that affect carrying capacity of ecosystems at different scales. performance expectation directly related to climate, climate change, or the effects of a changing climate on environmental systems.
- HS-LS2-2
- Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.
- HS-LS2-3
- Construct and revise an explanation based on evidence for the cycling of matter and flow of energy in aerobic and anaerobic conditions.
- HS-LS2-4
- Use mathematical representations to support claims for the cycling of matter and flow of energy among organisms in an ecosystem.
- HS-LS2-5
- Develop a model to illustrate the role of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the cycling of carbon among the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.
- HS-LS2-6
- Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem. performance expectation directly related to climate, climate change, or the effects of a changing climate on environmental systems.
- HS-LS2-7
- Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity. performance expectation directly related to climate, climate change, or the effects of a changing climate on environmental systems.
- HS-LS2-8
- Evaluate the evidence for the role of group behavior on individual and species’ chances to survive and reproduce.
LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
- HS-LS3-1
- Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring.
- HS-LS3-2
- Make and defend a claim based on evidence that inheritable genetic variations may result from:
- new genetic combinations through meiosis,
- viable errors occurring during replication,and/or
- mutations caused by environmental factors.
- HS-LS3-3
- Apply concepts of statistics and probability to explain the variation and distribution of expressed traits in a population.
LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
- HS-LS4-1
- Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.
- HS-LS4-2
- Construct an explanation based on evidence that the process of evolution primarily results from four factors:
- the potential for a species to increase in number,
- the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction,
- competition for limited resources, and
- the proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment.
- HS-LS4-3
- 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.
- HS-LS4-4
- Construct an explanation based on evidence for how natural selection leads to adaptation of populations.
- HS-LS4-5
- Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in:
- increases in the number of individuals of some species,
- the emergence of new species over time, and
- the extinction of other species. performance expectation directly related to climate, climate change, or the effects of a changing climate on environmental systems.
- HS-LS4-6
- Create or revise a simulation to test a solution to mitigate adverse impacts of human activity on biodiversity. performance expectation directly related to climate, climate change, or the effects of a changing climate on environmental systems.