Essential Questions: How are the characteristics from one generation related to the previous generation? Enduring Understandings: The relationship of DNA and chromosomes in the processes of cellular division that pass traits from one generation to the next. Students can determine why individuals of the same species vary in how they look, function, and behave. Students develop conceptual models for the role of DNA in the unity of life on Earth and use statistical models to explain the importance of variation within populations for the survival and evolution of species. Ethical issues related to genetic modification of organisms and the nature of science are described.
Knowledge and Skills: I. Identify and describe the evidence to construct their explanation, including that: i. All cells contain DNA; ii. DNA contains regions that are called genes; iii. The sequence of genes contains instructions that code for proteins;iv. Groups of specialized cells (tissues) use proteins to carry out functions that are essential to the organism. b Students use a variety of valid and reliable sources for the evidence (e.g., theories, simulations, peer review, students’ own investigations). Explain the cause and effect relationships among DNA, the proteins it codes for, and the resulting traits observed in an organism. They can explain how the DNA and chromosomes that are used by the cell can be regulated in multiple ways, and can describe the relationship between the non-protein coding sections of DNA and their functions (e.g., regulatory functions) in an organism 2. Genetic mutations can occur due to: errors during replication; and/or environmental factors. To achieve this, students use reasoning and valid evidence to describe that new combinations of DNA can arise from several sources, including meiosis, errors during replication, and mutations caused by environmental factors. 3. Apply concepts of statistics (including recognizing and using patterns) and probability to predict and explain the variation and distribution of expressed traits in a population. Students organize the given data by the frequency, distribution, and variation of expressed traits in the population. Students perform and use appropriate statistical analyses of data, including probability measures, to determine the relationship between a trait’s occurrence within a population and environmental factors. Student recognize and use patterns to predict changes in trait distribution within a population if environmental variables change. They also describe of the expression of a chosen trait and its variations as causative or correlational to some environmental factor based on reliable evidence.