<p> HS-LS4-3, HS-LS4-4, and HS-LS4-5 2014</p><p>HSLS4-3 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. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on analyzing shifts in numerical distribution of traits and using these shifts as evidence to support explanations.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to basic statistical and graphical analysis. Assessment does not include allele frequency calculations.]</p><p>HSLS4-4 Construct an explanation based on evidence for how natural selection leads to adaptation of populations. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on using data to provide evidence for how specific biotic and abiotic differences in ecosystems (such as ranges of seasonal temperature, long-term climate change, acidity, light, geographic barriers, or evolution of other organisms) contribute to a change in gene frequency over time, leading to adaptation of populations.]</p><p>HSLS4-5 Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in: (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on determining cause and effect relationships for how changes to the environment such as deforestation, fishing, application of fertilizers, drought, flood, and the rate of change of the environment affect distribution or disappearance of traits in species.] E. Evolution and Diversity: Sometimes, differences between organisms of the same kind provide advantages for surviving and reproducing in different environments. These selective differences may lead to dramatic changes in characteristics of organisms in a population over extremely long periods of time. Essential Questions Enduring Understandings Labs, Investigation, and Student Experiences How does natural The diversity and changing of selection encourage inter life forms over many generations (5.3.12.E.3) and intra-specific is the result of natural selection, diversity over time? in which organisms with 1. HHMI offers an excellent resource online. Their Holiday advantageous traits survive, Lectures are fascinating and don't have to be shown How do we show reproduce, and pass those traits completely, although it wouldn't hurt. Each Holiday Lecture mathematically a trait to offspring. is accompanied with activities that may be downloaded from shift in a population? the website. Among the topics: 2006 Ken Miller Lecture - Evolution: Fossils, Genes, and Mousetraps</p><p>1 HS-LS4-3, HS-LS4-4, and HS-LS4-5 2014</p><p>2. The National Association of Biology Teachers has a DVD titled, "Evolution: Why Bother?", which is a short (10-15 minutes) video that serves as a nice introduction to the topic. 3. Miller & Levine, the “Lion edition”, contains a nice lab activity in which students make inferences of animal activity based on fossil footprints. 4. Teacher’s Domain Lesson: The Fossil Evidence for Cumulative Progress Evolution. Segments include video clips: Becoming a Fossil, Content Statements Indicators How do we know evolution happens, Radiometric Dating, The principles of evolution Provide a scientific explanation Fish with fingers. Teacher’s Domain and PBS both have (including natural selection for the history of life on Earth “Whales in the making”, video and worksheet. and common descent) using scientific evidence (e.g., Text: provide a scientific fossil record, DNA, protein Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Modern Biology explanation for the history structures, etc.). (5.3.12.E.3) May 13, 2002 of life on Earth as Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology (4th Edition) evidenced in the fossil Jan 13, 2006 record and in the by Frederic H. Martini and Edwin F. Bartholomew similarities that exist within the diversity of existing Campbell Biology (9th Edition) organisms. Oct 7, 2010 by Jane B. Reece and Lisa A. Urry 21st Century Life and Common Core Standards C Careers onnections ELA/Literacy: RST.11-12.1 RST- 9.4A(1) 9.1.12.C.5 11.12.8 WHST.9-12.2 WHST.9-12.5 9.4A(2) 9.1.12.D.3 WHST.9-12.7 WHST.9-12.9 SL.11- 9.4A(3) 9.1.12.F.2 12.4 9.1.12.A.1 9.3.12.C.2 Mathematics: MP.2 MP.4 9.1.12.A.4 9.4.12A.3 9.1.12.B.1 9.4.12A.16 9.1.12.B.2 9.4.12A.45 9.1.12.B.3 9.4.12A.46</p><p>2 HS-LS4-3, HS-LS4-4, and HS-LS4-5 2014</p><p>9.1.12.C.1 9.4.O 9.1.12.C.4 9.4.H</p><p>Desired Results Students will be able to... 1. Recognize that species acquire many of their unique characteristics through biological adaptations, which involve the selection of naturally occurring variations in populations. 2. Observe a variety of organisms and explain how a specific trait could increase an organism’s chances of survival. 3. Explain how the extinction of a species occurs when the environment changes and the adaptation of a species is insufficient to allow for its survival. 4. Conduct simulations to investigate how organisms fulfill basic needs (i.e., food, shelter, air, space light/dark, and water) in a competitive environment. Relate how competition for resources can determine survival. 5. Recognize random mutation (changes in DNA) and events that occur during gamete formation and fertilization (i.e., crossing over, independent assortment, and recombination) as the sources of heritable variations that give individuals within a species survival and reproductive advantages or disadvantages. 6. Conduct and analyze a natural selection simulation and use data generated from it to describe how environmentally-favored traits are perpetuated over generations resulting in species survival, while less favorable traits decrease in frequency or may lead to extinction. 7. Explain how biochemical evidence, homologous structures, embryological development and fossil evidence provide evidence of evolution and confirm relationships among species and lineages. 8. Explain how species evolve through descent with </p><p>3 HS-LS4-3, HS-LS4-4, and HS-LS4-5 2014 modification, thus allowing them to adapt to different environments. 9. Describe the role of sexual selection on the evolutionary process. 10. Relate a population’s survival to the reproductive success of adapted individuals in that population. 11. Explain the roles of geographical isolation on the evolution of new species. 12. Predict possible evolutionary implications for a population due to environmental changes over time. 13. Explain why homogeneous populations may be more vulnerable to environmental changes than heterogeneous populations. 14. Observe and analyze evidence of human evolution. 15. Explain the scientific use of the term theory when applied to evolution. 16. Sequence the events that might have led to cellular life 17. Differentiate between the three domains of life (Archae, Eubacteria, Eukarya) and explain how their cellular structure provides the basis for their classification.</p><p>4 HS-LS4-3, HS-LS4-4, and HS-LS4-5 2014</p><p>PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT</p><p>“Dinosaurs”</p><p>OVERVIEW</p><p>The question over the existence of dinosaurs and what they were like has been a mystery ever since they were wiped away from the earth. Existing millions of years before human beings, we now look for clues to help us put together the pieces of the puzzle in order to learn more about these ancient creatures. One question that many scientists ask themselves is whether the dinosaurs that roamed the earth billions of years ago were warm-blooded or cold-blooded animals. A warm-blooded animal is one that generates its own body heat internally. Here is some evidence of what some scientists have discovered as the answer to this question.</p><p>Evidence 1: Dinosaurs’ growth rate</p><p>There are certain characteristics of bones that enable a scientist to determine how fast the bone has grown. The bones of fast- growing animals contain characteristics patterns of dense bone tissue. Warm-blooded animals grow fast, whereas cold-blooded animals grow slowly. For instance, crocodiles add only about a foot a year, while ostriches may shoot up five feet in their first year. The fast growth of warm-blooded animals produces characteristic patterns of dense bone tissue. Because cold-blooded animals grow slowly, they lack these dense bone tissues. It is even possible to calculate the growth rate based on the density of the bone tissue. Scientists have conducted a microscopic analysis of fossilized bones. They have concluded that the microstructure of these dinosaurs' bones indicates that their growth rate was much, much faster than that of crocodiles, and as fast as a baby ostrich. The only possible explanation for this is that dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Only warm-blooded animals can generate enough energy to sustain such a rapid growth rate. </p><p>5 HS-LS4-3, HS-LS4-4, and HS-LS4-5 2014</p><p>Evidence 2: Insulation</p><p>Dinosaurs had no fur, feathers, or blubber. Warm-blooded animals have fur, feathers, and/or thick layers of blubber to help them retain their body heat. There are a number of dinosaur fossils that have preserved part or all of the dinosaurs outer hides. These fossils make it clear that dinosaurs had no fur or feathers; on the contrary, their hides were covered with reptilian scales. And dinosaurs' hides, like other reptiles' hides, were too thin to have had a layer of blubber. Therefore, because dinosaurs had no fur, feathers, or blubber to retain their body heat, it is extremely unlikely that dinosaurs were warm-blooded.</p><p>Evidence 3: Ratios of predator to prey</p><p>Because warm-blooded animals must maintain a high body temperature, they must eat a lot to support the high metabolism needed to generate body heat. Thus, warm-blooded predators must eat a lot of prey. A lion eats its own weight in food every eight days or so; a wild dog eats its own weight in food in less than a week. By contrast, a cold-blooded predator of the same size does not need to eat so much. Because the cold-blooded predator does not try to maintain a high body temperature, it does not have to eat nearly as much as a warm-blooded predator. A large lizard may eat its weight in prey only once in sixty days. Thus, in modern warm-blooded animal communities, the ratio of predators to prey is about 3 percent. There are only a few predators compared to prey because each predator must eat a lot to stay alive. But in modern cold-blooded animal communities, the ratio of predators to prey is 30 to 40 percent. Because a cold-blooded predator need not eat so much, there can be many more predators compared to prey in a cold-blooded predator-prey community. Assuming that dinosaurs were fossilized at a random rate, it should be possible to determine whether dinosaurs were cold-blooded or warm-blooded by examining the ratio of predators to prey in dinosaur fossil beds. It turns out that the ratio of predators to prey in dinosaur fossil beds is about what you would expect if dinosaurs were cold-blooded: about 30 percent.</p><p>Evidence 4: Fossilized dinosaur bones</p><p>Scientists have discovered that dinosaur bones contained a rich network of blood vessels. The bones of modern cold-blooded animals typically have only a few blood vessels, whereas the bones of modern warm-blooded animals have a rich network of blood vessels. Warm-blooded animals because of their high metabolism need the rich network of blood vessels. To support their higher activity levels, warm-blooded animals need a large amount of calcium and phosphorus in their bones. They need the rich network of blood vessels to keep their bones supplied with the nutrients that are needed. Cold-blooded animals, being less metabolically active, do not need so many blood vessels to keep their bones supplied with needed nutrients. Thus, the rich network of blood vessels in dinosaurs is strong evidence that dinosaurs were warm-blooded. </p><p>6 HS-LS4-3, HS-LS4-4, and HS-LS4-5 2014</p><p>Evidence 5: Dissipating heat</p><p>Cold-blooded animals thrive in relatively warm weather. During the 100 million years when the dinosaurs lived, the earth's weather was much milder than now, as shown by plant and invertebrate fossils. Even the northern parts of what is now Canada were warm. Thus, the dinosaurs could reasonably have relied on the sun and the generally warm weather to keep their bodies warm. In fact, for animals as large as dinosaurs, it is actually better to be cold-blooded than warm-blooded. The reason has to do with dissipating body heat. Large animals have more trouble dissipating heat than small animals do. That is why elephants have such large ears. As blood travels through elephants' ears, flapping in the wind, the blood drops several degrees in temperature. Thus, elephants use their ears to dissipate their excess body heat. But even so, on a hot summer day, elephants can be in danger of overheating. Dinosaurs would have an even worse problem if they were warm-blooded. Their bodies were so large that it would be almost impossible to dissipate heat generated internally. Thus, it is much better for animals as large as dinosaurs to be cold-blooded. Consider how advantageous it was for a dinosaur to be cold-blooded. Because dinosaurs were so large, it would take the sun a long time to heat them up, even on a hot day. Thus, they would not be in danger of overheating until late in the day. Then the sun would go down and the temperatures would fall somewhat. Because they were cold-blooded and did not generate any body heat internally, as soon as temperatures began to drop, their bodies would start losing heat, too. Thus, by morning their body temperatures would have dropped to a comfortable level, and they could start the process all over again the next day.</p><p>YOUR TASK</p><p>1) What do you think, are dinosaurs warm blooded or cold-blooded animals? </p><p>2) Which theory is correct?</p><p>3) What are your supporting evidences?</p><p>7</p>