T5: Cell Respiration

Performance Expectation(s): 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. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the conceptual understanding of the inputs and outputs of the process of cellular respiration.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment should not include identification of the steps or specific processes involved in cellular respiration.]

Observable features of the student performance by the end of the course (from the Evidence Statements):

Components of the model

a)From a given model, students identify and describe the components of the model relevant for their illustration of cellular respiration, including:

• Matter in the form of food molecules, oxygen, and the products of their reaction (e.g., water and CO2);
• The breaking and formation of chemical bonds; and
• Energy from the chemical reactions.

Relationships

a) From the given model, students describe the relationships between components, including:

• Carbon dioxide and water are produced from sugar and oxygen by the process of cellular respiration; and
• The process of cellular respiration releases energy because the energy released when the bonds that are formed in CO2 and water is greater than the energy required to break the bonds of sugar and oxygen.

Connections

a) Students use the given model to illustrate that:

• The chemical reaction of oxygen and food molecules releases energy as the matter is rearranged, existing chemical bonds are broken, and new chemical bonds are formed, but matter and energy are neither created nor destroyed.
• Food molecules and oxygen transfer energy to the cell to sustain life’s processes, including the maintenance of body temperature despite ongoing energy transfer to the surrounding environment.

Disciplinary Core Ideas:

LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms

Science & Engineering Practices:

Developing and Using Models

Crosscutting Concepts:

Energy and Matter