8th- Third 9 weeks
8th- Third 9 weeks
This curriculum map is a constantly monitored and edited document by building specific administration and teachers. Changes may occur throughout the school year to stay updated with state requirements. Any questions regarding content should be directed towards the teacher of your child’s class or content area.
How do organisms change over time in response to changes in the environment?
1. Evidence of common ancestry and diversity
a. The collection of fossils and their placement in chronological order (Ex. through the location of the sedimentary layers in which they are found or through radioactive dating) is known as the fossil record. It documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms throughout the history of life on Earth.
b. Anatomical similarities and differences between various organisms living today and between them and organisms in the fossil record, enable the reconstruction of evolutionary history and the inference of lines of evolutionary descent.
c. Comparison of the embryological development of species also reveals similarities that show relationships not evident in the fully-formed anatomy.
2. Natural selection
a. Natural selection leads to the predominance of certain traits in a population, and the suppression of others.
b. In artificial selection, humans have the capacity to influence certain characteristics of organisms by selective breeding. One can choose desired parental traits determined by genes, which are then passed on to offspring.
3. Adaptation
a. Adaptation by natural selection acting over generations is one important process by which species change over time in response to changes in environmental conditions. Traits that support successful survival and reproduction in the new environment become more common; those that do not become less common. Thus, the distribution of traits in a population changes.
MS-LS4-1: I can look closely at patterns in fossil records. I know that these records show the existence, diversity, extinction, and changes in life forms throughout history.
MS-LS4-2: I can make inferences about evolutionary relationships by comparing modern organisms to fossil organisms.
MS-LS4-3: I can look closely at and compare pictures that show the early growth of different organisms. I can use this information to identify relationships across multiple species.
MS-LS4-4: I can tell you how and why some traits help an individual survive and reproduce.
MS-LS4-5: I can talk about the ways that technology has made it possible to increase desired traits in organisms.
MS-LS4-6: I can use math to help explain how natural selection can lead to more or less of specific traits over time.
https://media.doe.in.gov/standards/indiana-academic-standards-grade-8-science.pdf
MS-LS4-1 Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past.
MS-LS4-2 Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.
MS-LS4-3 Analyze displays of pictorial data to compare patterns of similarities in the embryological development across multiple species to identify relationships not evident in the fully formed anatomy.
MS-LS4-4 Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.
MS-LS4-5 Gather and synthesize information about the technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.
MS-LS4-6 Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time.