Environmental Science
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Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Global Climate Earth Systems & Patterns SC.912.E.7.7 Identify, analyze, and relate the internal (Earth system) and external (astronomical) conditions that contribute to global climate change. SC.912.E.7.9 SC.912.N.1.3 SC.912.N.3.5 Multiple Choice Students should understand interaction between geo, hydro, litho spheres. Students should understand global conveyer system, El Nino Items will not require students to recall historical temperature data. Possible Item Context: El Nino, Ocean Conveyer System, Tilt, Seasons None Specified How do the sun and Earth's relationship contribute to global climate change with regard to the Great Ocean Conveyer system? A) Earth's tilt causes seasons which drive the conveyer. B) The Ocean's ability to absorb the Sun's energy drives the conveyor system. * C) The Coreolis effect and trade winds generated by the Suns energy and the Earth's rotation drive the conveyer system. D) Earth's proximity and path around the sun drives the clockwise motion of the ocean's conveyor system. Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Global Climate Earth Systems & Patterns SC.912.E.7.8 Explain how various atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic conditions in Florida have influenced and can influence human behavior, both individually and collectively. Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Multiple Choice Needs to be added! Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Items will not ask students to provide specific legislation or policies with regard to natural phenomena in Florida Content could be related to sinkholes, drought, hurricanes, increased skin cancer risks, etc. None specified In many parts of Central Florida, insurance agencies have begun dropping homeowner's insurance policies due to what increasing phenomena associated with excessive water consumption? A) B) *C) D) Wild Fires Drought Sinkholes Flooding Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Global Climate Earth Systems & Patterns SC.912.E.7.9 Cite evidence that the ocean has had a significant influence on climate change by absorbing, storing, and moving heat, carbon, and water. Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Multiple Choice Students should be able to identify the various means by which oceans regulate global temperatures. Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item None specified None specified None Specified What role do our oceans play in global climate change? *A) Oceans absorb heat and sequester carbon. B) As ocean temperatures rise, prehistoric carbon dioxide is emitted back into the atmosphere C) Oceans absorb harmful ozone D) The large oceanic gyres work to bring cool water to tropical regions to slow increasing temperatures. Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarificatio n Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Populations Organization & Development of Living Organisms SC.912.L.14.6 Explain the significance of genetic factors, environmental factors, and pathogenic agents to health from the perspectives of both individual and public health. HE.912.C.1.3 Evaluate how environment and personal health are interrelated. Multiple Choice Students should understand common environmental factors that impact human health Items should only include environmental factors that impact human health. Potential Contexts: ENSO, antibiotic resistance, overpopulation None specified It has been argued that seasonal Malaria cases are higher in tropical countries that are subject to the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Which factor supports this argument? *A) El Nino often brings excessive rainfall to warm tropical latitudes. B) El Nino disrupts breeding cycles for mosquito predators. C) El Nino causes excessive dry weather in northern latitudes forcing disease carrying insects to travel south. D) El Nino makes it more difficult to provide medicine to disease stricken countries. Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Populations Diversity & Evolution of Living Organisms SC.912.L.15.3 Describe how biological diversity is increased by the origin of new species and how it is decreased by the natural process of extinction. Multiple Choice Students will explain the mechanisms of speciation including the types of isolation that lead to new organisms in a given ecosystem. Students will identify the causes of a loss of a species and the effects on a given ecosystem. Items should only include environmental factors that impact species diversity. None specified None specified Which of the following would lead to a decrease in species biodiversity? A) B) *C) D) Captive breeding programs Marine Protected Areas Introduction of Exotic Species Pollution limits Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Ecology Diversity & Evolution of Living Organisms SC.912.L.15.13 Describe the conditions required for natural selection, including: overproduction of offspring, inherited variation, and the struggle to survive, which result in differential reproductive success. Multiple Choice Students will explain and/or describe the conditions required for natural selection that result in differential reproductive success. Items should be general in context focusing on the conditions required for natural selection to occur. Items will not require students to recall specific examples of natural selection. None specified None specified Which event below is the best example of the wolf population being subject to natural selection? A) Humans relocated problem wolves. B) A mother wolf taught her pups how to catch rabbits, and the pups grew up and taught their offspring. C) Two different colored wolves mated and had offspring with a variety of coat colors. * D) A wolf pup with poor eyesight was unable to keep up with its mother and was eaten by a predator. Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Populations Interdependence SC.912.L.17.1 Discuss the characteristics of populations, such as number of individuals, age structure, density, and pattern of distribution. Also Assesses Item Types Multiple Choice Benchmark Students will discuss the characteristics of populations, such as number of Clarification individuals, age structure, density, and pattern of distribution. Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Items will focus on the general characteristics of populations that are related to the environmental quality of an ecosystem. None specified None specified Age structure diagrams A) B) C) * D) show only two age groups: reproductive and non-reproductive. show the number of males and females in the infant category. are strictly for present use and do not provide insight into future trends. are useful for comparing one population with another. Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Ecology Interdependence SC.912.L.17.4 Describe changes in ecosystems resulting from seasonal variations, climate change and succession. Also Assesses Item Types Multiple Choice Benchmark Students will describe potential changes in ecosystems resulting from seasonal Clarification variations, climate change and/or succession. Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Items will assess the impact of seasonal variations, climate change, and/or succession on ecosystems, but will not assess specific knowledge of these. None specified None specified Which of the following is the best explanation of succession from a bare field to a forest climax community? A) succession occurs more rapidly in the later stages than in the beginning stages B) succession typically begins with small trees and then the growth of shrubs and weeds C) succession proceeds as the height of plants increase until the climax stage * D) succession occurs with the replacement of one plant community by another until the climax community is reached Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Populations Interdependence SC.912.L.17.5 Analyze how population size is determined by births, deaths, immigration, emigration, and limiting factors (biotic and abiotic) that determine carrying capacity. Also Assesses Item Types Multiple Choice Benchmark Students will analyze how population size is determined by births, deaths, Clarification immigration, emigration. Students will describe limiting factors (biotic and abiotic) that determine carrying capacity. Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Items referring to limiting factors are limited to food, water, light, nutrients, and space. None specified None specified Scientists studying squirrels in a forest observed that the squirrel population decreased over a period of five years. Which statement is the most likely explanation for the decrease in the population? *A) B) C) D) The death rate was greater than the birth rate. The birth rate was equal to the death rate. The rate of immigration was equal to the rate of emigration. The rate of emigration was less than the rate of immigration. Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Populations Interdependence SC.912.L.17.6 Compare and contrast the relationships among organisms, including predation, parasitism, competition, commensalism, and mutualism. Multiple Choice Students should understand the relationship of both partners in each relationship and be able to recognize both direct and indirect relationships. Students should be able to determine relationships given a food web. Items will not ask students to define the terms predation, parasitism, competition, commensalism, and mutualism. Item content may include co-evolution and symbiosis. Food web, chain None specified The organ-pipe flowering cactus depends on bats for pollination. The bats pollinate the cactus as they eat the fruit of the cactus. Recent studies show that the cacti are not producing as much fruit as they used to. Bats living near these cacti have been driven from their cave homes by local villagers. What is the relationship between the bats and the cactus? A) *B) C) D) predation commensalism mutualism competition Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Ecology Interdependence SC.912.L.17.7 Characterize the biotic and abiotic components that define freshwater systems, marine systems and terrestrial systems. Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Multiple Choice Students will describe the biotic and abiotic factors that define ecosystems. Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Items referring to abiotic factors are limited to temperature, soil, humidity, sunlight, nutrients, and water. None specified. None specified. As you move farther from the equator, which of the following abiotic factors are most likely to limit the productivity of terrestrial ecosystems? A) * B) C) D) amount of carbon dioxide amount of water and light amount of oxygen and soil amount of nitrogen and phosphorus Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Also Assesses Populations Interdependence SC.912.L.17.8 Recognize the consequences of the losses of biodiversity due to catastrophic events, climate changes, human activity, and the introduction of invasive, non-native species. SC.912.N.4.1 Item Types Benchmark Clarification Multiple Choice Students will be able to recognize the consequences of the losses of biodiversity due to catastrophic events, climate changes, human activity, and the introduction of invasive species. Students will be able to describe how scientific knowledge and reasoning provide an empirically-based perspective to inform society's decision making. Content Limits Items may include examples of catostrophic events, climate changes, human activity, or the introduction of invasive species, but will focus on their affect on biodiversity, not assessing specific knowledge of these. None specified Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item None specified Which of these human activities has had the greatest impact on Biodiversity? *A) B) C) D) Habitat Destruction Introduction of Exotic Species Increased Fossil Fuel Use Ozone depletion Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Ecology Interdependence SC.912.L.17.9 Use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers, and decomposers. Explain the pathway of energy transfer through trophic levels and the reduction of available energy at successive trophic levels. Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Multiple Choice Students will use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers, and decomposers. Students will describe the energy pathways through the different trophic levels of a food web or energy pyramid. Items will not require knowledge of specific organisms or their feeding habits. None specified None specified If an insect eats a plant, and a bird eats the insect, about how much energy from the plant is stored in the insect for the bird to use? A) 1% * B) 10% C) 50% D) 90% Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Ecology Interdependence SC.912.L.17.10 Diagram and explain the biogeochemical cycles of an ecosystem, including water, carbon, and nitrogen cycle. Multiple Choice Students will explain the biogeochemical cycles of ecosystems. Students will analyze the movement of matter through biogeochemical cycles. Items assessing biogeochemical cycles are limited to the water, nitrogen, or carbon cycle. None specified None specified Carbon cycles through the biosphere in all of the following processes EXCEPT: A) * B) C) D) photosynthesis transpiration burning of fossil fuels decomposition of plants and animals Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Also Assesses Resources Interdependence SC.912.L.17.11 Evaluate the costs and benefits of renewable and nonrenewable resources, such as water, energy, fossil fuels, wildlife, and forests. SC.912.E.6.6 SC.912.L.17.19 SC.912.N.4.2 Item Types MC Benchmark Students will evaluate the costs and benefits of renewable and nonrenewable Clarification resources. Students will analyze past, present, and potential future consequences to the environment resulting from various energy production technologies. Students will describe how different natural resources are produced and how their rates of use and renewal limit availability. Students will weigh the merits of alternative strategies for solving a specific societal problem by comparing a number of different costs and benefits, such as human, economic, and environmental. Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Items assessing renewable and nonrenewable resources will focus on the costs and benefits of these resources, not on identifying examples. None specified. None specified. Which of the following describes an advantage of nuclear energy over the use of fossil fuels? A) The waste produced from nuclear is not harmful. *B) Nuclear energy does not produce gases, such as carbon dioxide. C) Nuclear fuel supplies are very limited. D) Nuclear energy is a renewable resource. Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Resources Interdependence SC.912.L.17.12 Discuss the political, social, and environmental consequences of sustainable use of land. Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Multiple Choice Students will recognize the impacts of both sustainable and unsustainable forms of land use. Students must understand more than just the environmental benefits of sustainable land use but also the potentially negative social and controversial consequences of land use (i.e.: state and national parks, greenways, marine reserves, etc). Items will not require students to recall specific examples of sustainable land use or specific political or social outcomes. None specified None specified Jake visits his Uncle's cattle farm every summer. Over the past few summers he has noticed an increase in the number of invasive species and an ever increasing amount of bare soil spots in what used to be fertile grazing land. What is the most likely cause? A) * B) C) D) drought over grazing over use of herbicides a change in the breed of cattle on the ranch Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Human Impacts Interdependence SC.912.L.17.13 Discuss the need for adequate monitoring of environmental parameters when making policy decisions. Multiple Choice; Extended Response Students should understand that policy decisions should be made based on current scientific research and statistics and that these generally lead to sound and impactful policies that both protect and enhance our environment. Items will not require students to recall specific environmental policies. None specified None specified The International Whaling Commission (a group consisting of member countries that oversees whaling worldwide) banned whaling globally in 1984. The government of Japan has come under recent attack because despite the ban, Japanese whaling ships continue to kill whales in the name of research and then sell the meat for food. What argument would best justify the ban? A) B) *C) D) Most people want to save the whales. Whaling is inhumane. Recent statistics show that most whale species are near extinction People do not like the taste of whale meat. Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Human Impacts Interdependence SC.912.L.17.14 Assess the need for adequate waste management strategies. Multiple Choice; Extended Response Students should understand the impacts of human consumption. Students should understand current methods used to limit solid waste production, disposal, and storage. Items will not required students to know solid waste or recycling statistics. Items may address recycling, landfill design, solid waste disposal (including incineration), hazardous waste storage. Items will not ask questions about specific solid waste or hazardous waste disasters. Recycling, Municipal Solid Waste, Landfills, incineration. According to the EPA, in 2010, Americans generated about 250 million tons of municipal solid waste, otherwise known as trash or garbage. Of that 250 million tons, only 85 tons were recycled or composted. Why aren't recycling efforts more effective? *A) B) C) D) recycling is effective only if people buy recycled products there aren't enough recycling plants it costs too much to recycle people don't know what items are recyclable. Extended Response question: What is one advantage and one disadvantage to incinerating solid waste? (Possible Answer: It occupies less space and often releases harmful or toxic chemicals into the environment.) Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Also Assesses Human Impacts Interdependence SC.912.L.17.16 Discuss the large-scale environmental impacts resulting from human activity, including waste spills, oil spills, runoff, greenhouse gases, ozone depletion, and surface and groundwater pollution. SC.912.L.17.15 SC.912.L.16.10 Item Types Benchmark Clarification Multiple Choice Students will discuss or recognize large-scale environmental impacts resulting from human activity, including waste spills, oil spills, run off, greenhouse gases, ozone depletion, and surface and ground water pollution. Students will discuss the effects of technology on environmental quality. Students will evaluate the impact of biotechnology on the individual, society, and the environment, including medical and ethical issues. Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Items related to the impact of biotechnology may assess current issues but will not require knowledge of specific biotechnologies or specific medical issues. None specified None specified The release of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) into Earth’s atmosphere has led to a decline in the ozone layer. Which of these BEST describes an effect of the ozone layer decline? A) * B) C) D) Less rainfall occurs in the polar regions. More ultraviolet radiation reaches Earth’s surface. More pollution is released into Earth’s atmosphere. Fewer ocean currents circulate cold water toward the equator. Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Human Impacts Interdependence SC.912.L.17.20 Predict the impact of individuals on environmental systems and examine how human lifestyles affect sustainability. SC.912.L.17.18 SC.912.L.17.19 SC.912.N.4.1 Multiple choice Students will predict the impact of individuals on environmental systems and examine how human lifestyles affect sustainability. Students will describe how human population size and resource use relate to environmental quality. Students will describe how different natural resources are produced and how their rates of use and renewal limit availability. Students will explain how scientific knowledge and reasoning provide an empirically-based perspective to inform society's decision-making. Items will focus on the environmental impact of human lifestyles, population size, and resource use. None specified None specified Human activities affect the quality and supply of natural resources for future generations. Since the Industrial Revolution, the use of fossil fuels has greatly increased industrial productivity, but it has also caused environmental issues. Which of the following is least likely to be caused by the burning of fossil fuels? A) B) C) *D) acid rain global warming an increase in smog holes in the ozone layer Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Resources Energy SC.912.P.10.1 Differentiate among the various forms of energy and recognize that they can be transformed from one form to others. Multiple Choice; Extended Response Within an environmental or ecological context, students must understand that energy can be transferred and transformed. Students will not be required to know what the different forms of energy are. Students will not be required to know energy transformations outside of an environmental or ecological context. Items are limited to environmental science context like food webs, trophic levels, energy efficiency of bulbs. Biomass, trophic levels, food webs, food chains None specified In the Antarctic food web, most primary producers are phytoplankton. These are then consumed by krill, a primary consumer. Krill are eaten by both emperor and adelie penguins acting as secondary consumers. The penguins are eaten by the leopard seal and orca whales at the tertiary consumer level. In which trophic level is the most energy converted into biomass? *A) primary producers B) primary consumers C) secondary consumers D) tertiary consumers Please note: This question is can be used for L.17.2, but for the Physical Science benchmark, I believe it is referring to energy conversions of … for example chemical potential (like in food) into mechanical energy (like in locomotion). Please check this.Also that may reflect back to benchmark clarification, content limit, and stimulus attributes??? Environmental Science Reporting Category Standard Benchmark Number Benchmark Also Assesses Item Types Benchmark Clarification Content Limits Stimulus Attributes Response Attributes Sample Item Ecology Energy SC.912.P.10.2 Explore the Law of Conservation of Energy by differentiating among open, closed, and isolated systems and explain that the total energy in an isolated system is a conserved quantity. Multiple Choice; Extended Response Energy is neither created nor destroyed. The total energy within an ecosystem is conserved. Items will not require students to recite the Law of Conservation of Energy. Items will be limited to environmental science context including food webs, trophic levels, energy efficiency of bulbs Trophic level, food web, or chain diagrams. None specified Both the compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) and the light emitting diode (LED) bulb are now both readily available for purchase by local consumers. Both of these technologies show a distinct advantage in efficiency over the standard incandescent light bulb. Why are incandescent bulbs so inefficient? A) B) * C) D) they break easily they cost more most of their energy is lost as heat they only come in a few wattages
