Learning Targets – Life Science (LS)
Learning We are learning to…
Target
1
Provide evidence of how
life and environmental
conditions have
changed over time.
We are looking for…
 Interpretation of fossil record that shows the variation of
species that results from changes in the environment.
 An explanation of how fossil records provide evidence of
Earth’s living history. (extinction, biodiversity, diversity of
species)
 An explanation of transitional form as parts of the fossil
record that are incomplete. (example: missing fossils in
strata)
 An investigation of fossil records to infer the
environmental conditions that were present when the
fossil was formed (time of deposition).
2
Describe how changes
in the environment
affect the survival and
reproductive success of
an organism or species.
CIA LS 1
 Describe how diversity can result from sexual
reproduction.
 Describe how genetic variation (beak shape - trait),
genetic isolation, and environmental changes affect a
population over time.
 Use evidence from a scenario to formulate and justify
conclusions about how genetic variation affects the
survival or extinction of a species when environmental
conditions have changed.
 Demonstrate how change happens over many
generations at a slow rate.
 Evaluate graphs showing population data related to
environmental changes.
3
Determine how species
may have become
extinct over time by
using fossil records.
4
Recognize that
reproduction is
necessary for the
 Recognize that a species (plants and animals) becomes
extinct when it does not have the traits necessary to
survive in the changed environment.
CA LS 1
 An explanation that reproduction is the transfer of
genetic information from one generation to the next.
5
continuation of every
species.
 Describe that all species either reproduce by sexual or
asexual reproduction (life cycles)
Describe how asexual
reproduction transfers
genetic information
from parent to
offspring.
 Explain that during asexual reproduction, all genetic
information (DNA) comes from one parent, which usually
means the offspring is identical to the parent.
 Explain the asexual reproduction process of mitosis,
which produces daughter cells that are genetically
identical to the parent cell.
 Give examples, descriptions, and explanations of specific
types of asexual reproduction such as:
 Budding
 Spores
 Regeneration
 Runners
 Fragmentation
 Binary Fission
 Vegetative Propagation
6
Describe how sexual
reproduction transfers
genetic information
from parent to
offspring.
CIA LS 2
 Explain that during sexual reproduction (meiosis), genetic
information (DNA) comes from two parents and the
offspring is a combination of half the genetic material of
each parent.
 Identify that sexual reproduction combines a single
specialized cell from female (egg) and a single specialized
cell from male (sperm) to produce four sex cells.
7
8
Explain advantages and
disadvantage of sexual
and asexual
reproduction for the
continuation of species.
Explain how traits are
passed from parents to
offspring.
 Examples of advantages and disadvantages of asexual
reproduction.
 Examples of advantages and disadvantages of sexual
reproduction.
CA LS 2
 An explanation of an inherited trait and how it is
inherited.
 Describe Mendel’s experiments and what they concluded
about inherited traits.
 First generation cross (purebred / true-breed)
 Second generation cross (hybrid)
 (law of segregation; law of independent assortment)
Describe the
relationship between
genes and traits.
 Explanation that a gene is a section on a chromosome
that has genetic information for one trait. A trait is a
specific characteristic (such as stem height or seed
color).
Explain the relationship
between a chromosome,
a gene, and an allele.
 A chromosome is a structure inside the nucleus of a cell
which contains genetic information (DNA).
 A gene is a section on a chromosome that has genetic
information for one trait. (Ex: gene for height; Tt)
 An allele is a form of a gene. (Ex: allele for tall height: T,
allele for short height: t)
Explain dominant and
recessive traits and
demonstrate how they
interact.
 Explanation that a dominant trait is one that always
shows up when the allele is present and a recessive trait
is hidden whenever a dominant allele is present.
 Dominant allele is expressed as a capital letter
 Recessive allele is expressed as a lowercase letter
Describe and give an
example of a genotype
and a phenotype.
 A phenotype is how a trait appears (observable physical
characteristic).
 An example would be a tall plant.
 A genotype is the actual genetic makeup of a trait which
is expressed as two alleles together.
 An example would be: Tt
9
Use Punnett squares to
illustrate variation in a
species.
 Demonstrate by constructing Punnett squares and
interpreting genotypes and phenotypes and probabilities
of offspring.
 Codominance
10
Analyze a pedigree for a
specific trait.
CIA LS 3
 Demonstrate by constructing pedigree and interpreting
genotypes and phenotypes over many generations.
 Pedigree
CA LS 3