SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS: Building the Tree of Life
FOR GRADES 9-12
National Science Content Standards
Science as Inquiry: A
Physical Science: B
Life Science: C X
Earth and Space Science: D
Science and Technology: E X
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: F
History and Nature of Science: G X
Some specific National Science Content Standards that pertain:
Life Science (Content Standard C)
The Cell- Cells store and use information to guide their functions; cell functions are
regulated.
The Molecular Basis of Heredity-In all organisms, instructions for characteristics are
encoded by DNA; the DNA molecule is made up of four nucleotide bases, A, G, C, and T;
genetic information is encoded on genes and replicated; changes in DNA occur spontaneously at
low rates; some changes have no effect while others can change the characteristics of organisms.
Biological Evolution-Species evolve over time; the great diversity of life today is the
result of 3.5 billion years of evolution; natural selection and evolution explain the existence of
the fossil record and the molecular similarity of organisms; the millions of species of plants,
animals, and microorganisms alive today are all connected through descent from common
ancestors; biological classifications are based on how organisms are related; organisms are
classified into a hierarchy of groups and subgroups based on similarities that reflect their
evolutionary relationships.
Science and Technology (Content Standard E)
Understandings About Science and Technology-Scientists in different disciplines ask
different questions, use different methods of investigation, and accept different types of evidence
to support their explanations; many investigations require contributions from different
disciplines; science often advances with the introduction of new technologies.
History and Nature of Science (Content Standard G)
Science as a Human Endeavor-Individuals and teams have contributed to scientific
enterprise; science is part of society.
Nature of Scientific Knowledge-Scientific explanations must meet certain criteria;
because all scientific ideas depend on experiment and observational confirmation, all scientific
knowledge is, in principle, subject to change; usually, scientific changes occur as small
modifications in extant knowledge; occasionally, there are advances in science and technology
that have important, long-lasting effects.
FOR GRADES 9-12
California Science Standards
Cell Biology
Genetics X
Ecology
Evolution X
Physiology
Some specific California State Standards that pertain:
Concept 4: Genes are a set of instructions encoded in the DNA sequence of each organism that
specify the sequence of amino acids in proteins characteristic of that organism.
Concept 8: Evolution is the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing
environments
f) Students know how to use comparative embryology, DNA or protein sequence comparisons,
and other independent sources of data to create a branching diagram (cladogram) that shows
probably evolutionary relationships.