Students explore how organisms reproduce and transfer their genetic information to their offspring. They learn how traits are inherited, variation of traits, how mutations may result in changes to living things that can be harmful or beneficial, and how humans have the capacity to influence certain characteristics of organisms by selective breeding (natural vs. artificial selection).
Download the complete Life Science – Growth, Development & Reproduction of Organisms framework to customize for your own planning.
Standards
- MS-LS1-4. Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants, respectively.
- MS-LS1-5. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
- MS-LS3-1. Develop and use a model to explain why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.
- MS-LS3-2. Develop and use a model to describe how asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.
- MS-LS4-5. Gather and synthesize information about the technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.
Essential questions and big ideas of the unit
- How do plants and animals reproduce and why do some offspring look similar to and/or different from their parents?
- Organisms reproduce, either sexually or asexually, and transfer their genetic information to their offspring. (secondary to MS-LS3-2)
- Animals engage in characteristic behaviors that increase the odds of reproduction. (MS-LS1-4)
- Plants reproduce in a variety of ways, sometimes depending on animal behavior and specialized features for reproduction. (MS-LS1-4)
- Genetic factors as well as local conditions affect the growth of the adult plant. (MS-LS1-5)
- Genes are located in the chromosomes of cells, with each chromosome pair containing two variants of each of many distinct genes. Each distinct gene chiefly controls the production of specific proteins, which in turn affects the traits of the individual. Changes (mutations) to genes can result in changes to proteins, which can affect the structures and functions of the organism and thereby change traits. (MS-LS3-1)
- Variations of inherited traits between parent and offspring arise from genetic differences that result from the subset of chromosomes (and therefore genes) inherited. (MS-LS3-2)
- In sexually reproducing organisms, each parent contributes half of the genes acquired (at random) by the offspring. Individuals have two of each chromosome and hence two alleles of each gene, one acquired from each parent. These versions may be identical or may differ from each other. (MS-LS3-2)
- Why do some plants and/or animals survive better than others?
- In addition to variations that arise from sexual reproduction, genetic information can be altered because of mutations. Some changes are beneficial, others harmful, and some neutral to the organism. (MS-LS3-1)
Mutations may result in changes to the structure and function of proteins. (MS-LS3-1) - 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 onto offspring. (MS-LS4-5)
- In addition to variations that arise from sexual reproduction, genetic information can be altered because of mutations. Some changes are beneficial, others harmful, and some neutral to the organism. (MS-LS3-1)
Download the complete Life Science – Growth, Development & Reproduction of Organisms framework to customize for your own planning.