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Science and Technology/Engineering > Grade 8 > Life Science
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Science and Technology/Engineering | Grade : 8

Discipline - Life Science

Core Idea - Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

[8.LS.3.3] - Communicate through writing and in diagrams that chromosomes contain many distinct genes and that each gene holds the instructions for the production of specific proteins, which in turn affects the traits of an individual. State Assessment Boundary: Specific changes at the molecular level or mechanisms for protein synthesis are not expected in state assessment.

Resources:

Predecessor Standards:

  • 3.LS.3.1
    Provide evidence, including through the analysis of data, that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exist in a group of similar organisms.Clarification Statements: Examples of inherited traits that vary can include the color of fur, shape of leaves, length of legs, and size of flowers; Focus should be on non-human examples. State Assessment Boundary: Genetic mechanisms of inheritance or prediction of traits are not expected in state assessment.

Successor Standards:

  • HS.LS.3.3
    Apply concepts of probability to represent possible genotype and phenotype combinations in offspring caused by different types of Mendelian inheritance patterns. Clarification Statements: Representations can include Punnett squares, diagrams, pedigree charts, and simulations. Inheritance patterns include dominant-recessive, codominance, incomplete dominance, and sex-linked.

Same Level Standards:

  • WCA.6-8.2
    Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
  • 8.LS.1.5
    Construct an argument based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms. Clarification Statements: Examples of environmental conditions could include availability of food, light, space, and water. Examples of genetic factors could include the genes responsible for size differences in different breeds of dogs, such as Great Danes and Chihuahuas. Examples of environmental factors could include drought decreasing plant growth, fertilizer increasing plant growth, and fish growing larger in large ponds than they do in small ponds. Examples of both genetic and environmental factors could include different varieties of plants growing at different rates in different conditions. State Assessment Boundary: Methods of reproduction, genetic mechanisms, gene regulation, biochemical processes, or natural selection are not expected in state assessment.
  • 8.LS.3.1
    Develop and use a model to describe that structural changes to genes (mutations) may or may not result in changes to proteins, and if there are changes to proteins there may be harmful, beneficial, or neutral changes to traits. Clarification Statements: An example of a beneficial change to the organism may be a strain of bacteria becoming resistant to an antibiotic. A harmful change could be the development of cancer; a neutral change may change the hair color of an organism with no direct consequence. State Assessment Boundary: Specific changes at the molecular level (e.g., amino acid sequence change), mechanisms for protein synthesis, or specific types of mutations are not expected in state assessment.
  • 8.LS.3.4
    Develop and use a model to show that sexually reproducing organisms have two of each chromosome in their cell nuclei, and hence two variants (alleles) of each gene that can be the same or different from each other, with one random assortment of each chromosome passed down to offspring from both parents. Clarification Statement: Examples of models can include Punnett squares, diagrams (e.g., simple pedigrees), and simulations. State Assessment Boundary: State assessment will limit inheritance patterns to dominant-recessive alleles only.