HS-LS2-1 | Carrying Capacity and Ecosystems

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Use mathematical and/or computational representations to support explanations of biotic and abiotic factors that affect carrying capacity of ecosystems at different scales.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on quantitative analysis and comparison of the relationships among interdependent factors including boundaries, resources, climate and competition. Examples of mathematical comparisons could include graphs, charts, histograms, and population changes gathered from simulations or historical data sets.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include deriving mathematical equations to make comparisons.

Assessment

What assessment of HS-LS2-1 might look like on a NY state exam.

Exam Cluster Question
August 2026 Invasive Mussels Question 36
Parrots and Biodiversity Question 42
June 2026 Nitrogen: Friend or Foe? Question 7
Fossil Fuels: Out of Sight, but Not Out of Mind Question 24
Mercury Rising Question 48
January 2026 Honeybee Behavior and Threats Question 32
August 2025 How Do Kangaroo Rats Survive in the Desert? Question 32
June 2025 Organisms of the Tibetan Plateau Question 19
Salt Marsh Shoreline Question 23
Keystone Species: Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs Question 38
Keystone Species: Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs Question 41
Sample clusters (Spring 2024) Coral Reefs Question 4

Performance Level Descriptions

PLDs communicate the knowledge and skills expected of students to demonstrate proficiency in each Learning Standard. NYS assessments classify student performance into one of five levels.

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Level 1: Use a mathematical and/or computational representation to identify, from those provided, a factor that affects the carrying capacity of a population.
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Level 2: Use a mathematical and/or computational representation to describe how a biotic and/or abiotic factor affects the carrying capacity of a population.
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Level 3: Use a mathematical and/or computational representation to support an explanation of a biotic or an abiotic factor that affects the carrying capacity of an ecosystem at different spatial or temporal scales.
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Level 4: Use mathematical, analyze, and/or computational representations to support explanations of biotic and abiotic factors that affect carrying capacity of ecosystems at different scales.
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Level 5: Develop and/or apply mathematical and/or computational representations of data to compare and revise explanations of how biotic and abiotic factors including scale, proportions, and quantities affect the carrying capacity of ecosystems.

Vocabulary

Terms from the Biology Glossary that come from this standard or from the released exam questions that assess it.

From this standard
  • abiotic factors
  • abundance
  • biotic factors
  • carrying capacity
  • climate
  • competition
  • design solution
  • disease
  • ecosystem
  • ecosystem scale
  • interdependence
  • limiting factor
  • population
  • population change
  • predation
  • proportion
  • resources
  • species
From released exam questions

Resources

Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of HS-LS2-1.

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NGSS Dimensions

Performance expectation HS-LS2-1 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices
  • Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
    • Use mathematical and/or computational representations of phenomena or design solutions to support explanations.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
  • LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
    • Ecosystems have carrying capacities, which are limits to the numbers of organisms and populations they can support. Organisms would have the capacity to produce populations of great size were it not for the fact that enviroments and resources are finite. This fundamental tension affects the abundance (number of individuals) of species in any given ecosystem.
    • (NYSED) Carrying capacity results from the availability of biotic and abiotic factors and from challenges such as predation, competition, and disease.
Crosscutting Concepts
  • Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
    • The significance of a phenomenon is dependent on the scale, proportion, and quantity at which it occurs.
Page contributors: Conrad Richman, Caroline Leonard
Biology | HS. Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
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