HS-LS2-1

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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.

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.

Level 5Level 4Level 3Level 2Level 1

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.

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

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.

Use a mathematical and/or computational representation to describe how a biotic and/or abiotic factor affects the carrying capacity of a population.

Use a mathematical and/or computational representation to identify, from those provided, a factor that affects the carrying capacity of a population.

Resources

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

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Assessment

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

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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

• 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 environments and resources are finite. This fundamental tension affects the abundance (number of individuals) of species in any given ecosystem.
• Interdependent relationships in ecosystems: 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