MS-LS2-3 | Ecosystems and Energy Flow

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Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on describing the conservation of matter and flow of energy associated with ecosystem, and on defining the boundaries of the ecosystem.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include the use of chemical reactions to describe the processes.

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 4Level 3Level 2Level 1

Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem and to predict the effect on the ecosystem when a component of the ecosystem changes.

Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

Given a model, describe the cycling of matter or the flow of energy among living and/or nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

Given a model, identify a substance that is being cycled among the living or nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

Resources

Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of MS-LS2-3.

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Assessment

What assessment of MS-LS2-3 might look like on a NY state exam.

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NGSS Dimensions

Performance expectation MS-LS2-3 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices

• Developing and Using Models
  • Develop a model to describe phenomena.

Disciplinary Core Ideas

• LS2.B: Cycle of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
  • Food webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy is transferred between producers, consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact within an ecosystem. Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every level. Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem.

Crosscutting Concepts

• Energy and Matter
  • The transfer of energy can be tracked as energy flows through a designed or natural system.

Connections to Other Standards

MS-LS2-3 connections to ELA, math, and other science standards as outlined by the NYS Education Department:

Page contributors: Caroline Leonard, Shirley Shameen

MS | MS. Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems