HS-LS2-6
Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
Clarification statement: Examples of changes in ecosystem conditions could include ecological succession, modest biological or physical changes, such as moderate hunting or seasonal floods; and extreme changes, such as volcanic eruption or sea level rise.
Resources
Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of HS-LS2-6.
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Assessment
What assessment of HS-LS2-6 might look like on a NY state exam.
Coral Reefs Sample Cluster Question 1
NGSS Dimensions
Performance expectation HS-LS2-6 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:
- Engaging in argument from evidence: Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning behind currently accepted explanations or solutions to determine the merits of arguments.
- Scientific Knowledge is Open to Revision in Light of New Evidence: Scientific argumentation is a mode of logical discourse used to clarify the strength of relationships between ideas and evidence that may result in revision of an explanation.
- Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience: A complex set of interactions within an ecosystem can keep its numbers and types of organisms relatively constant over long periods of time under stable conditions. If a modest biological or physical disturbance to an ecosystem occurs, it may return to its more or less original status (i.e., the ecosystem is resilient), as opposed to becoming a very different ecosystem. Extreme fluctuations in conditions or the size of any population, however, can challenge the functioning of ecosystems in terms of resources and habitat availability.
- Stability and change: Much of science deals with constructing explanations of how things change and how they remain stable.