MS-LS1-5 | Factors Affecting Growth · NYS standard · Grade 8 test questions
Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
Clarification statement: Examples of local 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. Examples of evidence could include drought decreasing plant growth, fertilizer increasing plant growth, different varieties of plant seeds growing at different rates in different conditions, and fish growing larger in large ponds than they do in small ponds.
Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include genetic mechanisms, gene regulation, biochemical processes, or natural selection.
Grade 8 Science Test Questions
Released New York State Grade 8 science test questions that assess MS-LS1-5 are listed here by test and question cluster. Each link opens the question with its answer key.
| Exam | Cluster | Question |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2026 Grade 8 Test | Quaking Aspen | Question 20 |
Vocabulary
Terms from the Middle School Science Glossary that come from this standard or from the released Grade 8 Science Test questions that assess it.
- adult plant
- biochemical process
- drought
- environmental factor
- evidence
- fertilizer
- food
- gene
- gene regulation
- genetic factor
- genetic mechanism
- growth
- light
- local environmental condition
- natural selection
- organism
- plant growth
- scientific explanation
- seed
- water
- bark – Spring 2026
- cell – Spring 2026
- energy – Spring 2026
- environment – Spring 2026
- leaf – Spring 2026
- photosynthesis – Spring 2026
- species – Spring 2026
- sunlight – Spring 2026
Performance Level Descriptions
Every Grade 8 Science Test question on MS-LS1-5 is written to match one of the performance level descriptions (PLDs) below.
Resources
Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of MS-LS1-5.
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NGSS Dimensions
Performance expectation MS-LS1-5 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:
- Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
- Construct a scientific explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from sources (including the students' own experiments) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
- LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms
- Genetic factors as well as local conditions affect the growth of the adult plant.
- Cause and Effect
- Phenomena may have more than one cause, and some cause and effect relationships in systems can only be described using probability.