Honors Biology Ecology Unit

Standard (SB4.): Students will assess the dependence of all organisms on one another and the flow of energy and matter within their ecosystems.

Investigate the relationships among organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes.
Explain the flow of matter and energy through ecosystems by
1. Arranging components of a food chain according to energy flow.
2. Comparing the quantity of energy in the steps of an energy pyramid.
3. Explaining the need for cycling of major nutrients (C, O, H, N, P).
Relate environmental conditions to successional changes in ecosystems.
Assess and explain human activities that influence and modify the environment such as global warming, population growth, pesticide use, and water and power consumption.
Relate plant adaptations, including tropisms, to the ability to survive stressful environmental conditions.
Relate animal adaptations, including behaviors, to the ability to survive stressful environmental condition.

Honors
Ecology Unit This GPS Domain focuses on identifying the interdependence of organisms and their environment; comprehending the recycling of nutrients within a system and the flow of energy through that system; recognizing the effect man has made on the environment; examining the adaptations of plants and animals to an ever-changing world.
Standard (SB4.): Students will assess the dependence of all organisms on one another and the flow of energy and matter within their ecosystems. Investigate the relationships among organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes. Explain the flow of matter and energy through ecosystems by 1. Arranging components of a food chain according to energy flow. 2. Comparing the quantity of energy in the steps of an energy pyramid. 3. Explaining the need for cycling of major nutrients (C, O, H, N, P). Relate environmental conditions to successional changes in ecosystems. Assess and explain human activities that influence and modify the environment such as global warming, population growth, pesticide use, and water and power consumption. Relate plant adaptations, including tropisms, to the ability to survive stressful environmental conditions. Relate animal adaptations, including behaviors, to the ability to survive stressful environmental condition.
Enduring Understandings The student understands that organisms within a particular ecosystem rely on each other and abiotic environmental factors for survival. (“No man stands alone”) The student understands that they are a part of a particular biome and should be able to recognize which one it is. The student understands that energy from the sun flows through an ecosystem. The student understands that matter is recycled in an ecosystem. The student understands that humans influence the environment both positively and negatively The student understands that the ecosystem that they live in is the result of succession and that ecosystems change over time The student understands that because of environmental variations, plants and animals must develop specific “behaviors” for surviving.
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