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Curriculum Materials

Standards Alignment

Disciplinary Core Ideas
  • LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems (MS)
  • In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other for limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction (MS-LS2-1)
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Science & Engineering Practices

Analyzing and Interpreting Data (MS)

  • Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for phenomena. 

Engaging in Argument from Evidence (MS)

  • Construct, use, and/or present an oral and written argument supported by empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support or refute an explanation or a model for a phenomenon or a solution to a problem.  
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Crosscutting Concepts
  • Cause and Effect (MS)
  • Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.
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In this task, students will develop an explanation for how one organism’s population growth in an ecosystem may cause the population growth of other organisms in the same ecosystem to decrease. First, students will explore ecosystems in food composed of living bacteria and determine which bacteria are safe and which can be harmful if present in food. Next, students investigate how the presence of safe bacteria, such as lactobacillus, can prevent harmful bacteria from forming on food.