BiologyQ&A by dot point

Interpret cladograms and phylogenetic trees to determine evolutionary relationships based on shared derived characteristics and molecular evidence (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 3; patterns; systems and system models).

Analyze and evaluate the evidence for evolution, including the fossil record, homologous and vestigial structures, and molecular (DNA and protein) similarities (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 3; patterns; cause and effect).

Recognize the factors that influence the genetic makeup of populations and lead to speciation, including mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, and reproductive isolation (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 3; cause and effect; patterns).

Explain how natural selection acts on heritable variation to produce adaptation in populations over time, and identify the conditions required for it to occur (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 3; cause and effect; stability and change).

Describe how organisms are classified using a hierarchical taxonomic system based on shared characteristics, and use the levels from domain to species (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 3; patterns; systems and system models).

Identify cellular respiration as the process that releases energy from glucose, describe its reactants and products, and distinguish aerobic respiration from fermentation (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 4; energy and matter; cause and effect).

Compare the reactants, products, and energy flow of photosynthesis and cellular respiration, and explain how they form a connected cycle of energy and matter (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 4; energy and matter; systems and system models).

Identify the four major classes of biological macromolecules and their functions, and explain how enzymes act as biological catalysts affected by temperature and pH (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 4; structure and function; cause and effect).

Describe how feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis in the human body, using examples such as the regulation of body temperature and blood glucose, and identify factors that disrupt homeostasis (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 4; stability and change; cause and effect).

Investigate and explain how the major human body systems interact to carry out vital functions and maintain the organism (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 4; systems and system models; structure and function).

Describe the reactants, products, and energy transformation of photosynthesis, and explain its role in capturing light energy as chemical energy in glucose (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 4; energy and matter; cause and effect).

Investigate and explain the functions of cellular organelles in eukaryotic cells, and relate the structure of each organelle to the function it performs (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 1; structure and function).

Explain how cells maintain homeostasis, including how the cell membrane and feedback responses keep internal conditions within a stable range (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 1; stability and change; cause and effect).

Describe the levels of organization in multicellular organisms, from cells to tissues to organs to organ systems to organisms, and relate specialized cells to the functions they perform (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 1; systems and system models; structure and function).

Compare and contrast prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, including size, complexity, and the presence of a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 1; patterns; structure and function).

Describe the role of the cell membrane in maintaining homeostasis, including selective permeability and the movement of materials by diffusion, osmosis, and active transport (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 1; structure and function; stability and change).

Recognize that viruses are not cells, comparing their structure and reproduction to that of cells, and state the components of cell theory (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 1; structure and function; patterns).

Describe how matter cycles through ecosystems, including the carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles, and explain the role of decomposers in returning nutrients (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 5; energy and matter; systems and system models).

Explain primary and secondary succession, and evaluate how human activities such as pollution, habitat destruction, and resource use affect ecosystems and biodiversity (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 5; stability and change; cause and effect).

Interpret food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids to explain how energy flows through an ecosystem and is lost at each trophic level (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 5; energy and matter; using mathematics).

Describe the levels of ecological organization from organism to biosphere, and distinguish the biotic and abiotic factors that make up an ecosystem (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 5; systems and system models; patterns).

Analyze how limiting factors and carrying capacity affect population size, and interpret population graphs and predator-prey relationships (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 5; cause and effect; stability and change).

Identify the components of DNA, describe the structure of the double helix and base pairing, and explain how DNA is replicated accurately before cell division (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 2; structure and function; patterns).

Describe applications of DNA technology, including gel electrophoresis, DNA fingerprinting, recombinant DNA, and genetically modified organisms, and evaluate their benefits and concerns (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 2; cause and effect; structure and function).

Recognize the types of gene mutations and explain how a change in the DNA base sequence may be harmful, beneficial, or neutral and how it can be inherited (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 2; cause and effect; stability and change).

Explain the role of meiosis in producing gametes with half the chromosome number and in generating genetic variation, and contrast meiosis with mitosis (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 2; patterns; cause and effect).

Apply Mendel's laws and use Punnett squares to predict the genotype and phenotype ratios of monohybrid crosses, and identify patterns of inheritance including dominant, recessive, codominant, and incomplete dominance (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 2; patterns; using mathematics).

Describe how the information in DNA is used to build proteins through transcription and translation, and explain how the order of bases determines the order of amino acids (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 2; cause and effect; structure and function).

Analyze and interpret data in tables and graphs to identify trends, describe relationships between variables, and draw evidence-based conclusions, as embedded across the STAAR Biology reporting categories (TEKS Biology scientific and engineering practices; patterns; using mathematics).

Construct a written explanation that makes a claim, supports it with evidence from a stimulus, and gives scientific reasoning, to answer the STAAR Biology short constructed response on the 2-point rubric (TEKS Biology scientific and engineering practices; engaging in argument from evidence).

Plan and evaluate a controlled investigation by identifying the independent, dependent, and controlled variables and the control group, as embedded across the STAAR Biology reporting categories (TEKS Biology scientific and engineering practices; cause and effect).

Recognize and approach the redesigned STAAR Biology question types, including multiselect, multipart, hot spot, drag and drop, inline choice, and text entry, alongside multiple choice (TEKS Biology scientific and engineering practices; obtaining and communicating information).