Texas · TEASyllabus
Biology syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the Texas Biologysyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
Reporting Category 3: Biological Evolution and Classification
Module overview →- How do scientists use diagrams to show the evolutionary relationships among species?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).11 min answer →
- What different lines of evidence show that species have changed over time and share common ancestors?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).11 min answer →
- Besides natural selection, what factors change the genetic makeup of a population and lead to new species?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).11 min answer →
- How does natural selection cause a population to become better suited to its environment over time?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).12 min answer →
- How do scientists organize the diversity of life into a system that reflects how organisms are related?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).10 min answer →
Reporting Category 4: Biological Processes and Systems
Module overview →- How do cells release the energy stored in glucose to power their activities?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).11 min answer →
- How are photosynthesis and cellular respiration related, and why are they often described as opposites?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).10 min answer →
- What are the main building-block molecules of life, and how do enzymes speed up the reactions that use them?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).11 min answer →
- How does the body detect a change and act to bring conditions back to normal?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).11 min answer →
- How do the systems of the human body work together to keep the organism alive?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).11 min answer →
- How do plants capture light energy and use it to make food, and what goes in and comes out?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).11 min answer →
Reporting Category 1: Cell Structure and Function
Module overview →- How does the structure of each organelle suit the function it carries out for the cell?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).11 min answer →
- How does a cell keep its internal conditions stable when the outside world changes?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).10 min answer →
- How are living things organized from a single cell up to a whole organism?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).10 min answer →
- What makes a eukaryotic cell different from a prokaryotic cell, and why does that difference matter?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).10 min answer →
- How does the cell membrane control what enters and leaves the cell, and how does that keep the cell in balance?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).11 min answer →
- Why are viruses not considered living cells, and what does cell theory tell us about life?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).9 min answer →
Reporting Category 5: Interdependence within Environmental Systems
Module overview →- How do elements like carbon and nitrogen move through an ecosystem and get reused?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).11 min answer →
- How do communities change over time, and how do human activities affect ecosystems?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).11 min answer →
- How does energy move through an ecosystem, and why is so little of it left at the top of a food chain?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).12 min answer →
- How do ecologists organize the living and non-living parts of the environment into levels?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).10 min answer →
- What controls how large a population can grow, and what happens when it reaches that limit?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).11 min answer →
Reporting Category 2: Mechanisms of Genetics
Module overview →- How is the structure of DNA suited to storing information and being copied accurately?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).11 min answer →
- How do scientists read, copy, and change DNA, and why does it matter to society?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).10 min answer →
- What is a mutation, and why can the same kind of change be harmful, helpful, or have no effect?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).10 min answer →
- Why must gametes have half the usual number of chromosomes, and how does meiosis create variation?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).11 min answer →
- How are traits passed from parents to offspring, and how can we predict the outcomes of a genetic cross?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).13 min answer →
- How does the sequence of bases in DNA end up determining a protein and a trait?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).12 min answer →
Scientific Investigation and Reasoning (embedded practices)
Module overview →- How do you read a data table or graph and draw a valid conclusion from it?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).11 min answer →
- How do you write a short constructed response that earns full points on the STAAR rubric?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).11 min answer →
- How do you design a fair experiment, and how do you identify the variables and controls?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).11 min answer →
- What are the redesigned STAAR question types, and how do you approach each one?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).11 min answer →