S.5.12.B | TEKS Guide

SCIENCE.5.12.B — Vertical Alignment

Vertical alignment shows student expectations in the same subject area at different grade levels that are related to or build upon one another.

Previous grade

S.1.12.C

identify and illustrate how living organisms depend on each other through food chains.

S.2.12.B

create and describe food chains identifying producers and consumers to demonstrate how animals depend on other living things; and

S.3.12.B

identify and describe the flow of energy in a food chain and predict how changes in a food chain such as removal of frogs from a pond or bees from a field affect the ecosystem;

S.4.12.B

describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy through food webs, including the roles of the Sun, producers, consumers, and decomposers; and

S.5.12.B

predict how changes in the ecosystem affect the cycling of matter and flow of energy in a food web; and

S.6.12.B

describe and give examples of predatory, competitive, and symbiotic relationships between organisms, including mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism; and

S.7.12.A

diagram the flow of energy within trophic levels and describe how the available energy decreases in successive trophic levels in energy pyramids; and

S.7.12.B

describe how ecosystems are sustained by the continuous flow of energy and the recycling of matter and nutrients within the biosphere.

S.8.12.A

explain how disruptions such as population changes, natural disasters, and human intervention impact the transfer of energy in food webs in ecosystems;

BIO.13.B

analyze how ecosystem stability is affected by disruptions to the cycling of matter and flow of energy through trophic levels using models;

AQUA.7.A

identify how energy flows and matter cycles through both freshwater and marine aquatic systems, including food webs, chains, and pyramids;

AQUA.8.C

use data from short-term or long-term studies to analyze interrelationships between producers, consumers, and decomposers in aquatic ecosystems.

ENVIR.5.E

use models to predict how the introduction of an invasive species may alter the food chain and affect existing populations in an ecosystem;

ENVIR.5.F

use models to predict how species extinction may alter the food chain and affect existing populations in an ecosystem; and

ENVIR.7.D

identify and describe how energy is used, transformed, and conserved as it flows through ecosystems.

Next grade

Recurring themes and concepts — Connections to the content

Recurring themes and concepts provide a connective structure for scientific ideas across disciplines. The connection(s) below show some ways that teachers can help students understand how the content they are learning fits into the broader understanding of science. These connections do not represent all possible connections that might be made but highlight some that are appropriate for this grade level.

Cause-and-effect relationships

Cause-and-effect relationships are relationships between two or more variables or phenomena whereby one variable or event leads to a predictable response. Events have causes—sometimes simple, sometimes multi-faceted.

Identify changes to an ecosystem (cause) and predict the effects of change on the other organisms in that ecosystem.

Model the interdependence and parts of a system

A system is a whole made of parts that work together. It has components and boundaries. It can interact with or be part of other systems.

The arrows in a food web communicate the relationships among organisms (parts) and how matter is cycled and energy flows through the ecosystem (system). Changes to the ecosystem can disrupt those relationships.

Flow of energy and cycling of matter through systems

Matter and energy are conserved, changing forms but maintaining quantities. Energy flows within a system or between systems through transfers and transformations. Matter is cycled within systems through physical and chemical processes.

A food web models how energy flows between and among the organisms in an ecosystem. A change to the ecosystem, such as a drought, impacts the number of producers, reducing the number of herbivores that the ecosystem can sustain. This alters the cycling of matter because fewer organisms are consumed and the flow of energy because fewer producers use the Sun's energy to make food.

Stability and change

Stability describes a system that does not change at the observed scale. In a stable system, a small disturbance will die out and the system will return to a stable state. Change in the system can come from modifying a factor or condition.

A healthy and sustainable ecosystem is stable. An event (change) that kills all the decomposers, for example, negatively impacts the stability of the ecosystem by altering the cycling of matter.

Cross-curricular Connections

The cross-curricular connections are designed to help educators make content connections between the science TEKS and math, English language arts and reading, social studies, and technology applications. The standards below illustrate alignment between grade level content areas which may help educators develop cross-curricular lessons. These connections do not represent all possible connections that might be made.

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Math

English Language Arts and Reading

Technology Applications

Science.5.12.B

SCIENCE.5.12.B — Vertical Alignment

Recurring themes and concepts — Connections to the content

Cross-curricular Connections