| (a) General requirements. Students shall be awarded
one credit for successful completion of this course. Prerequisite:
one unit of high school biology. Recommended prerequisite: Integrated
Physics and Chemistry, Chemistry, or concurrent enrollment in either
course. This course is recommended for students in Grade 10, 11, or
12.
(b) Introduction.
(1) Environmental Systems. In Environmental Systems,
students conduct laboratory and field investigations, use scientific
methods during investigations, and make informed decisions using critical
thinking and scientific problem solving. Students study a variety
of topics that include biotic and abiotic factors in habitats, ecosystems
and biomes, interrelationships among resources and an environmental
system, sources and flow of energy through an environmental system,
relationship between carrying capacity and changes in populations
and ecosystems, natural changes in the environment, and human activities
that impact the natural environment.
(2) Nature of science. Science, as defined by the National
Academy of Sciences, is the "use of evidence to construct testable
explanations and predictions of natural phenomena, as well as the
knowledge generated through this process." This vast body of changing
and increasing knowledge is described by physical, mathematical, and
conceptual models. Students should know that some questions are outside
the realm of science because they deal with phenomena that are not
currently scientifically testable.
(3) Scientific hypotheses and theories. Students are
expected to know that:
(A) hypotheses are tentative and testable statements
that must be capable of being supported or not supported by observational
evidence. Hypotheses of durable explanatory power that have been tested
over a wide variety of conditions are incorporated into theories;
and
(B) scientific theories are based on natural and physical
phenomena and are capable of being tested by multiple independent
researchers. Unlike hypotheses, scientific theories are well established
and highly reliable explanations, but they may be subject to change
as new areas of science and new technologies are developed.
(4) Scientific inquiry. Scientific inquiry is the planned
and deliberate investigation of the natural world using scientific
and engineering practices. Scientific methods of investigation are
descriptive, comparative, or experimental. The method chosen should
be appropriate to the question being asked. Student learning for different
types of investigations include descriptive investigations, which
involve collecting data and recording observations without making
comparisons; comparative investigations, which involve collecting
data with variables that are manipulated to compare results; and experimental
investigations, which involve processes similar to comparative investigations
but in which a control is identified.
(A) Scientific practices. Students should be able to
ask questions, plan and conduct investigations to answer questions,
and explain phenomena using appropriate tools and models.
(B) Engineering practices. Students should be able
to identify problems and design solutions using appropriate tools
and models.
(5) Science and social ethics. Scientific decision
making is a way of answering questions about the natural world involving
its own set of ethical standards about how the process of science
should be carried out. Students should be able to distinguish between
scientific decision-making methods (scientific methods) and ethical
and social decisions that involve science (the application of scientific
information).
(6) Science consists of recurring themes and making
connections between overarching concepts. Recurring themes include
systems, models, and patterns. All systems have basic properties that
can be described in space, time, energy, and matter. Change and constancy
occur in systems as patterns and can be observed, measured, and modeled.
These patterns help to make predictions that can be scientifically
tested, while models allow for boundary specification and provide
tools for understanding the ideas presented. Students should analyze
a system in terms of its components and how these components relate
to each other, to the whole, and to the external environment.
(7) Statements containing the word "including" reference
content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such
as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(c) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Scientific and engineering practices. The student,
for at least 40% of instructional time, asks questions, identifies
problems, and plans and safely conducts classroom, laboratory, and
field investigations to explain phenomena or design solutions using
appropriate tools and models. The student is expected to:
(A) ask questions and define problems based on observations
or information from text, phenomena, models, or investigations;
(B) apply scientific practices to plan and conduct
descriptive, comparative, and experimental investigations and use
engineering practices to design solutions to problems;
(C) use appropriate safety equipment and practices
during laboratory, classroom, and field investigations as outlined
in Texas Education Agency-approved safety standards;
(D) use appropriate tools such as meter sticks, metric
rulers, pipettes, graduated cylinders, standard laboratory glassware,
balances, timing devices, pH meters or probes, various data collecting
probes, thermometers, calculators, computers, internet access, turbidity
testing devices, hand magnifiers, work and disposable gloves, compasses,
first aid kits, binoculars, field guides, water quality test kits
or probes, soil test kits or probes, 30 meter tape measures, tarps,
shovels, trowels, screens, buckets, rock and mineral samples equipment,
air quality testing devices, cameras, flow meters, Global Positioning
System (GPS) units, Geographic Information System (GIS) software,
computer models, densiometers, spectrophotometers, stereomicroscopes,
compound microscopes, clinometers, field journals, various prepared
slides, hand lenses, hot plates, Petri dishes, sampling nets, waders,
leveling grade rods (Jason sticks), protractors, inclination and height
distance calculators, samples of biological specimens or structures,
core sampling equipment, and kick nets;
(E) collect quantitative data using the International
System of Units (SI) and qualitative data as evidence;
(F) organize quantitative and qualitative data using
probeware, spreadsheets, lab notebooks or journals, models, diagrams,
graphs paper, computers, or cellphone applications;
(G) develop and use models to represent phenomena,
systems, processes, or solutions to engineering problems; and
(H) distinguish between scientific hypotheses, theories,
and laws.
(2) Scientific and engineering practices. The student
analyzes and interprets data to derive meaning, identify features
and patterns, and discover relationships or correlations to develop
evidence-based arguments or evaluate designs. The student is expected
to:
(A) identify advantages and limitations of models such
as their size, scale, properties, and materials;
(B) analyze data by identifying significant statistical
features, patterns, sources of error, and limitations;
(C) use mathematical calculations to assess quantitative
relationships in data; and
(D) evaluate experimental and engineering designs.
(3) Scientific and engineering practices. The student
develops evidence-based explanations and communicates findings, conclusions,
and proposed solutions. The student is expected to:
(A) develop explanations and propose solutions supported
by data and models consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and
theories;
(B) communicate explanations and solutions individually
and collaboratively in a variety of settings and formats; and
(C) engage respectfully in scientific argumentation
using applied scientific explanations and empirical evidence.
(4) Scientific and engineering practices. The student
knows the contributions of scientists and recognizes the importance
of scientific research and innovation on society. The student is expected
to:
(A) analyze, evaluate, and critique scientific explanations
and solutions by using empirical evidence, logical reasoning, and
experimental and observational testing, so as to encourage critical
thinking by the student;
(B) relate the impact of past and current research
on scientific thought and society, including research methodology,
cost-benefit analysis, and contributions of diverse scientists as
related to the content; and
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