SCI.LS1.A.m: All living things are made up of cells. In organisms, cells work together to form tissues and organs that are specialized for particular body functions.

SCI.LS1.B.m: Animals engage in behaviors that increase the odds of reproduction. An organism's growth is affected by both genetic and environmental factors.

SCI.LS1.C.m: Plants use the energy from light to make sugars through photosynthesis. Within individual organisms, food is broken down through a series of chemical reactions that rearrange molecules and release energy.

SCI.LS1.D.m: Each sense receptor responds to different inputs, transmitting them as signals that travel along nerve cells to the brain. The signals are then processed in the brain resulting in immediate behavior or memories.

SCI.LS2.A.m: Organisms and populations are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors, any of which can limit their growth. Competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial interactions vary across ecosystems but the patterns are shared.

SCI.LS2.B.m: The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem. Food webs model how matter and energy are transferred among producers, consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact within an ecosystem.

SCI.LS2.C.m: Ecosystem characteristics vary over time. Disruptions to any part of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all of its populations. The completeness or integrity of an ecosystem's biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health.

SCI.LS2.D.m: Changes in biodiversity can influence humans' resources, such as food, energy, and medicines, as well as ecosystem services that humans rely on -- for example, water purification and recycling.

SCI.LS3.A.m: Genes chiefly regulate a specific protein, which affect an individual's traits.

SCI.LS3.B.m: In sexual reproduction, each parent contributes half of the genes acquired by the offspring resulting in variation between parent and offspring. Genetic information can be altered because of mutations, which may result in beneficial, negative, or no change to proteins in or traits of an organism.

SCI.LS4.A.m: The fossil record documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms and their environments through Earth's history. The fossil record and comparisons of anatomical similarities between organisms enables the inference of lines of evolutionary descent.

SCI.LS4.B.m: Both natural and artificial selection result from certain traits giving some individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing, leading to predominance of certain traits in a population.

SCI.LS4.C.m: Species can change over time in response to changes in environmental conditions through adaptation by natural selection acting over generations. Traits that support successful survival and reproduction in the new environment become more common.

SCI.LS4.D.m: Changes in biodiversity can influence humans' resources and ecosystem services they rely on.

SCI.PS1.A.m: The fact that matter is composed of atoms and molecules can be used to explain the properties of substances, diversity of materials, states of matter, phase changes, and conservation of matter.

SCI.PS1.B.m: Reacting substances rearrange to form different molecules, but the number of atoms is conserved. Some reactions release energy and others absorb energy.

SCI.PS2.A.m.i: Motion and changes in motion can be qualitatively described using concepts of speed, velocity, and acceleration (including speeding up, slowing down, and/or changing direction).

SCI.PS2.A.m.ii: The role of the mass of an object must be qualitatively accounted for in any change of motion due to the application of a force (Newton's first and second law).

SCI.PS2.A.m.iii: For any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first, but in the opposite direction (Newton's third law).

SCI.PS2.B.m: Forces that act at a distance involve fields that can be mapped by their relative strength and effect on an object.

SCI.PS3.A.m: Kinetic energy can be distinguished from the various forms of potential energy.

SCI.PS3.B.m: Energy changes to and from each type can be tracked through physical or chemical interactions. The relationship between the temperature and the total energy of a system depends on the types, states, and amounts of matter.

SCI.PS3.C.m: When two objects interact, each one exerts a force on the other, and these forces can transfer energy between the interacting objects.

SCI.PS3.D.m: Sunlight is captured by plants and used in a chemical reaction to produce sugar molecules for storing this energy. This stored energy can be released by respiration or combustion, which can be reversed by burning those molecules to release energy.

SCI.PS4.A.m: A simple wave model has a repeating pattern with a specific wavelength, frequency, and amplitude, and mechanical waves need a medium through which they are transmitted. This model can explain many phenomena including sound and light. Waves can transmit energy.

SCI.PS4.B.m: The construct of a wave is used to model how light interacts with objects.

SCI.PS4.C.m: Waves can be used to transmit digital information. Digitized information is comprised of a pattern of 1s and 0s.

SCI.ESS1.A.m: The solar system is part of the Milky Way, which is one of many billions of galaxies.

SCI.ESS1.B.m: The solar system contains many varied objects held together by gravity. Solar system models explain and predict eclipses, lunar phases, and seasons.

SCI.ESS1.C.m: Rock strata and the fossil record can be used as evidence to organize the relative occurrence of major historical events in Earth's history.

SCI.ESS2.A.m: Energy flows and matter cycles within and among Earth's systems, including the sun and Earth's interior as primary energy sources. Plate tectonics is one result of these processes.

SCI.ESS2.B.m: Plate tectonics is the unifying theory that explains movements of rocks at Earth's surface and geological history. Maps are used to display evidence of plate movement.

SCI.ESS2.C.m: Water cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere, and is propelled by sunlight and gravity. Density variations of sea water drive interconnected ocean currents. Water movement causes weathering and erosion, changing landscape features.

SCI.ESS2.D.m: Complex interactions determine local weather patterns and influence climate, including the role of the ocean.

SCI.ESS2.E.m: The fossil record documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms throughout history (linked to content in LS4.A).

SCI.ESS3.A.m: Humans depend on Earth's land, oceans, fresh water, atmosphere, and biosphere for different resources, many of which are limited or not renewable. Resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geologic processes.

SCI.ESS3.B.m: Patterns can be seen through mapping the history of natural hazards in a region and understanding related geological forces.

SCI.ESS3.C.m: Human activities have altered the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere which in turn has altered the biosphere. Changes to the biosphere can have different impacts for different living things. Activities and technologies can be engineered to reduce people's impacts on Earth.

SCI.ESS3.D.m: Evidence suggests human activities affect global warming. Decisions to reduce the impact of global warming depend on understanding climate science, engineering capabilities, and social dynamics.

SCI.ETS1.A.m: The more precisely a design task's criteria and constraints can be defined, the more likely it is that the designed solution will be successful. Specification of constraints includes consideration of scientific principles and other relevant knowledge that are likely to limit possible solutions.

SCI.ETS1.B.m.i: A solution needs to be tested and then modified on the basis of the test results in order to improve it.

SCI.ETS1.B.m.ii: There are systematic processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how well they meet the criteria and constraints of a problem.

SCI.ETS1.B.m.iii: Sometimes parts of different solutions can be combined to create a solution that is better than any of its predecessors.

SCI.ETS1.B.m.iv: Models of all kinds are important for testing solutions.

SCI.ETS1.C.m.i: Although one design may not perform the best across all tests, identifying the characteristics of the design that performed the best in each test can provide useful information for the redesign process—that is, some of those characteristics may be incorporated into the new design.

SCI.ETS1.C.m.ii: The iterative process of testing the most promising solutions and modifying what is proposed on the basis of the test results leads to greater refinement and ultimately to an optimal solution.

SCI.ETS2.A.m.i: Engineering advances have led to important discoveries in virtually every field of science, and scientific discoveries have led to the development of entire industries and engineered systems.

SCI.ETS2.A.m.ii: Science and technology drive each other forward.

SCI.ETS2.B.m.i: All human activity draws on natural resources and has both short and long-term consequences, positive as well as negative, for the health of people and the natural environment.

SCI.ETS2.B.m.ii: The uses of technologies are driven by people's needs, desires, and values; by the findings of scientific research; and by differences in such factors as climate, natural resources, and economic conditions.

SCI.ETS2.B.m.iii: Technology use varies over time and from region to region.

SCI.ETS3.A.m.i: Individuals and teams from many nations, cultures and backgrounds have contributed to advances in science and engineering.

SCI.ETS3.A.m.ii: Scientists and engineers are persistent, use creativity, reasoning, and skepticism, and remain open to new ideas.

SCI.ETS3.A.m.iii: Science and engineering are influenced by what is valued in society.

SCI.ETS3.B.m.i: Science asks questions to understand the natural world and assumes that objects and events in natural systems occur in consistent patterns that are understandable through measurement and observation. Science carefully considers and evaluates anomalies in data and evidence.

SCI.ETS3.B.m.ii: Engineering seeks solutions to human problems, including issues that arise due to human interaction with the environment. It uses some of the same practices as science and often applies scientific principles to solutions.

SCI.ETS3.B.m.iii: Science and engineering have direct impacts on the quality of life for all people. Therefore, scientists and engineers need to pursue their work in an ethical manner that requires honesty, fairness and dedication to public health, safety and welfare.

SCI.ETS3.C.m.i: A theory is an explanation of some aspect of the natural world. Scientists develop theories by using multiple approaches. Validity of these theories and explanations is increased through a peer review process that tests and evaluates the evidence supporting scientific claims.

SCI.ETS3.C.m.ii: Theories are explanations for observable phenomena based on a body of evidence developed over time. A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested to evaluate a theory. Scientific laws describe cause and effect relationships among observable phenomena.

SCI.ETS3.C.m.iii: Engineers develop solutions using multiple approaches and evaluate their solutions against criteria such as cost, safety, time and performance. This evaluation often involves trade-offs between constraints to find the optimal solution.