Organisms and Environments

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Organisms and environments. The student knows how systems are organized and function to support the health of an organism and how trait are inherited.
Glossary terms and definitions are consistent across kindergarten through high school in the TEKS Guide. The definitions are intended to give educators a common understanding of the terms regardless of what grade level they teach. Glossary definitions are not intended for use with students.

the identification by humans of desirable traits in plants and animals and the steps taken to enhance and perpetuate those traits in future generations, also called selective breeding

a natural process that results in the survival and reproductive success of individuals or groups best adjusted to their environment and that leads to the perpetuation of genetic qualities best suited to that particular environment

an individual form of life, such as a plant, animal, bacterium, protist, or fungus; a body made up of organs, organelles, or other parts that work together to carry on the various processes of life

a group of interbreeding organisms of the same species within an environment

regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole

the specific variations in the characteristics of organisms received from a parent or ancestor by genetic transmission

Research

Clary, Renee, and James Wandersee. "Creative Natural Selection." Science Scope 36, no. 2 (2012): 36–43.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/43184212

Summary: Natural selection is the topic of investigation in the article "Creative Natural Selection." Two main tasks are provided to have students investigate how the success of organisms is connected to how well they are adapted to their environment.