User:ArtifexMayhem/TexasSBOE

Notes on Texas 2010-2011 education insanity.

Chapter 112. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science Subchapter C. High School

(b)(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 scientifically testable.

(2)(A)  know the definition of science and understand that it has limitations, as specified in subsection (b)(2) of this section;

(3)(A)  in all fields of science, analyze, evaluate, and critique scientific explanations by using empirical evidence, logical reasoning, and experimental and observational testing, including examining all sides of scientific evidence of those scientific explanations, so as to encourage critical thinking by the student;

(3)(B)  communicate and apply scientific information extracted from various sources such as current events, news reports, published journal articles, and marketing materials;

(3)(C)  draw inferences based on data related to promotional materials for products and services;

112.34. Biology

(3)(E)  evaluate models according to their limitations in representing biological objects or events

(7)  Science concepts. The student knows evolutionary theory is a scientific explanation for the unity and diversity of life. The student is expected to:

(7)(A)  analyze and evaluate how evidence of common ancestry among groups is provided by the fossil record, biogeography, and homologies, including anatomical, molecular, and developmental;

(7)(B)  analyze and evaluate scientific explanations concerning any data of sudden appearance, stasis, and sequential nature of groups in the fossil record;

(7)(C)  analyze and evaluate how natural selection produces change in populations, not individuals;

(7)(D)  analyze and evaluate how the elements of natural selection, including inherited variation, the potential of a population to produce more offspring than can survive, and a finite supply of environmental resources, result in differential reproductive success;

(7)(E)  analyze and evaluate the relationship of natural selection to adaptation and to the development of diversity in and among species;

(7)(F)  analyze and evaluate the effects of other evolutionary mechanisms, including genetic drift, gene flow, mutation, and recombination; and

(7)(G)  analyze and evaluate scientific explanations concerning the complexity of the cell.