Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY › Chapter 112 - TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR SCIENCE › Subchapter C - HIGH SCHOOL › Section 112.42 - Biology (One Credit), Adopted 2020

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) General requirements. Students shall be
				  awarded one credit for successful completion of this course. This course is
				  recommended for students in Grades 9-11.
(b) Introduction.
(1) Biology. Students in Biology focus on
				  patterns, processes, and relationships of living organisms through four main
				  concepts: biological structures, functions, and processes; mechanisms of
				  genetics; biological evolution; and interdependence within environmental
				  systems. By the end of Grade 12, students are expected to gain sufficient
				  knowledge of the scientific and engineering practices across the disciplines of
				  science to make informed decisions using critical thinking and scientific
				  problem solving.
(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 a tool 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.