Antibiotic Resistance - Task A
Lesson
Alignment and Connections of Task Components to the Standards Bundle Task Component A asks students to calculate and plot the frequency of traits within a bacterial population growing in a petri dish over time. In this component students use the following mathematics skills: When the students calculate the frequencies, they are applying the CCSS-M content standard of 6.RP.3.c (Find a percent of a quantity as a rate per 100). When the students construct a graph showing the frequencies over time, they are using previously learned skills the CCSS-M content standard of 6.SP.4. When the students make a prediction of the frequencies of traits assuming that no one trait provides an advantage over another and then compare that prediction to the actual frequencies, they can demonstrate their understanding of parts of the CCSS-M content standards of 7.SP.7 and 7.SP.7a, and the CCSS-M practices of MP.2 and MP.4. By calculating and plotting frequencies to mathematically represent trends in traits in a changing population of many bacterial cells and using those calculated numbers to discuss how natural selection influenced the change in the frequency of the traits, students are partially addressing the NGSS performance expectation of MS-LS4-6 and parts (individual bullets from Appendix F) of the associated practice of Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking, and parts (bullets from Appendix E) of the core idea of LS4.C: Adaptation. This also partially addresses parts of the NGSS core idea of LS4.B: Natural Selection as it relates to MS-LS4-6, parts of the NGSS practices of Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions and Analyzing and Interpreting Data, and parts (bullet from Appendix G) of the NGSS crosscutting concepts of Patterns and Stability and Change. The calculation of frequencies and plots are essential evidence for the scientific explanations of natural selection whereas the science data provides a real life context for calculating frequencies, percentages, and making and comparing statements of probability. When students make a statement of probability and describe the reasoning behind their prediction, they are essentially making and supporting a claim and are partially addressing W.7.1, W.7.1.a, W.7.1.b, W.7.1.c, WHST.6-8.1, WHST.6-8.1.a, WHST.6-8.1.b, and WHST.6-8.1.c.