HS-LS2-3Cycling of Matter and Energy Flow

What NYSED says about assessing it

The three dimensions

Every item written to HS-LS2-3 has to assess all three dimensions together, not the content alone. This is the structural change that made older practice material stop matching the exam.

Related performance expectations

• HS-LS1-5PhotosynthesisUse a model to illustrate how photosynthesis transforms light energy into stored chemical energy.
• HS-LS1-6Carbon-Based MoleculesConstruct and revise an explanation based on evidence for how carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen from sugar molecules may combine with other elements such as nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus to form amino acids and other carbon-based molecules.
• HS-LS1-7Cellular RespirationUse a model to illustrate that aerobic cellular respiration is a chemical process whereby the bonds of food molecules and oxygen molecules are broken and the bonds in new compounds are formed resulting in a net transfer of energy.
• HS-LS2-4Energy Transfer Between Trophic LevelsUse mathematical representations to support claims for the cycling of matter and flow of energy among organisms in an ecosystem.
• HS-LS2-5The Carbon CycleDevelop a model to illustrate the role of various processes in the cycling of carbon among the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.