Indiana Science HS-AP5-5

ScienceGrades 9–12Integration and Coordination, the Nervous System

The Standard

Identify the various classification of neurotransmitters and their associated functions.

Indiana Academic Standards for Science (2023) · Integration and Coordination, the Nervous System

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Sort neurotransmitters into chemical groups, such as amino acids, monoamines, and peptides. Link named examples to jobs in the nervous system, including movement, pain control, and changes in neuron activity.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student groups glutamate and GABA as amino acids, dopamine as a monoamine, and endorphins as peptides. They explain that glutamate often increases neuron activity, GABA often decreases it, dopamine helps control movement, and endorphins reduce pain.
Common Misconceptions: Students may call dopamine the “happiness chemical” and miss its role in movement. They may treat “excitatory” as a chemical group or assume a neurotransmitter has the same effect on every cell.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Classify glutamate, GABA, dopamine, and endorphins by chemical group. Write one common function for each.

Lesson moves

Give pairs cards naming four neurotransmitters, their chemical groups, and their functions; have them sort the cards into matching sets.
Ask students to write why calling dopamine the “happiness chemical” leaves out part of its job.
Play a matching relay where teams pair transmitter names with group and function cards, then explain one match.
Give students a short Parkinson’s disease case and ask how reduced dopamine signaling could help explain slow movement.

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