Mississippi Science BIO.5.9
The Standard
- BIO.5
- Students will Investigate and evaluate the interdependence of living organisms and their environment.
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to investigate and model current technological uses of biomimicry to address solutions to real-world problems. *
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Interdependence of Organisms and Their Environments
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students investigate a technology that copies a useful feature of an organism. They identify the problem it solves, then build, test, and revise a model against a measurable goal.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can explain how the hooks on a burr inspired a hook-and-loop fastener. They can set a test target, record how their model performs, and use the results to explain a change.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may call any nature-shaped object biomimicry, even if it copies no useful feature. They may assume a model works because it looks like the organism, without testing it.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Show a burr and a hook-and-loop strip. Ask students to name the copied feature and describe how they would test a felt-and-paper-clip model using 10 pennies.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Show burr photos; have pairs hook bent paper clips into felt, suspend a paper cup on string, add pennies, and revise their hooks.
Show lotus leaf photos and a self-cleaning paint label; ask, "What leaf feature helps the paint shed dirt?"
Give groups cards showing burr hooks, lotus leaves, hook-and-loop strips, and self-cleaning paint; have them match each organism to its product.
Show a muddy bus shelter photo; have students sketch a lotus-inspired coating and plan a rain test within a set budget.
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Printable BIO.5.9 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to BIO.5.9, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- ZOO.5.3
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to develop a biomimicry of an arthropod’s exoskeleton to meet a human need. *
- ZOO.8.6
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to model biomimicry of ectothermic temperature regulation or chemosensory detection to meet a societal need. *
- ZOO.9.10
Enrichment: Based on an understanding of biomimicry, use an engineering design process to develop a tool based on a bird’s beak/feet to meet a human need. *
- BOT.4.6
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to design and conduct an investigation that uses biomimicry to provide a plant-based solution to an environmental ...
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