Mississippi Science BOT.2.5
The Standard
- BOT.2
- Students will identify evolutionary modifications necessary for the terrestrial survival of plants.
Enrichment: Referencing the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s gene/protein databases, propose and design a scientifically supportable cladogram or phylogenetic tree that illustrates the evolutionary modifications of the plant kingdom using genetic (DNA) or protein sequence comparisons/alignments.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Plant Evolution
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students find the same gene sequence for several plants in the NCBI database and compare the aligned DNA. They use shared changes to draw a branching tree and explain what the sequence evidence supports.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can root a tree with a green alga, place the plant groups on branches, and mark DNA positions that support each grouping. They can explain why one gene may leave some branches uncertain.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may draw a straight line from moss to flowering plants, as if living mosses were their ancestors. They may compare different genes or treat one matching base as proof of a close relationship.
How to Assess It
- Give students a printed 10-site NCBI rbcL alignment and two candidate trees for a green alga, moss, fern, pine, and sunflower. Ask them to choose the better-supported tree and cite two DNA positions.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Hand out printed NCBI rbcL alignment excerpts; students highlight shared changes and arrange labeled plant cards into a tree.
Ask: Why might pine and sunflower share a branch that moss does not? Have students cite two positions in the alignment.
Give teams three candidate trees and an rbcL alignment; award a point for each branch they support with a shared change.
Label one NCBI rbcL sequence as an unknown nursery plant; students compare it with named samples and place it on their tree.
Free download
Printable BOT.2.5 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to BOT.2.5, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- GEN.5.7
Enrichment: Use genomic databases for sequence analysis and apply the information to species comparisons, evolutionary relationships, and/or determine the molec...
- MAQ.7.2
Identify characteristics that are shared and derived using graphical representations of animal evolution and develop cladograms/phylogenetic trees.
- BIO.4.3
Analyze cladograms/phylogenetic trees to illustrate relatedness between species.
- FB.5.5
Enrichment: Create and analyze models that illustrate the relatedness between all living things (cladograms/phylogenic trees).
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson