HS-LS1-7
The standard
Use a model to illustrate that 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.
Next Generation Science Standards
What this standard means
Students need to use a model to show what goes into cellular respiration, what comes out, and how energy is transferred. They should connect glucose and oxygen to carbon dioxide, water, and usable energy without memorizing glycolysis, Krebs cycle, or electron transport details.
Mastery looks like a labeled diagram, particle model, or equation model that shows atoms rearranging and energy moving from chemical bonds to the cell. Students often think energy is “made,” that oxygen becomes energy, or that respiration means breathing only.
Ways to teach it
- Hands-on: Give students molecule cards for glucose and oxygen, then have them rearrange atoms into carbon dioxide and water with energy tokens released.
- Prompt: Explain why cellular respiration is not just breathing, using the words glucose, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water, and energy.
- Quick assessment: Show an unlabeled respiration model and ask students to label inputs, outputs, and where energy transfer is shown.
- Real-world connection: Have students compare a resting athlete and sprinting athlete, then explain why muscle cells need more glucose and oxygen.
Plan a lesson for HS-LS1-7
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related standards
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Develop a model to illustrate that the release or absorption of energy from a chemical reaction system depends upon the changes in total bond energy.
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Use a model to illustrate how photosynthesis transforms light energy into stored chemical energy.