MS-LS1-7
The standard
Develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions forming new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as this matter moves through an organism.
Next Generation Science Standards
What this standard means
Students need to show, with a model, that food does not just “turn into energy.” Food molecules are broken apart and rearranged into new molecules the body can use for growth, repair, and other functions. During these reactions, some energy is released for the organism to use.
Mastery looks like a labeled diagram, flowchart, or physical model that tracks both matter and energy through an organism. Students often get stuck thinking matter disappears, energy becomes matter, or food is only fuel. Push them to separate matter from energy in their explanations.
Ways to teach it
- Use colored snap cubes to model food molecules breaking apart and recombining into body molecules, with tokens showing energy released.
- Ask students to write: What happens to the atoms in a sandwich after you eat it?
- Give an exit ticket with a food molecule diagram and ask students to show rearrangement, new molecules, and energy release.
- Have students trace how breakfast supports a growing athlete, separating matter used for growth from energy used for movement.
Plan a lesson for MS-LS1-7
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related standards
- HS-LS1-7
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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.