Key Idea: Different body structures are made up of different types of cells.
Students are expected to know that:
- The different body structures of plants and animals (including brain, muscles, skin, and lungs in animals, and stems and flowers in plants) are made up of different types of cells.
- The different types of cells that make up the body parts of animals develop from one single cell.
- The different types of cells that make up the body parts of plants can develop from one single cell.
- After a single cell goes through a series of cell divisions, the cells begin to differentiate into a variety of types of cells with specialized structures and functions. The different types of cells continue to reproduce and further differentiate to form the specialized body structures that make up most multicellular organisms.
- Groups of cells work together to perform specialized functions in multicellular organisms. These include.red blood cells, which carry oxygen to all cells of the body, muscle cells, which allow movement of the organism, and nerve cells, which transmit electrical signals between the brain and the rest of the body.
Boundaries:
- Students are not expected to know the stages of cell differentiation (e.g., blastula, gastrula) or the role of differential gene expression in cell differentiation.
- Students are not expected to know the process of cell differentiation.
- Students are not expected to know that plants can reproduce asexually (in which case they come from many cells).
| Item ID Number |
Knowledge Being Assessed | Grades 6–8 |
Grades 9–12 |
Select This Item for My Item Bank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Red blood cells supply oxygen to cells of the lungs and cells of the rest of the body. | 56% |
67% |
|
|
51% |
59% |
|
||
All parts of the body, including the skin and lungs, develop from a single fertilized egg cell. | 52% |
58% |
|
|
Red blood cells supply oxygen to both muscle cells and nerve cells. | 52% |
53% |
|
|
Red blood cells supply oxygen to both muscle cells and cells of the digestive tract. | 45% |
57% |
|
|
Both the leaves and the roots of a plant can develop from a single fertilized cell. | 42% |
48% |
|
|
Red blood cells supply oxygen to both cells of the digestive tract and nerve cells. | 39% |
51% |
|
|
Both the flowers and the stem of a plant can develop from a single fertilized cell. | 40% |
48% |
|
Misconception |
Student Misconception |
Grades |
Grades |
|---|---|---|---|
The leaves of plants cannot develop from a single fertilized cell. | 38% |
38% | |
Red blood cells do not supply oxygen to cells of the digestive tract. | 40% |
34% | |
The flowers of plants cannot develop from a single fertilized cell. | 35% |
32% | |
The stems of plants cannot develop from a single fertilized cell. | 36% |
29% | |
The muscles of animals do not develop from a single fertilized egg cell. | 35% |
29% | |
34% |
28% | ||
The lungs of animals do not develop from a single fertilized egg cell. | 32% |
30% | |
The skin of animals does not develop from a single fertilized egg cell. | 31% |
25% | |
The roots of plants cannot develop from a single fertilized cell. | 31% |
24% | |
The brain of animals does not develop from a single fertilized egg cell. | 29% |
24% | |
26% |
20% | ||
24% |
19% |
Frequency of selecting a misconception was calculated by dividing the total number of times a misconception was chosen by the number of times it could have been chosen, averaged over the number of students answering the questions within this particular idea.
Code |
Statement |
|---|---|