Texas Administrative Code
Title 19 - EDUCATION
Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
Chapter 130 - TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Subchapter A - AGRICULTURE, FOOD, AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Section 130.25 - Advanced Plant and Soil Science (One Credit)
Universal Citation: 19 TX Admin Code ยง 130.25
Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) General requirements. This course is recommended for students in Grades 11 and 12. Recommended prerequisites: Biology, Integrated Physics and Chemistry, Chemistry, or Physics and a minimum of one credit from the courses in the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Career Cluster. Students must meet the 40% laboratory and fieldwork requirement. This course satisfies a high school science graduation requirement. Students shall be awarded one credit for successful completion of this course.
(b) Introduction.
(1) Career and technical education
instruction provides content aligned with challenging academic standards and
relevant technical knowledge and skills for students to further their education
and succeed in current or emerging professions.
(2) The Agriculture, Food, and Natural
Resources Career Cluster focuses on the production, processing, marketing,
distribution, financing, and development of agricultural commodities and
resources, including food, fiber, wood products, natural resources,
horticulture, and other plant and animal products/resources.
(3) Advanced Plant and Soil Science provides
a way of learning about the natural world. Students should know how plant and
soil science has influenced a vast body of knowledge, that there are still
applications to be discovered, and that plant and soil science is the basis for
many other fields of science. To prepare for careers in plant and soil science,
students must attain academic skills and knowledge, acquire technical knowledge
and skills related to plant and soil science and the workplace, and develop
knowledge and skills regarding career opportunities, entry requirements, and
industry expectations. To prepare for success, students need opportunities to
learn, reinforce, apply, and transfer their knowledge and skills and
technologies in a variety of settings.
(4) Science, as defined by the National
Academy of Sciences, is the "use of evidence to construct testable explanations
and predictions of natural phenomena, as well as the knowledge generated
through this process." This vast body of changing and increasing knowledge is
described by physical, mathematical, and conceptual models. Students should
know that some questions are outside the realm of science because they deal
with phenomena that are not scientifically testable.
(5) Scientific inquiry is the planned and
deliberate investigation of the natural world. Scientific methods of
investigation are experimental, descriptive, or comparative. The method chosen
should be appropriate to the question being asked.
(6) Scientific decision making is a way of
answering questions about the natural world. Students should be able to
distinguish between scientific decision-making methods (scientific methods) and
ethical and social decisions that involve science (the application of
scientific information).
(7) A
system is a collection of cycles, structures, and processes that interact. All
systems have basic properties that can be described in space, time, energy, and
matter. Change and constancy occur in systems as patterns and can be observed,
measured, and modeled. These patterns help to make predictions that can be
scientifically tested. Students should analyze a system in terms of its
components and how these components relate to each other, to the whole, and to
the external environment.
(8)
Students are encouraged to participate in extended learning experiences such as
career and technical student organizations and other leadership or
extracurricular organizations.
(9)
Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be
mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible
illustrative examples.
(c) Knowledge and skills.
(1) The student demonstrates professional
standards/employability skills as required by business and industry. The
student is expected to:
(A) identify career
development and entrepreneurship opportunities in the field of plant
systems;
(B) apply competencies
related to resources, information, interpersonal skills, and systems of
operation in plant systems;
(C)
demonstrate knowledge of personal and occupational safety practices in the
workplace;
(D) identify employer
expectations and appropriate work habits; and
(E) demonstrate characteristics of good
citizenship, including advocacy, stewardship, and community
leadership.
(2) The
student, for at least 40% of instructional time, conducts laboratory and field
investigations using safe, environmentally appropriate, and ethical practices.
The student is expected to:
(A) demonstrate
safe practices during field and laboratory investigations; and
(B) demonstrate an understanding of the use
and conservation of resources and the proper disposal or recycling of
materials.
(3) The
student uses scientific methods and equipment during laboratory and field
investigations. The student is expected to:
(A) know the definition of science and
understand that it has limitations, as specified in subsection (b)(4) of this
section;
(B) know that hypotheses
are tentative and testable statements that must be capable of being supported
or not supported by observational evidence. Hypotheses of durable explanatory
power that have been tested over a wide variety of conditions are incorporated
into theories;
(C) know scientific
theories are based on natural and physical phenomena and are capable of being
tested by multiple independent researchers. Unlike hypotheses, scientific
theories are well-established and highly-reliable explanations, but they may be
subject to change as new areas of science and new technologies are
developed;
(D) distinguish between
scientific hypotheses and scientific theories;
(E) plan and implement descriptive,
comparative, and experimental investigations, including asking questions,
formulating testable hypotheses, and selecting equipment and
technology;
(F) collect and
organize qualitative and quantitative data and make measurements with accuracy
and precision using tools such as calculators, spreadsheet software,
data-collecting probes, computers, standard laboratory glassware, microscopes,
various prepared slides, stereoscopes, metric rulers, electronic balances,
analysis kits, sieve sets, sieve shakers, soil augers, soil moisture meters,
hand lenses, Celsius thermometers, lab notebooks or journals, timing devices,
cameras, Petri dishes, lab incubators, dissection equipment, meter sticks, and
models, diagrams, or samples of biological specimens or structures;
(G) analyze, evaluate, make inferences, and
predict trends from data; and
(H)
communicate valid conclusions supported by the data through methods such as lab
reports, labeled drawings, graphic organizers, journals, summaries, oral
reports, and technology-based reports.
(4) The student uses critical thinking,
scientific reasoning, and problem solving to make informed decisions within and
outside the classroom. The student is expected to:
(A) in all fields of science, analyze,
evaluate, and critique scientific explanations by using empirical evidence,
logical reasoning, and experimental and observational testing, including
examining all sides of scientific evidence of those scientific explanations, so
as to encourage critical thinking by the student;
(B) communicate and apply scientific
information extracted from various sources such as current events, news
reports, published journal articles, and marketing materials;
(C) draw inferences based on data related to
promotional materials for products and services;
(D) evaluate the impact of scientific
research on society and the environment;
(E) evaluate models according to their
limitations in representing biological objects or events; and
(F) research and describe the history of
biology and contributions of scientists.
(5) The student develops a supervised
agriculture experience program. The student is expected to:
(A) plan, propose, conduct, document, and
evaluate a supervised agriculture experience program as an experiential
learning activity;
(B) apply proper
record-keeping skills as they relate to the supervised agriculture
experience;
(C) participate in
youth leadership opportunities to create a well-rounded experience program;
and
(D) produce and participate in
a local program of activities using a strategic planning process.
(6) The student analyzes plant and
soil science as it relates to plant and soil relationships affecting the
production of food, fiber, and other economic crops. The student is expected
to:
(A) explain the importance and
interrelationship of soil and plants; and
(B) practice soil and plant evaluation as it
applies to agricultural and urban settings.
(7) The student develops scenarios for
advances in plant and soil science. The student is expected to:
(A) design, conduct, and complete research in
a laboratory or field investigation to solve problems in plant and soil
science;
(B) use charts, tables,
and graphs to prepare written summaries of results and data obtained in a
laboratory or field investigation;
(C) organize, analyze, evaluate, make
inferences, and predict trends from data obtained in a laboratory or field
investigation; and
(D) communicate
valid outcomes and solutions.
(8) The student explains the relationship of
biotic and abiotic factors within habitats and ecosystems. The student is
expected to:
(A) identify native and
introduced plants, assess their role in an ecosystem, and compare them to
plants in other ecosystems;
(B)
make observations and compile data about fluctuations in abiotic cycles and
evaluate their effects on local ecosystems;
(C) evaluate the impact of human activity
such as pest control, hydroponics, and sustainable agriculture on ecosystems;
and
(D) predict how the
introduction, removal, or re-introduction of an organism may affect the food
chain and existing populations.
(9) The student analyzes soil science as it
relates to food and fiber production. The student is expected to:
(A) explain soil formation;
(B) evaluate the properties and nature of
soils;
(C) recognize the importance
of conservation of soil and agencies involved in conservation;
(D) recognize the application of soil
mechanics to engineering and excavation operations;
(E) perform soil management practices such as
tillage trials and sustainable soil management practices; and
(F) practice soil evaluations related to
experiential activities such as land judging.
(10) The student describes the relationship
between resources within environmental systems. The student is expected to:
(A) summarize methods of land use and
management;
(B) identify sources,
use, quality, and conservation of water;
(C) explore the use and conservation of
renewable and non-renewable resources;
(D) analyze and evaluate the economic
significance and interdependence of components of the environment;
(E) evaluate the impact of human activity and
technology on soil fertility and productivity;
(F) analyze and describe the effects on
environments of events such as fire, hurricanes, deforestation, mining,
population growth, and urban development; and
(G) explain how regional changes in the
environment may have a global effect.
(11) The student describes the origin and use
of water in a watershed. The student is expected to:
(A) identify sources and calculate the amount
of water in a watershed, including ground and surface water;
(B) research and identify the type of water
used in a watershed;
(C) analyze
water quality in a watershed; and
(D) identify and use methods to evaluate
water quantity available in a watershed.
(12) The student maps the process of soil
formation influenced by weathering, including erosion processes due to water,
wind, and mechanical factors influenced by climate. The student is expected to:
(A) illustrate the role of weathering in soil
formations;
(B) distinguish
chemical weathering from mechanical weathering; and
(C) identify geological formations that
result from differing weathering processes.
(13) The student describes the dynamics of a
watershed. The student is expected to:
(A)
identify the characteristics of a local watershed such as average annual
rainfall, runoff patterns, aquifers, location of water basins, and surface
reservoirs; and
(B) analyze the
impact of floods, drought, irrigation, urbanization, and industrialization in a
watershed.
(14) The
student explains how petroleum energy resources affect agriculture. The student
is expected to:
(A) research and describe the
origin of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas;
(B) analyze issues regarding the use of
fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy sources or alternative energy
sources; and
(C) analyze the
significance and economic impact of the use of fossil fuels and alternative
energy sources.
(15) The
student evaluates components of plant science as they relate to crop
production. The student is expected to:
(A)
analyze plant physiology, genetics, and reproduction of various
crops;
(B) recognize
characteristics related to seed quality such as mechanical damage, viability,
and grade;
(C) identify plant pests
and diseases and their causes, prevention, and treatment;
(D) perform plant management practices such
as germination tests, plant spacing trials, and fertilizer tests; and
(E) measure trends in crop species and
varieties grown locally in Texas and the United States and how they affect
agriculture and consumers.
(16) The student identifies how plants grow
and how specialized cells, tissues, and organs develop. The student is expected
to:
(A) compare cells from different parts of
the plant, including roots, stems, and leaves, to show specialization of
structures and functions; and
(B)
sequence the levels of organization in multicellular organisms that relate the
parts to each other and the whole.
(17) The student diagrams the structure and
function of nucleic acids in the mechanism of genetics. The student is expected
to:
(A) describe components of
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and illustrate how information for specifying the
traits of an organism is carried in DNA;
(B) identify and illustrate how changes in
DNA cause phenotypic or genotypic changes;
(C) compare and contrast genetic variations
observed in plants and animals; and
(D) compare the processes of mitosis and
meiosis and their significance.
(18) The student demonstrates skills related
to the human, scientific, and technological dimensions of crop production and
the resources necessary for producing domesticated plants. The student is
expected to:
(A) describe the growth and
development of major crops;
(B)
apply principles of genetics and plant breeding;
(C) examine the development of crop varieties
through the origin of agriculture; and
(D) design and conduct investigations to
support known principles of genetics.
(19) The student explains the chemistry
involved in plants at the cellular level. The student is expected to:
(A) compare the structures and functions of
different types of organic molecules such as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins,
and nucleic acids;
(B) compare the
energy flow in photosynthesis to the energy flow in cellular respiration;
and
(C) investigate and identify
the effect of enzymes on plant cells.
(20) The student identifies the sources and
flow of energy through environmental systems. The student is expected to:
(A) summarize forms and sources of
energy;
(B) explain the flow of
energy in an environment;
(C)
investigate and explain the effects of energy transformations in an ecosystem;
and
(D) investigate and identify
energy interaction in an ecosystem.
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