South Carolina Science Standards:

For Fourth Grade

II.  Life Science

Unit of Study: Organisms and Their Environment

A. Characteristics of Organisms

1.  Organisms have basic needs and can survive only in environments in which their needs             can be met.  The world has many different environments, and distinct environments support the life of different types of organisms.

    b.  Describe the diversity of life forms supported by different environments.

    c.  Investigate the relationships between the basic needs of different organisms and whether or not a particular environment meets those needs.

B.  Organisms and Their Environments

1.  An organism's patterns of behavior are related to the nature of that organism's environment, including the kinds and the numbers of other organisms present, the availability of food and resources, and the physical characteristics of the environment.

    b. Describe how animals behave and interact within their environment.

3.  Humans change environments in ways that can be either beneficial or detrimental for themselves and other organisms.

    a.  Describe changes in the environment caused by humans.

    d.  Relate how human population growth changes the environment.