Grade Seven
Science
Content Standards.
Focus on Life Science
Cell
Biology
1
All living organisms are composed of cells, from just one to
many trillions, whose details usually are visible only through a microscope. As
a basis for understanding this concept:
a
Students
know cells function similarly in
all living organisms.
b
Students
know the characteristics that
distinguish plant cells from animal cells, including chloroplasts and cell
walls.
c
Students
know the nucleus is the repository
for genetic information in plant and animal cells.
d
Students
know that mitochondria liberate
energy for the work that cells do and that chloroplasts capture sunlight energy
for photosynthesis.
e
Students
know cells divide to increase
their numbers through a process of mitosis, which results in two daughter cells
with identical sets of chromosomes.
f
Students know that
as multicellular organisms develop, their cells differentiate.
Genetics
2
A typical cell of any organism contains genetic instructions
that specify its traits. Those traits may be modified by environmental
influences. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a
Students
know the differences between the
life cycles and reproduction methods of sexual and asexual organisms.
b
Students
know sexual reproduction produces
offspring that inherit half their genes from each parent.
c
Students
know an inherited trait can be determined by one or more genes.
d
Students
know plant and animal cells contain many thousands of different
genes and typically have two copies of every gene. The two copies (or alleles)
of the gene may or may not be identical, and one may be dominant in determining
the phenotype while the other is recessive.
e
Students
know DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the genetic material of living
organisms and is located in the chromosomes of each cell.
Evolution
3
Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species
developed through gradual processes over many generations. As a basis for
understanding this concept:
1
Students
know both genetic variation and
environmental factors are causes of evolution and diversity of organisms.
2
Students
know the reasoning used by Charles
Darwin in reaching his conclusion that natural selection is the mechanism of
evolution.
3
Students
know how independent lines of
evidence from geology, fossils, and comparative anatomy provide the bases for
the theory of evolution.
4
Students
know how to construct a simple
branching diagram to classify living groups of organisms by shared derived
characteristics and how to expand the diagram to include fossil organisms.
5
Students
know that extinction of a species
occurs when the environment changes and the adaptive characteristics of a
species are insufficient for its survival.
Earth and Life History (Earth Sciences)
4
Evidence from rocks allows us to understand the evolution of
life on Earth. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a
Students
know Earth processes today are
similar to those that occurred in the past and slow geologic processes have
large cumulative effects over long periods of time.
b
Students
know the history of life on Earth
has been disrupted by major catastrophic events, such as major volcanic
eruptions or the impacts of asteroids.
c
Students
know that the rock cycle includes
the formation of new sediment and rocks and that rocks are often found in
layers, with the oldest generally on the bottom.
d
Students
know that evidence from geologic
layers and radioactive dating indicates Earth is approximately 4.6 billion
years old and that life on this planet has existed for more than 3 billion
years.
e
Students
know fossils provide evidence of
how life and environmental conditions have changed.
f
Students know
how movements of Earth's continental and oceanic plates through time, with
associated changes in climate and geographic connections, have affected the
past and present distribution of organisms.
g
Students
know how to explain significant
developments and extinctions of plant and animal life on the geologic time
scale.
Structure and Function in Living Systems
5
The anatomy and physiology of plants and animals illustrate
the complementary nature of structure and function. As a basis for
understanding this concept:
a
Students
know plants and animals have
levels of organization for structure and function, including cells, tissues,
organs, organ systems, and the whole organism.
b
Students
know organ systems function
because of the contributions of individual organs, tissues, and cells. The
failure of any part can affect the entire system.
c
Students
know how bones and muscles work
together to provide a structural framework for movement.
d
Students
know how the reproductive organs
of the human female and male generate eggs and sperm and how sexual activity
may lead to fertilization and pregnancy.
e
Students
know the function of the umbilicus
and placenta during pregnancy.
f
Students know
the structures and processes by which flowering plants generate pollen, ovules,
seeds, and fruit.
g
Students
know how to relate the structures
of the eye and ear to their functions.
Physical Principles in Living Systems
(Physical Sciences)
6
Physical principles underlie biological structures and
functions. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a
Students
know visible light is a small band
within a very broad electromagnetic spectrum.
b
Students
know that for an object to be
seen, light emitted by or scattered from it must be detected by the eye.
c
Students
know light travels in straight
lines if the medium it travels through does not change.
d
Students
know how simple lenses are used in
a magnifying glass, the eye, a camera, a telescope, and a microscope.
e
Students
know that white light is a mixture
of many wavelengths (colors) and that retinal cells react differently to
different wavelengths.
f
Students know
light can be reflected, refracted, transmitted, and absorbed by matter.
g
Students
know the angle of reflection of a
light beam is equal to the angle of incidence.
h
Students
know how to compare joints in the
body (wrist, shoulder, thigh) with structures used in machines and simple
devices (hinge, ball-and-socket, and sliding joints).
i
Students know
how levers confer mechanical advantage and how the application of this
principle applies to the musculoskeletal system.
j
Students know
that contractions of the heart generate blood pressure and that heart valves
prevent backflow of blood in the circulatory system.
Investigation and Experimentation
7
Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions
and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this
concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should
develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:
a
Select and use appropriate tools and
technology (including calculators, computers, balances, spring scales,
microscopes, and binoculars) to perform tests, collect data, and display data.
b
Use a variety of print and electronic
resources (including the World Wide Web) to collect information and evidence as
part of a research project.
c
Communicate the logical connection among
hypotheses, science concepts, tests conducted, data collected, and conclusions
drawn from the scientific evidence.
d
Construct scale models, maps, and
appropriately labeled diagrams to communicate scientific knowledge (e.g.,
motion of Earth's plates and cell structure).
e
Communicate the steps and results from an investigation in
written reports and oral presentations.
Grade Eight
Science
Content Standards.
Focus on Physical Science
Motion
1
The velocity of an object is the rate of change of its
position. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a
Students
know position is defined in
relation to some choice of a standard reference point and a set of reference
directions.
b
Students
know that average speed is the
total distance traveled divided by the total time elapsed and that the speed of
an object along the path traveled can vary.
c
Students
know how to solve problems
involving distance, time, and average speed.
d
Students
know the velocity of an object
must be described by specifying both the direction and the speed of the object.
e
Students
know changes in velocity may be
due to changes in speed, direction, or both.
f
Students know how
to interpret graphs of position versus time and graphs of speed versus time for
motion in a single direction.
Forces
2
Unbalanced forces cause changes in velocity. As a basis for
understanding this concept:
a
Students
know a force has both direction
and magnitude.
b
Students
know when an object is subject to
two or more forces at once, the result is the cumulative effect of all the
forces.
c
Students
know when the forces on an object
are balanced, the motion of the object does not change.
d
Students
know how to identify separately
the two or more forces that are acting on a single static object, including
gravity, elastic forces due to tension or compression in matter, and friction.
e
Students
know that when the forces on an
object are unbalanced, the object will change its velocity (that is, it will
speed up, slow down, or change direction).
f
Students know
the greater the mass of an object, the more force is needed to achieve the same
rate of change in motion.
g
Students
know the role of gravity in
forming and maintaining the shapes of planets, stars, and the solar system.
Structure of Matter
3
Each of the more than 100 elements of matter has distinct
properties and a distinct atomic structure. All forms of matter are composed of
one or more of the elements. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a
Students
know the structure of the atom and
know it is composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons.
b
Students
know that compounds are formed by
combining two or more different elements and that compounds have properties
that are different from their constituent elements.
c
Students
know atoms and molecules form
solids by building up repeating patterns, such as the crystal structure of NaCl
or long-chain polymers.
d
Students
know the states of matter (solid,
liquid, gas) depend on molecular motion.
e
Students
know that in solids the atoms are
closely locked in position and can only vibrate; in liquids the atoms and
molecules are more loosely connected and can collide with and move past one
another; and in gases the atoms and molecules are free to move independently,
colliding frequently.
f
Students know
how to use the periodic table to identify elements in simple compounds.
Earth in the Solar System (Earth
Sciences)
4
The structure and composition of the universe can be learned
from studying stars and galaxies and their evolution. As a basis for
understanding this concept:
a
Students
know galaxies are clusters of
billions of stars and may have different shapes.
b
Students
know that the Sun is one of many
stars in the Milky Way galaxy and that stars may differ in size, temperature,
and color.
c
Students
know how to use astronomical units
and light years as measures of distances between the Sun, stars, and Earth.
d
Students
know that stars are the source of
light for all bright objects in outer space and that the Moon and planets shine
by reflected sunlight, not by their own light.
e
Students
know the appearance, general
composition, relative position and size, and motion of objects in the solar
system, including planets, planetary satellites, comets, and asteroids.
Reactions
5
Chemical reactions are processes in which atoms are
rearranged into different combinations of molecules. As a basis for
understanding this concept:
a
Students
know reactant atoms and molecules
interact to form products with different chemical properties.
b
Students
know the idea of atoms explains
the conservation of matter: In chemical reactions the number of atoms stays the
same no matter how they are arranged, so their total mass stays the same.
c
Students
know chemical reactions usually
liberate heat or absorb heat.
d
Students
know physical processes include
freezing and boiling, in which a material changes form with no chemical
reaction.
e
Students
know how to determine whether a
solution is acidic, basic, or neutral.
Chemistry of Living Systems (Life
Sciences)
6
Principles of chemistry underlie the functioning of
biological systems. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a
Students
know that carbon, because of its
ability to combine in many ways with itself and other elements, has a central
role in the chemistry of living organisms.
b
Students
know that living organisms are
made of molecules consisting largely of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen,
phosphorus, and sulfur.
c
Students
know that living organisms have
many different kinds of molecules, including small ones, such as water and
salt, and very large ones, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and DNA.
Periodic
Table
7
The organization of the periodic table is based on the
properties of the elements and reflects the structure of atoms. As a basis for
understanding this concept:
a
Students
know how to identify regions
corresponding to metals, nonmetals, and inert gases.
b
Students
know each element has a specific
number of protons in the nucleus (the atomic number) and each isotope of the
element has a different but specific number of neutrons in the nucleus.
c
Students
know substances can be classified
by their properties, including their melting temperature, density, hardness,
and thermal and electrical conductivity.
Density and Buoyancy
8
All objects experience a buoyant force when immersed in a
fluid. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a
Students
know density is mass per unit
volume.
b
Students
know how to calculate the density
of substances (regular and irregular solids and liquids) from measurements of
mass and volume.
c
Students
know the buoyant force on an
object in a fluid is an upward force equal to the weight of the fluid the
object has displaced.
d
Students
know how to predict whether an
object will float or sink.
Investigation and Experimentation
9
Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions
and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this
concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should
develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:
a
Plan and conduct a scientific
investigation to test a hypothesis.
b
Evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility
of data.
c
Distinguish between variable and
controlled parameters in a test.
d
Recognize the slope of the linear graph
as the constant in the relationship y=kx and apply this principle in
interpreting graphs constructed from data.
e
Construct appropriate graphs from data
and develop quantitative statements about the relationships between variables.
f
Apply simple mathematic
relationships to determine a missing quantity in a mathematic expression, given
the two remaining terms (including speed = distance/time, density =
mass/volume, force = pressure × area, volume = area × height).
g
Distinguish between linear and nonlinear
relationships on a graph of data.
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Last Modified: Thursday, July 20, 2006