Grade 7 Science Alabama Standards

Develop and use a model to explain the functions of specific cell structures necessary for maintaining a stable environment, including the cell membrane, cell wall, chloroplasts, endoplasmic reticulum, golgi apparatus, mitochondria, nucleus, ribosomes, and vacuoles.

Engage in argument from evidence to support claims of cell theory.

Construct an explanation of how prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells differ in structure and function.

Plan and carry out an investigation to identify and explain features of a cell’s semi-permeable membrane which enable it to control what enters and exits the cell.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures and their effect on the probability of successful reproduction.

Develop and use models to demonstrate how genetic variations between parents and offspring result from differences in inherited genes located on chromosomes.

Develop and use models to explain how genes are expressed through the flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to a functional protein.

Develop and use models to explain that meiosis results in new genetic combinations with increased variation.

Construct an explanation of the advantages and disadvantages of asexual and sexual reproduction.

Construct an explanation from evidence of how genetic variants may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects on the structure and function of an organism.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information on the use of technologies that impact the inheritance and appearance of traits in organisms.

Analyze and interpret data from examination of fossils, relict species, and modern organisms to determine patterns of change in anatomical structures over time.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate evidence comparing patterns in the embryological development of multiple species to identify relationships not evident in the fully formed adult anatomy.

Ask questions to clarify how natural selection over generations may lead to changes in the frequency of specific traits to enhance survival and reproduction of a population.

Construct an explanation of how photosynthesis and cellular respiration cycle matter and establish the flow of energy into and out of an organism.

Ask questions and construct an explanation of how anaerobic bacteria produce energy in environments with no oxygen.

Construct an explanation of how the process of mitosis maintains complex organisms and ensures new cells with identical genetic information.

Ask questions and communicate information regarding how errors in mitosis may affect cell division.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information explaining how cells, tissues, and organs of various systems of the human body work together for specific functions, including the circulatory, digestive, muscular, nervous, respiratory, and skeletal systems.

Construct an explanation of how the cycling of matter between abiotic and biotic parts of ecosystems demonstrates the flow of energy and the conservation of matter, including the carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles.

Analyze and interpret data to predict how environmental conditions, genetic factors, and resource availability will impact the growth of individual organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.

Analyze and interpret data to explain how density-independent and density-dependent limiting factors in an ecosystem can lead to shifts in populations.

Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions between and among organisms in different ecosystems.

Design a solution to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services in a given scenario.

Energy and Matter

Cause and Effect

Biodiversity

Structure and Function

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Patterns

Growth and Development

Phylogenetics

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Cause and Effect

Population Dynamics

Structure and Function

Cell Structure and Processes

Systems and System

Growth and Development

Cause and Effect

Cause and Effect

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Stability and Change

Energy and Matter

Genetics and Biotechnology

Cell Structure and Processes

Unity and Diversity

Interdependent Relationships

Cause and Effect

Cell Structure and Processes

Natural Selection

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Growth and Development

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Matter and Energy Flow

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Cause and Effect

Recognize that variations between parents and offspring result from randomly inherited genes.

Compare traits of animal parents and their offspring (e.g., eye color, hair/fur color, size).

Recognize that technologies can impact the traits of plants and animals.

Use fossil records to identify patterns that indicate a change in a species over time.

Compare pictorial data of embryological development in multiple species.

Using a given model, recognize that plants use light energy to make their own food during the process of photosynthesis.

Label major organs of the human body (e.g., heart, lungs, diaphragm, bones, muscles, stomach, brain, intestines).

Use a model to demonstrate how organs are connected in an organ system.

Recognize how organ systems support the survival of humans (e.g., circulatory, respiratory, skeletal, muscular, and digestive).

Distinguish between living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem and the flow of energy in the ecosystem (i.e., photosynthesis and water cycle).

Use data as evidence that the availability of natural resources (e.g., food, light, water) influences the growth of organisms.

Interpret data to see how changes in an ecosystem (e.g., drought, forest fires) affect the animal or plant populations in an area.

Identify relationships among organisms as competitive, mutually beneficial, parasitic, or neutral.

Identify human behaviors that are harmful to the environment.

Identify human behaviors that are helpful to the environment.

Patterns: Macroscopic patterns are related to the nature of microscopic and atomic-level structure. Patterns in rates of change and other numerical relationships can provide information about natural and human-designed systems. Patterns can be used to identify cause and effect relationships. Graphs, charts, and images can be used to identify patterns in data.

Cause and Effect: Mechanism and Prediction: Relationships can be classified as causal or correlational, and correlation does not necessarily imply causation. Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems. Phenomena may have more than one cause, and some cause and effect relationships in systems can be described only by using probability.

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity: Time, space, and energy phenomena can be observed at various scales using models to study systems that are too large or too small. The observed function of natural and designed systems may change with scale. Proportional relationships among different types of quantities (e.g., speed as the ratio of distance traveled to time taken) provide information about the magnitude of properties and processes. Scientific relationships can be represented through the use of algebraic expressions and equations. Phenomena that can be observed at one scale may not be observable at another scale.

Systems and System Models: Systems may interact with other systems; they may have sub-systems and may be part of larger complex systems. Models can be used to represent systems and their interactions (such as inputs, processes and outputs) and energy, matter, and information flow within systems. Models are limited in that they represent only certain aspects of the system under study.

Energy and Matter: Flows, Cycles, and Conservation: Matter is conserved because atoms are conserved in physical and chemical processes. Within a natural or designed system, the transfer of energy drives the motion and/or cycling of matter. Energy may take different forms (e.g., energy in fields, thermal energy, energy of motion). The transfer of energy can be tracked as energy flows through a designed or natural system.

Structure and Function: Complex and microscopic structures and systems can be visualized, modeled, and used to describe how their function depends on the shapes, composition, and relationships among its parts; therefore, complex natural and designed structures and systems can be analyzed to determine how they function. Structures can be designed to serve particular functions by taking into account the properties of different materials and how materials can be shaped and used.

Stability and Change: Explanations of stability and change in natural or designed systems can be constructed by examining the changes over time and processes at different scales, including the atomic scale. Small changes in one part of a system might cause large changes in another part. Stability might be disturbed either by sudden events or gradual changes that accumulate over time. Systems in a dynamic equilibrium are stable due to a balance of feedback mechanisms.

Asking Questions and Defining Problems: Specifying relationships between variables, clarifying arguments, and models

Developing and Using Models: Developing, utilizing, and revising models to describe, test, and predict more abstract phenomena and to design systems.

Planning and Carrying Out Investigations: Designing and conducting investigations that use multiple variables and provide evidence to support explanations or solutions.

Analyzing and Interpreting Data: Extending quantitative analysis to investigations, distinguishing between correlation and causation, and employing basic statistical techniques of data and error analysis.

Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking: Identifying patterns in large data sets and using mathematical concepts to support explanations and arguments.

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions: Constructing explanations and designing solutions supported by multiple sources of evidence consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and theories.

Engaging in Argument from Evidence: Constructing a convincing argument that supports or refutes claims for either explanations or solutions about the natural and designed world(s).

Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information: Evaluating the merit and validity of ideas and methods.

Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs)

Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs)