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Grade 7 State Science Content Standards:
Course 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 will understand that cells function similarly in all living
organisms.
b. Students will understand the characteristics that distinguish plant
cells from animal cells, including chloroplasts and cell walls.
c. Students will understand that the nucleus is the repository for genetic
information in plant and animal cells.
d. Students will understand that mitochondria liberate energy for the
work that cells do and chloroplasts capture sunlight energy for photosynthesis.
e. Students will understand that cells divide to increase their numbers
through a process of mitosis, which results in two daughter cells with
identical sets of chromosomes.
f. Students will understand 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 will understand the differences between the life cycles and
reproduction methods of sexual and asexual organisms.
b. Students will understand that sexual reproduction produces offspring
that inherit half their genes from each parent.
c. Students will understand that an inherited trait can be determined
by one or more genes.
d. Students will understand that 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 will understand that 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:
a. Students will understand that both genetic variation and environmental
factors are causes of evolution and diversity of organisms.
b. Students will understand the reasoning used by Charles Darwin in reaching
his conclusion that natural selection is the mechanism of evolution.
c. Students will understand how independent lines of evidence from geology,
fossils, and comparative anatomy provide the basis for the theory of evolution.
d. Students will understand 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.
e. Students will understand that extinction of a species occurs when the
environment changes and that the adaptive characteristics of a species
are insufficient for its survival.
Earth and Life History (Earth Science)
4. Evidence from rocks allows us to understand the evolution of life on
Earth. As the basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students will understand that 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 will understand that 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 will understand 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 will understand 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 will understand that fossils provide evidence of how life
and environmental conditions have changed.
f. Students will understand how movements of the Earth's continental and
oceanic plates through time, with associated changes in climate and geographical
connections, have affected the past and present distribution of organisms.
g. Students will understand 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 will understand that plants and animals have levels of organization
for structure and function, including cells, tissues, organs, organ systems,
and the whole organism.
b. Students will understand that organ systems function because of the
contributions of individual organs, tissues, and cells. The failure of
any part can effect the entire system.
c. Students will understand how bones and muscles work together to provide
a structural framework for movement.
d. Students will understand 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 will understand the function of the umbilicus and placenta
during pregnancy.
f. Students will understand the structures and processes by which flowering
plants generate pollen and ovules, seeds, and fruit.
g. Students will understand how to relate the structures of the eye and
ear to their functions.
Physical Principles in Living Systems (Physical Science)
6. Physical principles underlie biological structures and functions. As
a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students will understand that visible light is a small band within
a very broad electromagnetic spectrum.
b. Students will understand that for an object to be seen, light emitted
by or scattered from it must enter the eye.
c. Students will understand that light travels in straight lines except
when the medium it travels through changes.
d. Students will understand how simple lenses are used in a magnifying
glass, the eye, camera, telescope, and microscope.
e. Students will understand that white light is a mixture of many wavelengths
(colors), and that retinal cells react differently with different wavelengths.
f. Students will understand that light interacts with matter by transmission
(including refraction), absorption, or scattering (including reflection).
g. Students will understand that the angle of reflection of a light beam
is equal to the angle of incidence.
h. Students will understand 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 will understand how levers confer mechanical advantage and
how the application of this principle applies to the musculoskeletal system.
j. Students will understand that contractions of the heart generate blood
pressure, and 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
to address the content 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. utilize a variety of print and electronic resources (including the
World Wide Web) to collect information as evidence as part of a research
project.
c. communicate the logical connection among hypothesis, 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 will knowledge (e.g., motion of Earth's plates
and cell structure).
e. communicate the steps and results from an investigation in written
reports and verbal presentations.