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How to learn Grade 7: Science

California academic standards: Science, Grade 7

0 of 23 concepts ready to learn · Markdown, for your AI

1. Investigation and Experimentation: Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the conten

  1. Drawing conclusions from evidence (age 12+): Identify patterns and trends in data, draw conclusions that directly address the hypothesis with quantitative reference to evidence, and evaluate the investigation by distinguishing between systematic and random errors and proposing targeted improvements
  2. Writing Science Reports: Communicate scientific findings in a structured report using appropriate scientific vocabulary, SI units, and standard notation; describe how peer review and replication contribute to the reliability of scientific knowledge
  3. Accurate Measurement: Take measurements with increasing accuracy and precision using a range of scientific equipment, taking repeat readings when appropriate

2. Physical Principles in Living Systems (Physical Sciences): Physical principles underlie biological structures and functions. As a basis for understanding this concept:

  1. Heart Structure & Double Circulation: Describe the structure of the heart (four chambers, valves, coronary arteries) and explain how it pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs and oxygenated blood to the body in a double circulatory system
  2. Joints, Tendons & Ligaments: Explain biomechanics — the interaction between skeleton and muscles at joints, including the roles of tendons (attach muscle to bone) and ligaments (attach bone to bone)
  3. Light Travels in Straight Lines: Recognise that light appears to travel in straight lines and use this to explain how we see objects and why shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast them
  4. Reflection & Refraction: State the law of reflection (angle of incidence = angle of reflection) and explain refraction as the change in speed and direction when light crosses a boundary between two media; apply ray diagrams for plane mirrors and refracting surfaces
  5. Waves & Different Materials: Explain how waves can be absorbed, transmitted, or reflected by different materials, and apply these interactions to explain colour perception, sight, communication technologies, and the effects of different surfaces on wave behaviour
  6. White Light & Colour: Explain that white light is a mixture of all visible colours (ROYGBIV), describe dispersion through a prism, explain why objects appear coloured (selective reflection and absorption of wavelengths), and describe colour mixing with filters
  7. Cells Under the Microscope: Understand that all living organisms are made of cells and use a light microscope to observe, interpret, and record cell structure

3. Structure and Function in Living Systems: The anatomy and physiology of plants and animals illustrate the complementary nature of structure and function. As a basis for understanding this concept:

  1. Parts of Plant and Animal Cells: Describe the functions of the main components of plant and animal cells: cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, vacuole, mitochondria, ribosomes, and chloroplasts
  2. Plant Reproduction: Describe the structure of a flower and explain the processes of wind and insect pollination, fertilisation, seed and fruit formation, and seed dispersal in plants
  3. Human Reproduction: Describe the structure and function of the male and female human reproductive systems, and explain the processes of fertilisation, gestation, and birth including the role of the placenta
  4. Structures for Survival: Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behaviour, and reproduction

4. Earth and Life History (Earth Sciences): Evidence from rocks allows us to understand the evolution of life on Earth. As a basis for understanding this concept:

  1. Fossils as Evidence: Analyse and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of organisms and environments that existed long ago
  2. Life Changed Over Time: Recognise that living things have changed over time and that fossils provide information about organisms that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago
  3. How fossils form: Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time

5. Evolution: Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations. As a basis for understanding this concept:

  1. Variation in Species: Explain variation within and between species, distinguishing between continuous variation (e.g. height) and discontinuous variation (e.g. blood group), and between genetic and environmental causes
  2. How Natural Selection Works: Explain natural selection as the mechanism of evolution: heritable variation + competition for resources + differential survival and reproduction = change in allele frequency over generations
  3. Extinction & Rapid Change: Explain how environmental change can outpace a species' ability to adapt through natural selection, leading to extinction, using historical and contemporary examples
  4. Evidence for Evolution: Describe the main types of evidence for evolution: the fossil record (change over time), comparative anatomy (homologous structures), and the geographic distribution of related species

6. Genetics: 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:

  1. Genetic Mutation: Explain genetic mutation as a random change in DNA sequence, describe causes of mutation (e.g. radiation, chemicals, copying errors), and explain that most mutations are neutral, some harmful, and a few beneficial

7. Cell Biology: 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:

  1. Plant Cells vs Animal Cells: Compare plant and animal cells, identifying shared features and structures unique to plant cells (cell wall, vacuole, chloroplasts)