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How to learn Grade 7: Science

Virginia Standards of Learning: Science, Grade 7

0 of 28 concepts ready to learn · Markdown, for your AI

1. The student will investigate and understand that populations of organisms can change over time. Key ideas include

  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. 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 animals adapt to environments: Identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment and understand that adaptation may lead to evolution over time

2. The student will investigate and understand that organisms reproduce and transmit genetic information to new generations. Key ideas include

  1. Chromosomes, Genes & DNA: Describe the relationship between chromosomes, genes, and DNA in heredity, including the double helix structure of DNA and the historical roles of Watson, Crick, Franklin, and Wilkins
  2. Predicting Inherited Traits: Explain how alleles are inherited in sexual reproduction and use Punnett squares to predict the probability of offspring inheriting a characteristic, including dominant and recessive alleles

3. The student will investigate and understand that relationships exist between ecosystem dynamics and human activity. Key ideas include

  1. Biodiversity & Resilience: Explain what biodiversity means, why high biodiversity makes ecosystems more resilient, and describe the ways human activity threatens biodiversity (habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species, climate change)

4. The student will investigate and understand that ecosystems, communities, populations, and organisms are dynamic and change over time. Key ideas include

  1. Species Distribution & Change: Explain how environmental change (climate change, habitat loss, pollution) affects the distribution of species, including range shifts, local extinction, and invasive species

5. The student will investigate and understand that populations in a biological community interact and are interdependent. Key ideas include

  1. Food Webs & Interdependence: Construct and interpret food webs showing the interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem, explaining how a change in one population affects others

6. The student will investigate and understand that biotic and abiotic factors affect an ecosystem. Key ideas include

  1. Ocean Ecosystems: Understand ocean ecosystems as interconnected systems where living things (producers, consumers, decomposers) and non-living factors (temperature, salinity, light, currents) all interact, and that changes to one part affect the whole system
  2. Matter Cycling in Ecosystems: Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment in an ecosystem

7. The student will investigate and understand that there are chemical processes of energy transfer which are important for life. Key ideas include

  1. Photosynthesis: Explain photosynthesis as the process by which plants use light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen, and describe how mineral nutrients are absorbed through roots

8. The student will investigate and understand that there are levels of structural organization in living things. Key ideas include

  1. Classifying Organisms: Describe how living things are classified into broad groups (micro-organisms, plants, animals) according to common observable characteristics, similarities, and differences
  2. Cells to Organ Systems: Describe the hierarchical organisation of multicellular organisms: cells → tissues → organs → organ systems → organism

9. The student will investigate and understand that all living things are composed of one or more cells that support life processes, as described by the cell theory. Key ideas include

  1. 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

10. Physical Science · The student will investigate and understand that there are basic principles of electricity and magnetism. Key ideas include

  1. Magnetic Fields: Describe magnetic poles (north and south), explain attraction and repulsion between poles, describe magnetic field lines plotted using a compass, and explain the Earth's magnetic field and its practical uses
  2. Electromagnets: Describe the magnetic effect of an electric current (a current-carrying wire produces a magnetic field), and investigate how the strength of an electromagnet depends on current, number of coil turns, and core material
  3. Static electricity and sparks: Explain static electricity as the build-up of electric charge through friction, describe how charged objects attract or repel each other, and relate static discharge to everyday phenomena such as lightning

11. Physical Science · The student will investigate and understand that work, force, and motion are related. Key ideas include

  1. Newton's First & Second Laws: State and apply Newton's First Law (an object stays at rest or constant velocity unless acted on by a resultant force) and Second Law (force = mass × acceleration), including the relationship between mass, force, and acceleration
  2. Relative Motion: Explain relative motion — how the apparent speed and direction of an object depends on the observer's own motion — using everyday examples such as trains and cars passing

12. Physical Science · The student will investigate and understand that waves are important in the movement of energy. Key ideas include

  1. Wave Properties & Types: Describe waves in terms of amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and wave speed; distinguish transverse waves (oscillation perpendicular to direction of travel) from longitudinal waves (oscillation parallel); and use the wave equation v = fλ
  2. 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

13. Physical Science · The student will investigate and understand that energy is conserved. Key ideas include

  1. Energy can't be created or destroyed: Explain the principle of conservation of energy (energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred between stores), and describe how energy is dissipated as thermal energy to the surroundings in all real processes

14. Physical Science · The student will investigate and understand that the periodic table is a model used to organize elements based on their atomic structure. Key uses include

  1. The Periodic Table: Describe the organisation of the periodic table into periods and groups, explain the contribution of Mendeleev, and use the table to identify metals, non-metals, and predict patterns in reactivity

15. Physical Science · The student will investigate and understand that matter has properties and is conserved in chemical and physical processes. Key ideas include

  1. Physical vs Chemical Changes: Distinguish between physical changes (reversible, no new substances formed) and chemical changes (new substances formed, often irreversible), using conservation of mass to understand both types

16. Physical Science · The student will investigate and understand that matter is composed of atoms. Key ideas include

  1. Matter Is Made of Particles: Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen, and that this explains properties of solids, liquids, and gases
  2. Atoms, Elements & Compounds: Explain the differences between atoms, elements, and compounds; describe the simple Bohr model of the atom (nucleus with protons and neutrons, electrons in shells); and write and interpret chemical symbols and simple formulae

17. Life Science · The student will investigate and understand that organisms reproduce and transmit genetic information to new generations. Key ideas include

  1. 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

18. Life Science · The student will investigate and understand that biotic and abiotic factors affect an ecosystem. Key ideas include

  1. The Carbon Cycle: Describe the carbon cycle, tracing carbon through photosynthesis, respiration, feeding, decomposition, and combustion, and explain the role of each process