Grade Seven

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Inroduction

The concept of energy transformations is fundamental to an understanding of basic geological and ecological phenomena. In grade 7, students will learn about different forms of energy. This is also an appropriate time to introduce the idea that energy cannot be created or destroyed but only changed from one form into another. That idea will be further reinforced through investigations into the dynamic processes that have shaped the earth, and the flow of energy and matter in an ecosystem.

ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS-

Students will describe the sources and identify the transformations of energy observed in everyday life. They will also demonstrate understanding of heating and cooling events and be able to describe situations that support the principle of conservation of energy.

GEOLOGY-

Students will learn about the constructive and destructive forces that lead to the building and breaking down of Earth's features, including crustal movements, volcanoes and earthquakes, the rock cycle, and weathering/erosion.

ECOLOGY-

Students will learn about the relationships between organisms interacting with each other and their physical environment in ecosystems. Students will also consider the impact of human activities on ecosystems.

 


MST Standards:
Physical Setting
Key Idea 2: Many of the phenomena that we observe involve interactions among components of air, water, and land.
Key Idea 4: Energy exists in many forms, and when these forms change, energy is conserved.

Living Environment
Key Idea 1: Living things are both similar to and different from each other and from nonliving things.
Key Idea 3: Individual organisms and species change over time.
Key Idea 5: Organisms maintain a dynamic equilibrium that sustains life.
Key Idea 6: Plants and animals depend on each other and their physical environment.
Key Idea 7: Human decisions and activities have a profound impact on the physical and living environment.


NYC Science Performance Standards:
The student produces evidence that demonstrates understanding of:
S1c. Transfer of energy, such as transformation of energy as heat, light, mechanical motion, and sound; and the nature of a chemical reaction.
S3a. Structure of the Earth system, such as crustal plates and landforms; water and rock cycles; oceans, weather, and climate.
S3b. Earth's history, such as Earth processes including erosion and movement of plates; change over time and fossil evidence.
S2c. Regulation and behavior, such as senses and behavior; and response to environmental stimuli.
S2d. Populations and ecosystems, such as the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a food web; and the effects of resources and energy transfer on populations.
S2e. Evolution, diversity and adaptation of organisms such as common ancestry, speciation, adaptation, variation, and extinction.


Performance Indicators:
Physical Setting
Seventh grade students will be able to:
2.1: Explain how the atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water), and lithosphere (land) interact, evolve, and change.
2.2: Describe volcano and earthquake patterns, and the rock cycle.
4.1: Describe the sources and identify the transformations of energy observed in everyday life.
4.2: Observe and describe heating and cooling events.
Living Environment
Seventh grade students will be able to:
1.1: Compare and contrast the parts of plants, animals and one-celled organisms
3.1: Describe sources of variation in organisms and their environments and relate the variations to survival.
3.2: Describe factors responsible for competition within species and the significance of that competition.
5.1: Compare the way a variety of living specimens carry out basic life functions and maintain dynamic equilibrium.
6.1: Describe the flow of energy and matter through food chains and food webs.
6.2: Provide evidence that green plants make food and explain the significance of this process to other organisms.
7.1: Describe how living things, including humans, depend upon the living and nonliving environment for their food.
7.2: Describe the effects of environmental changes on humans and other populations.

 

 

CORE OBJECTIVES

FIELD WORK PROJECT-
Fieldwork projects should be integrated into your instructional planning. In a fieldwork project, students should demonstrate understanding of other core objectives for grade 7. See Appendix A for more details. In a fieldwork project students will:

  1. Identify a problem that can be investigated by gathering data in the field.

  2. Formulate a hypothesis.

  3. Make observations and collect quantitative and/or qualitative data in the field.

  4. Organize results using appropriate graphs, diagrams, and data tables to show relationships.

  5. Interpret the organized data to answer the question. Identify variables that might explain the data.

  6. Present findings in a written and an oral report. Include tables, graphs, and diagrams.

SECONDARY RESEARCH PROJECT-
In a secondary research project students use and analyze data collected by others to answer a question. Projects should be integrated into your instructional planning. In a secondary research project, students should demonstrate understanding of other core objectives for grade 7. See Appendix A for more details. In a secondary research project students will:

  1. Propose a question. Identify independent and dependent variables.

  2. Formulate a hypothesis.

  3. Collect qualitative and/or quantitative information from two or more different sources.

  4. Determine a correlation between the two variables that were researched and summarize findings.

  5. Discuss alternative explanations.

  6. Present findings in a written and an oral report. Include tables, graphs, and bibliography.

ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS-

  1. The sun is a major source of energy for Earth. Other sources of energy include nuclear, and geothermal energy.

  2. Heat moves in predictable ways by radiation, conduction, and convection.

  3. Fossil fuels contain stored solar energy and are considered nonrenewable resources. They are a major source of energy in the United States. Solar energy, wind, moving water, and biomass are examples of renewable energy resources.

  4. Most activities in everyday life involve one form of energy being transformed into another. For example, the chemical energy in gasoline is transformed into mechanical energy in an automobile engine. Energy, in the form of heat, is almost always one of the products of energy transformations.

  5. Different forms of energy include heat, light, electrical, mechanical, sound, nuclear, and chemical. Energy is transformed in many ways.

  6. Energy can be considered to be either kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion, or potential energy, which depends on relative position.

GEOLOGY-

  1. The solid part of the Earth, lithosphere, is subjected to both constructive (earthquakes and volcanoes) and destructive (weathering and erosion) forces.

  2. The hot interior of the Earth causes crustal movements that result in earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building. Earthquakes and volcanoes often exhibit patterns of distribution.

  3. Bedrock and larger rocks, which are composed of minerals, may be attacked by the agents of erosion (water, ice, waves, and wind) and then deposited as sediments.

  4. Soil is made from weathered rock and plant remains and usually contains many living organisms.

  5. A diagram of the rock cycle can be used to determine the geological processes that lead to the formation of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. Specific rocks and minerals can be identified by the use of identification tests and flow charts.

  6. Many thousands of layers of sedimentary rock, and the fossils that may be found therein, provide evidence of the long history of Earth and its changing life forms.

ECOLOGY-

  1. Living things are classified by shared characteristics on the cellular and organism level. In classifying organisms, biologists consider details of internal and external structures. Biological classification systems are arranged from general (kingdom) to specific (species). A dichotomous key can be developed and used to help identify organisms.

  2. A population consists of all individuals of a species that occur together at a given place and time. Different populations living in one place form a community. The community and the physical factors with which it interacts compose an ecosystem.

  3. Energy flows through ecosystems in one direction, usually from the Sun, through producers to consumers and then to decomposers. This process may be visualized with food chains, food webs or energy pyramids.

  4. Animals that obtain energy from plants only are called herbivores, from animals only are called carnivores, or from both animals and plants are called omnivores. Still other organisms (decomposers) decompose waste.

  5. Matter is transferred from one organism to another and between organisms and their physical environment. Examples of how substances cycle through the living and nonliving environment include the water cycle, nitrogen cycle, and carbon dioxide and oxygen cycle. In ecosystems, balance is the result of interactions between the community members and their environment.

  6. Given adequate resources and no disease or predator, populations (including humans), increase at rapid rates. Lack of resources and other factors, such as predators and climate, limit the growth of certain populations in the ecosystem.

  7. The pollution of air, water, and soil through human activities has resulted in major changes in the environment.

  8. Biological adaptations enhance survival and reproductive success in a particular environment.

  9. Extinction occurs when a species is unable to adapt to a changing environment.

TEACHER RESOURCES

PRENTICE HALL SCIENCE EDITIONS-

NYC RESOURCES-

INTERNET RESOURCES-
Go to the Links page. 

MSSCF Contents

[Introduction] [Matrix] [Guide] [Our Vision]
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[Rubrics & Design Diagrams] [Standards]