Grade 7 Science Tennessee standards Standards

Earth and Human Activity

Graphically represent the composition of the atmosphere as a mixture of gases and discuss the potential for atmospheric change.

Engage in a scientific argument through graphing and translating data regarding human activity and climate.

Links Among Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

Examine a problem from the medical field pertaining to biomaterials and design a solution taking into consideration the criteria, constraints, and relevant scientific principles of the problem that may limit possible solutions.

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Develop and construct models that identify and explain the structure and function of major cell organelles as they contribute to the life activities of the cell and organism.

Conduct an investigation to demonstrate how the cell membrane maintains homeostasis through the process of passive transport.

Evaluate evidence that cells have structural similarities and differences in organisms across kingdoms.

Diagram the hierarchical organization of multicellular organisms from cells to organism.

Explain that the body is a system comprised of subsystems that maintain equilibrium and support life through digestion, respiration, excretion, circulation, sensation (nervous and integumentary), and locomotion (musculoskeletal).

Develop an argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to explain how behavioral and structural adaptations in animals and plants affect the probability of survival and reproductive success.

Evaluate and communicate evidence that compares and contrasts the advantages and disadvantages of sexual and asexual reproduction.

Construct an explanation demonstrating that the function of mitosis for multicellular organisms is for growth and repair through the production of genetically identical daughter cells.

Construct a scientific explanation based on compiled evidence for the processes of photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and anaerobic respiration in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Develop a model to depict the cycling of matter, including carbon and oxygen, including the flow of energy among biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem.

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Hypothesize that the impact of structural changes to genes (i.e., mutations) located on chromosomes may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.

Distinguish between mitosis and meiosis and compare the resulting daughter cells.

Predict the probability of individual dominant and recessive alleles to be transmitted from each parent to offspring during sexual reproduction and represent the phenotypic and genotypic patterns using ratios.

Matter and Its Interactions

Develop and use models to illustrate the structure of atoms, including the subatomic particles with their relative positions and charge.

Compare and contrast elemental molecules and compound molecules.

Classify matter as pure substances or mixtures based on composition.

Analyze and interpret chemical reactions to determine if the total number of atoms in the reactants and products support the Law of Conservation of Mass.

Use the periodic table as a model to analyze and interpret evidence relating to physical and chemical properties to identify a sample of matter.

Create and interpret models of substances whose atoms represent the states of matter with respect to temperature and pressure.

Algorithmic Thinking

Use clearly named variables of various data types to create generalized algorithms.

Create algorithms which include methods of controlling the flow of computation using “if…then… else” type conditional statements to perform different operations depending on the values of inputs.

Identify algorithms that make use of sequencing, selection, or iteration.

Describe how algorithmic processes and automation increase efficiency.

Data Analysis

Represent data using multiple encoding schemes, such as decimal, binary, Unicode, Morse code, Shorthand, student-created codes.

Refine computational models based on the data they have generated.

Collect, analyze, transform, and refine computational data to make it more useful and reliable.

Foundational Concepts

Analyze the advantages and limitations of existing computing devices to improve user experience.

Demonstrate skills in identifying and solving hardware and software problems that can occur during regular usage.

Apply computational thinking to a variety of problems across multiple disciplines.

Understand how collaboration is essential to computer science and apply collaborative skills to develop computational solutions.

Impacts of Computing

Identify and evaluate the impacts computer science innovations have had on our society.

Identify how computational systems are being used to collect and analyze information both public and private and understand the benefits and disadvantages of these systems for the user and developer.

Cite evidence of the positive and negative effects of data permanence on personal and professional digital identity.

Discuss digital globalization and Internet censorship.

Investigate a variety of education pathways and career options that utilize computational thinking and/or computer science skills across the state of Tennessee and the world.

Networking and the Internet

Identify and employ appropriate troubleshooting techniques used to solve computing or connectivity issues.

Differentiate between secure and non-secure websites and applications including how they affect and use personal data.

Describe the causes and effects of intellectual property as it relates to print and digital media, considering copyright, fair use, licensing, sharing, and attribution.

Compare and contrast common methods of securing data and cybersecurity.

Analyze different modes of social engineering and their effectiveness.

Programming Concepts

Decompose problems and subproblems into parts to facilitate the design, implementation, and review of programs.

Create procedures with parameters that hide the complexity of a task and can be reused to solve similar tasks.

Seek and incorporate feedback from team members and users to refine a solution that meets user needs.

Provide proper attribution when incorporating existing code, media, and libraries into original programs.

Use the iterative design process to systematically test and refine programs to improve performance and eliminate errors.

Document programs using comments and/or README files to make them easier to follow, test, and debug.

Design a function using a programming language.

Engineering Design

Examine a problem from the medical field (e.g., prosthetic limbs, organ transplants) and design a solution taking into consideration the criteria, constraints, and relevant scientific principles of the problem that may limit possible solutions.

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Develop models that identify and explain the structure and function of major cell organelles and structures (i.e., vacuoles, chloroplasts, lysosomes, mitochondria, cell membrane, cell wall, nucleus, cytoplasm) as they contribute to the life activities within a system.

Obtain information about the cellular structures of unicellular and multicellular organisms across kingdoms and domains in order to compare how these structures support the functions (i.e., obtain food, water, waste disposal, and the environment in which they live) of the organism.

Develop and use a hierarchical model of a multicellular organism to explain that the body of humans and other animals is a system of multiple interacting subsystems specialized for particular body functions [e.g., digestion, respiration, excretion, circulation, sensation (nervous and integumentary), locomotion (musculoskeletal), reproduction, and immunity].

Analyze data to determine the effect of genetic factors (e.g., specific breeds of organisms and their typical sizes) and environmental factors (e.g., food and space availability) that influence the growth of plants and animals.

Obtain and communicate information to provide evidence that illustrates the causal relationships between information received by sensory receptors and behavior, both immediate and over longer time scales.

Develop and use a model (e.g., Punnett squares, diagrams, and simulations) as evidence to demonstrate why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.

Develop a model using evidence that explains the process of photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and anaerobic respiration in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Develop a model to depict the cycling of matter, including carbon and oxygen, and the flow of energy among biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem.

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Evaluate and communicate information that chromosomes contain many distinct genes which code for the production of proteins, impacting the traits of an individual.

Construct an explanation to describe how the impact of changes to genes (i.e., mutations) located on chromosomes may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.

Predict the probability of individual dominant and recessive alleles to be transmitted from each parent to offspring during sexual reproduction and represent the phenotypic and genotypic patterns using ratios.

Matter and Its Interactions

Evaluate and communicate information that all substances in the universe are made of many different types of atoms that combine in various ways.

Collect and analyze data about the physical properties of the components of a mixture to use as evidence that the identities of the components change during a chemical reaction.

Develop a model to explain how changes to a system can be explained by changes in temperature and/or pressure and the effect of those changes on particle motion and/or spatial arrangement.

Use computational thinking to demonstrate that all atoms in the reactants are present in the products of a chemical reaction supporting the Law of Conservation of Mass.

Energy

Plan and carry out an investigation to demonstrate that the interaction between substances can cause chemical reactions that release or store energy.

Develop a model to explain how food is utilized through chemical reactions to form new molecules that support growth, resulting in the release of energy as matter moves through an organism.