Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

Science Inquiry and Application
During the years of grades 5-8 all students must use the following scientific processes to construct their knowledge and understanding in all science content areas:
• Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations;
• Design and conduct a scientific investigation;
• Use appropriate mathematics, tools and techniques to gather data and information;
• Analyze and interpret data;
• Develop descriptions, models, explanations and predictions;
• Think critically and logically to connect evidence and explanations;
• Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and predications; and
• Communicate scientific procedures and explanations.

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

TOPIC: Cycles and Patterns of Earth and the Moon

CONTENT STATEMENT 1

  • The hydrologic cycle illustrates the changing states of water as it moves through the lithosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.

CONCEPTS

/ VOCABULARY
  • The movement of water through the spheres of Earth is known as the hydrologic cycle.
  • As water changes state and energy is transferred, it cycles from one sphere into another. .
  • The movement of water in the cycle can also move contamination through each of the spheres.
  • Drainage patterns and watersheds contribute to the cycling of water.
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  • Hydrologic Cycle
  • Lithosphere
  • Hydrosphere
  • Atmosphere
  • Evaporation
  • Transpiration
  • Erosion
  • Acid Rain
  • Ground Water
  • Surface Water
  • Porosity
  • Permeability

PERFORMANCE SKILLS:

  • Describe the movement of water through all four spheres of Earth (lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere).
  • Identify the changes in thermal energy as water changes state in the hydrologic cycle.
  • Recognize that the sun is the source of energy that drives the hydrologic cycle.

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

TOPIC: Cycles and Patterns of Earth and the Moon

CONTENT STATEMENT 2

  • Thermal-energy transfers in the ocean and the atmosphere contribute to the formation of currents, which influence global climate patterns.

CONCEPTS

/ VOCABULARY
  • Atmospheric and oceanic currents and climate are related to the changing physical properties of air and water.
  • Moving atmospheric and oceanic currents are connected to thermal energy, density, pressure, composition and topographic/geographic influences.
  • Current patterns in both the atmosphere and ocean are mapped and documented with data.
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  • Thermal energy
  • Density
  • Pressure
  • Composition
  • Atmospheric currents
  • Oceanic currents
  • Air Pressure
  • Humidity

PERFORMANCE SKILLS:

  • Identify the general patterns of the jet stream and the gulf stream using a world map.
  • Explain the reasons for moving currents in both air and water.
  • Identify the factors that contribute to global climate.

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

TOPIC: Cycles and Patterns of Earth and the Moon

CONTENT STATEMENT 3

  • The atmosphere has different properties at different elevations and contains a mixture of gases that cycle through the lithosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.

CONCEPTS

/ VOCABULARY
  • Decomposers convert nitrogen into nitrates and nitrites which plants and animals can use.
  • Specific elements and/or molecules move between the Earth’s spheres.
  • Standard greenhouse gases, ozone, and natural events/human activities can change the properties of the atmosphere (through the exploration of contemporary issues and technological advances).
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  • Biogeochemical Cycle
  • Lithosphere
  • Hydrosphere
  • Atmosphere
  • Nitrogen Cycle
  • Carbon Cycle
  • Nitrates
  • Nitrites

PERFORMANCE SKILLS:

  • Identify the general properties of the different layers of the atmosphere.
  • Recognize the human-made and natural factors that can change the properties of the atmosphere.
  • Identify the different gases that are present in Earth’s atmosphere.
  • Trace the different biogeochemical cycles through each of Earth’s spheres.

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

TOPIC: Cycles and Patterns of Earth and the Moon

CONTENT STATEMENT 4

  • The relative patterns of motion and positions of the Earth, moon and sun cause solar and lunar eclipses, tides and phases of the moon.

CONCEPTS

/ VOCABULARY
  • Gravitational forces and tides are related to the changing positions of the Earth, moon, and sun.
  • Phases of the moon or tides are cyclical and predictable.
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  • Lunar/solar eclipses
  • Neap tide
  • Spring tide
  • Gravity
  • Potential energy

PERFORMANCE SKILLS:

  • Recognize the relationship between gravity and tidal movement.
  • Recognize the different phases of the moon and why they are cyclical and predictable.

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

PERRY CONTENT STATEMENT
  • Precursor concepts for chemistry and weather.

CONCEPTS

/ VOCABULARY
  • The greater the mass the greater the sinking.
  • Submerged volume equals the volume of water displaced.
  • 1g = 1 cm3 = 1 ml
  • Density is the relationship between an objects mass and volume.
  • The density of water is one.
  • There is a difference between mass and weight.
  • Graphing is a principal tool for analysis.
  • Objects float and sink based on their densities.
  • The temperature/buoyancy of liquids change as its temperature changes.
  • All measurements have a degree of uncertainty due to instrument error and human error.
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  • AnalysisExtrapolate
  • AnomalyMass
  • ExperimentGram
  • ExplanationNegative Axis
  • HypothesisOrigin
  • InterfaceWeight
  • InterpretationDiameter
  • ObserveOutlier
  • PhenomenonGraph
  • PredictionHypothesis
  • SystemRelationship
  • BuoyancySubmerge
  • CentimeterBalance
  • DataBuoyancy
  • Linear MeasurementInterface
  • QuantityBallast
  • Metric MeasurementDisplaced
  • RelationshipVolume
  • SubmergeSubmerged Volume
  • UncertaintyUniversal
  • Instrument ErrorExplanation
  • Human ErrorArea
  • AverageDensity
  • Horizontal AxisSubsurface
  • Vertical AxisPlateau
  • Interpolate

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

PERFORMANCE SKILLS:

  • Investigate how more mass equals more sinking.
  • Explore how submerged volume equals the volume of liquid displaced.
  • Discover the equivalence between 1 g, 1 cm3, and 1 ml of water.
  • Compare and analyze graphs to determine the relative densities of materials (Which material is more dense? Less dense?) as well as to determine the mass of a material given a volume or a volume of a material given a mass.
  • Identify various materials by their density.
  • Explain the relationship between mass and volume for various objects and liquids.
  • Explore and explain that a floating object’s density is less than the liquid’s density it is in; an object will subsurface float if its density is equal to the density of the liquid it is in, and an object will sink if the object’s density is greater than the density of the liquid.
  • Create a product to illustrate the universal explanation of buoyancy.

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

TOPIC: Cycles of Matter and Flow of Energy

CONTENT STATEMENT 5

  • Matter is transferred continuously between one organism to another and between organisms and their physical environments.

CONCEPTS

/ VOCABULARY
  • Energy first enters most ecosystems as sunlight.
  • Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants, algae, and some bacteria make sugars that they use for food.
  • Cellular respiration is the process by which the energy stored in sugars is released for use by the cells of organisms.
  • Producers transfer their energy to consumers.
  • Chloroplasts which contain chlorophyll capture the sun’s energy.
  • As matter is cycled within the environment, it promotes sustainability.
  • The total amount of matter and energy remains constant in an ecosystem, even though the form and location undergo continual change.
  • Energy rich molecules that are passed from organism to organism are eventually recycled by decomposers back into mineral nutrients by plants.
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  • Cellular Respiration
  • Energy Pyramid
  • Extinction
  • Producers
  • Primary Consumer
  • Secondary Consumer
  • Tertiary Consumer
  • Decomposer
  • Photosynthesis

PERFORMANCE SKILLS:

  • Diagram and explain photosynthesis and cellular respiration as a cycle.
  • Describe how chemical energy is used throughout the energy pyramid for life functions.

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

TOPIC: Cycles of Matter and Flow of Energy

CONTENT STATEMENT 6

  • In any particular biome, the number, growth and survival of organisms and populations depend on biotic and abiotic factors.

CONCEPTS

/ VOCABULARY
  • Biomes are shaped by the nonliving components of the environment (topography, mineral concentrations, rainfall, solar radiation, and temperature). Similarities and differences in biomes should be emphasized.
  • Population growth is dependent on available resources.
  • Limiting factors include food, space, and weather conditions.
  • Overpopulation affects an ecosystem.
  • There are multiple causes of overpopulation.
  • Organisms are able to survive due to various interactions within a community.
  • Survival of the community is dependent on the variety of symbiotic relationships.
  • Interactions occur among organisms.
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  • Biomes
  • Biodiversity
  • Resources
  • Biotic
  • Abiotic
  • Individual
  • Population
  • Population Density
  • Community
  • Ecosystem
  • Species
  • Habitats
  • Interactions
  • Competition – Intraspecific/Interspecific
  • Limiting Factor
  • Carrying Capacity
  • Migration
  • Hibernation
  • Offspring
  • Overpopulation
  • Symbiosis
  • Mutualism
  • Commensalism
  • Parasitism
  • Parasite

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

CONCEPTS

/ VOCABULARY (cont’d)
  • Organisms are involved in three types of relationships.
  • Competition does not always involve direct physical interactions between species.
  • Change is an ongoing process that occurs in nature at various rates.
  • After an environmental disturbance, there is a natural reclamation process (succession).
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  • Host
  • Succession
  • Decomposition
  • Primary Succession
  • Secondary Succession
  • Reclamation

PERFORMANCE SKILLS:

  • Identify the biotic and abiotic elements of the major biomes and describe how they are connected.
  • Differentiate between biotic and abiotic resources.
  • Interpret conditions to determine the effect on populations within an ecosystem.
  • Experiment with effects of changes in abiotic factors (e.g., light, salt, fertilizer, water, soil, etc.)
  • Investigate how overpopulation impacts an ecosystem.
  • Explain wildlife management techniques.
  • Create new techniques to address overpopulation in their ecosystem.
  • Describe interactions within a community.
  • Discriminate between the types of symbiotic relationships.
  • Give examples of organisms’ symbiotic relationships within an ecosystem.
  • Identify and provide examples of the three types of relationships among organisms (competition, predation, cooperation).
  • Trace the succession of an ecosystem.
  • Diagram and explain the natural succession in a community.
  • Provide realistic examples of environmental changes which occur slowly and rapidly.

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

TOPIC: Conservation of Mass and Energy

CONTENT STATEMENT 7

  • The properties of matter are determined by the arrangement of atoms.

CONCEPTS

/ VOCABULARY
  • Pure substances include elements and compounds.
  • Mixtures (compounds) are materials composed of two or more pure substances that retain their separate atomic compositions, even when mixed.
  • Matter is classified as pure substances or mixtures based in their atomic compositions.
  • The periodic table is organized into large groups with similar properties (metal, non-metals, gases)
  • All substances are composed of a specific arrangement of atoms.
  • Acids and bases are separate classes of compounds (that each exhibit common properties).
  • Chemical changes, like burning and rusting, involve the atoms of substances rearranging to form new substances in which the atoms are arranged in entirely different ways
  • Physical changes like phase changes or dissolving, may involve a change in properties of the substances, but the arrangement of atoms and chemical identity of the substances remain the same.
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  • Atomic Composition
  • Mixture
  • Acids
  • Bases
  • Metals
  • Non-Metals
  • Gases
  • Condense
  • Solidify/Freeze
  • Deposit
  • Liquify/Melt
  • Vaporize/Evaporate
  • Sublime
  • Solute
  • Solvent
  • Oxidation
  • Collisions
  • Bonds
  • Saturate
  • Concentration
  • Reaction
  • Reactants
  • Products
  • Ionic
  • Neutralization
  • Atomic Number

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

TOPIC: Conservation of Mass and Energy

CONTENT STATEMENT 7 (cont’d)

  • The properties of matter are determined by the arrangement of atoms.

CONCEPTS

/ VOCABULARY
  • For any type of change, the mass and weight remain constant in a closed system. (Since the number and type of atoms stays the same, no matter how the atoms are rearranged, matter is conserved in that the total mass stays the same).
  • Matter exists on Earth in three common phases (states)--solid, liquid, and gas.
  • In solids, particles are held in place and move only by vibrating.
  • liquids, particles are held close, but are able to move around and over one another.
  • In gases, particles move independently through space.
  • Melting is a change of state caused by heat.
  • Dissolving is an interaction between two substances in which one substance (solute) breaks apart and uniformly goes into another substance.
  • Change of state is the result of change of energy in the particles in a sample of matter.
  • During phase change, particles do not change; relationships between particles do not change.
  • The temperatures at which phase changes occur are different substances.

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

TOPIC: Conservation of Mass and Energy

CONTENT STATEMENT 7 (cont’d)

  • The properties of matter are determined by the arrangement of atoms.

CONCEPTS

/ VOCABULARY
  • The processes of phase change are evaporation, condensation, melting, freezing, sublimation, and deposition.
  • A solution is a mixture in which one substance dissolves and “disappears” in a second substance.
  • A saturated solution has as much solute dissolved in it as possible.
  • Dissolving involves both kinetic interactions (collisions) and attractive forces (bonds).
  • The concentration of a solution is an expression of the ratio of solute particles to solvent particles.
  • Solutions of different concentrations made with the same substances have different densities.
  • Atoms are the fundamental particles of elements.
  • Atoms combine to make particles of substances: molecules and ionic compounds.
  • Molecules and ionic compounds are held together by attractive forces called bonds.
  • A chemical reaction is a process in which the atoms of substances (reactants) rearrange to form new substances (products).
  • Acid is neutralized when it is changed into new substances as a result of a reaction.

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

TOPIC: Conservation of Mass and Energy

CONTENT STATEMENT 7 (cont’d)

  • The properties of matter are determined by the arrangement of atoms.

PERFORMANCE SKILLS:

  • Mix substances with water in order to determine the identity of an unknown mixture of substances.
  • Observe and compare chemical reactions as they occur.
  • Observe and compare residues left behind after water evaporates from reaction cups.
  • Explain that a reaction changes initial substances into new different substances.
  • Explain how to identify two substances in an unknown mixture.
  • Use information in the periodic table to analyze substances in terms of their elemental composition.
  • Explain that all common matter is made of elements.
  • Use standardized procedures to determine the volume of gas produced in a reaction.
  • Use syringes to observe the effects of pressure on gases.
  • Explain the composition of gas in terms of individual particles in constant motion.
  • Use drawings and words to explain gas compression and expansion.
  • Use ice, hot water, and flame to transfer heat to and from substances to observe phase change.
  • Explain phase change in terms of the relationship of particles to one another in a substance.
  • Discuss phase change in terms of kinetic energy and energy transfer.
  • Mix substances to observe that some solids dissolve and others don’t.
  • Determine the mass of two different substances needed to saturate 30g of water.
  • Use balances to compare densities of solutions and to infer concentration.
  • Explain the process of dissolving.
  • Explain how to determine the amount of solute needed to saturate a volume of solvent.
  • Describe the characteristics of a solution at the particle level.
  • Explain concentration.
  • Use chemical formulas and balanced chemical equations to represent chemical reactions.
  • Conduct a neutralization reaction to determine the effectiveness of an antacid tablet

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

TOPIC: Conservation of Mass and Energy

CONTENT STATEMENT 8

  • Energy can be transformed from one form to another or can be transferred from one system to another, but is never lost.

CONCEPTS

/ VOCABULARY
  • Mixing water of two temperatures results in water of an intermediate temperature.
  • Substances “heat up” or “cool down” as a result of energy transfer.
  • Energy transfers between particles when they collide. Energy transferred by contact is conduction.
  • Energy always transfers from particles with more kinetic to particles with less kinetic energy.
  • Energy is conserved. The amount of energy in the system does not change; no energy is ever created and no energy is ever destroyed.
  • Temperature is measured in degrees Celsius.
  • Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles of a substance.
  • Equilibrium occurs when all particles of a system are at the same temperature.
  • Heat is measured in calories. One calorie is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1g (1ml) of water 10 C.
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  • Energy transfer
  • Radiation
  • Conduction
  • Heat
  • Calorie
  • Equilibrium

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

TOPIC: Conservation of Mass and Energy

CONTENT STATEMENT 9 (cont’d)

  • Energy can be transformed from one form to another or can be transferred from one system to another, but is never lost.

PERFORMANCE SKILLS:

  • Mix hot and cold water to observe energy transfer.
  • Calculate energy transfer in calories.
  • Explain energy transfer in terms of the change of particle kinetic energy resulting from collision.
  • Discuss energy transfer in water in terms of calories.

Grade Seven

2011-2012

Science Course of Study

TOPIC: Conservation of Mass and Energy

CONTENT STATEMENT 9(6th grade statement 1)

  • All matter is made up of small particles called atoms.

CONCEPTS

/ VOCABULARY
  • All matter is made up of very tiny particles called atoms.
  • Atoms of any one element are alike but different from atoms of other elements.
  • All substances are composed of one or more of these elements.
  • Elements are made up of only one type of atom while compounds are composed of atoms of two or more elements joined together chemically.
  • Each compound has its own unique, unchanging composition of type and number of atoms.
  • All particles of a (pure) substance have nearly identical masses, volumes and shapes, but are different from the particles of other substances.
  • Equal volumes of different substances usually have different masses.
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  • Atom
  • Element
  • Bond
  • Compounds
  • Pure Substance
  • Density

PERFORMANCE SKILLS: