7th Grade Science
Fall Semester | |||
Unit Title | Body Systems & Reproduction | Taxonomy within Ecosystems | Energy |
Time | 8 weeks | 6 weeks | 4 weeks |
Understandings | Living organisms, including plants and animals, are organized in hierarchies from cells to systems that each perform specific functions.
The human body relies on distinct systems that must work together to maintain overall health.
Natural and artificial selection by means of reproduction can lead to changes in traits within a population over generations.
| The taxonomic system is the method used by scientists to classify and name organisms based on their shared similarities and differences.
The taxonomic system includes defining characteristics of major kingdoms, such as bacteria's role in digestion or fungi's role in decomposition, highlighting their distinct features and critical importance within ecosystems.
An energy pyramid is a model showing the flow of energy through the trophic levels of an ecosystem.
Ecosystems are dependent upon and sustained by the cycling of matter and the flow of energy within trophic levels.
| Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles within a substance.
Thermal energy is the total kinetic energy of the particles within a substance.
Thermal energy transfers its kinetic energy of particles in substances through conduction, convection and radiation, flowing from warmer to cooler temperatures to achieve thermal equilibrium. |
TEKS | 7.13A, 7.13B, 7.13C, 7.13D | 7.12A, 7.12B, 7.14A, 7.14B
| 7.8A, 7.8B, 7.8C
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Skills TEKS | 7.1A-H, 7.2A-D, 7.3A-C, 7.4A-C, 7.5A-G | ||
Spring Semester | ||||
Unit Title | Properties of Matter | Force & Motion | Earth Systems | Astronomy |
Time | 5 weeks | 5 weeks | 6 weeks | 3 weeks |
Understandings | Elements and compounds are represented by chemical symbols and formulas that can be used to indicate a chemical change.
Changes in matter can be classified based on whether a new substance is formed.
The elements present in a chemical formula can be identified using the periodic table.
A solvent is a substance that dissolves a solute to form a solution that can vary in concentration.
The rate of dissolution is primarily influenced by temperature, surface area, and agitation, as well as the concentration of the solvent/solute. | Newton's First Law of Motion describes the relationship between the forces acting on an object and its state of motion.
Unbalanced forces acting upon an object cause a change to the object's motion, while balanced forces acting upon an object do not change its motion.
Distance and time can be used to calculate the speed of an object and can be visually represented on a graph in terms of displacement and direction while differentiating speed and velocity.
| Plate tectonics describes the movement of the Earth's lithosphere, which is broken into rigid plates that float on the asthenosphere. The interactions of these plates at their boundaries cause major geological events.
Studying geologic evidence from fossils, plate tectonics, sedimentary superposition, and major geologic events supports the theory that the Earth has changed over time and continues to change today.
Human activities, both beneficial and harmful, can influence ground and surface water and impact ocean systems.
Humans are dependent on ocean systems for several critical resources and services.
| The solar system includes planetary objects, moons, meteors, asteroids, comets, the Kuiper belt, and the Oort cloud, all of whose specific properties, locations, and movements are governed by universal gravitation.
The characteristics of Earth such as proximity to the Sun, presence of water, and composition of the atmosphere are what allow life to exist.
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TEKS | 7.6A, 7.6B, 7.6C, 7.6D, 7.6E | 7.7A, 7.7B, 7.7C, 7.7D | 7.10A, 7.10B, 7.11A, 7.11B | 7.9A, 7.9B, 7.9C |
Skills TEKS | 7.1A-H, 7.2A-D, 7.3A-C, 7.4A-C, 7.5A-G | |||