Grade 7 Science North Carolina standards Standards

Earth and Human Activity

Earth’s Systems

Heredity- Inheritance and Variation of Traits

From Molecules to Organisms- Structures and Processes

Energy

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

Understand the atmosphere and how the cycling of water relates to Earth’s weather and climate.

Analyze and interpret data to compare the composition, properties and structure of Earth’s atmosphere to include: mixtures of gases and differences in temperature and pressure within layers.

Use models to explain how the energy of the Sun and Earth’s gravity drive the cycling of water, including changes of state, as it moves through multiple pathways in Earth’s systems and relates to weather patterns on Earth.

Analyze and interpret data to explain the relationship between the movement of air masses, high and low pressure systems, frontal boundaries and weather conditions that may result.

Use models to predict weather conditions based on observations (including clouds, air masses, fronts), measurements (wind speed and direction, air temperature, humidity and air pressure), weather maps, satellites and radar.

Use models to explain the influence of convection, global winds, and the jet stream on weather and climatic conditions.

Understand the reciprocal relationship between the atmosphere and humans.

Engage in argument from evidence to explain that the good health of humans and environment requires: monitoring of the atmosphere, maintaining air quality and stewardship.

Analyze and interpret data to explain how changes in the structure and composition of the atmosphere affects the greenhouse effect and global temperatures.

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain the impacts on humans and mitigation strategies of potentially hazardous environmental factors (including air quality index, UV index, Heat Index, Wildfires) and storms (hurricanes, blizzards, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, floods).

Understand the processes, structures and functions of living organisms that enable them to survive, reproduce and carry out the basic functions of life.

Construct an explanation to conclude how the structures of single-celled organisms carry out all of the basic functions of life including: Euglena, Amoeba, Paramecium, Volvox.

Use models to explain how the relevant structures within cells (including cell membrane, cell wall, nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts, and vacuoles) function to support the life of plant, animal, and bacterial cells.

Use models to explain how the hierarchical organization of multicellular organisms from cells to tissues to organs to systems to organisms functions to support life.

Construct an explanation to summarize how the major systems of the human body interact with each other to support life (including digestion, respiration, reproduction, circulation, excretion, nervous).

Understand the relationship of the mechanisms of reproduction, patterns of inheritance, and potential variation among offspring.

Construct an explanation supported with scientific evidence to summarize the role of genes on chromosomes as inherited cellular structures which contribute to an organism's traits (not to include the structure of DNA).

Use models to explain how asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information while sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation (not to include specific phases of mitosis and meiosis).

Use models (Punnett squares) to infer and predict patterns of the inheritance of single genetic traits from parent to offspring (including dominant and recessive traits).

Understand motion, the effects of forces on motion, and the graphical representations of motion.

Construct an explanation to summarize the motion of an object by its position, direction of motion, and speed in respect to some other object.

Use models to illustrate the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces acting on an object (including friction, gravity, and magnetism).

Analyze and interpret graphical data to summarize the motion of an object to show a change in position over a period of time.

Analyze and interpret graphical data to summarize the motion of an object to show a change in distance over a period of time for constant speed and variable motion.

Understand forms of energy, energy transfer and transformation, and conservation in mechanical systems.

Construct an explanation to summarize how kinetic and potential energy contribute to the mechanical energy of an object.

Engage in argument from evidence to explain how energy can be transformed from one form to another, specifically potential energy and kinetic energy (models could include roller coasters, pendulums, or cars on ramps as examples).

Carry out investigations to conclude that energy can be transferred from one system to another when two objects push or pull on each other over a distance (work) in a mechanical system using qualitative data.

Carry out investigations to compare the efficiency of simple machines in relation to their advantages for particular purposes (to include inclined planes, pulleys, levers and wheel and axles) using qualitative data.

Safety, Law, & Ethics

Social Interactions

Culture

Impacts of Computing

Program Development

Modularity

Control

Variables

Algorithms

Algorithms & Programming

Inference & Models

Collection, Visualization, & Transformation

Storage

Data & Analysis

Cybersecurity

Network Communication & Organization

Networks & The Internet

Troubleshooting

Hardware & Software

Devices

Computing Systems

Implement flowcharts and/or pseudocode to address complex problems as algorithms.

Create clearly named variables that represent different data types.

Design and iteratively develop programs that combine control structures including nested loops and compound conditionals.

Construct programs that include events.

Organize problems and subproblems into parts.

Explain the design, implementation, and review of programs.

Create procedures with parameters to organize code and make it easier to reuse groups of instructions.

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

Incorporate existing code and media into original programs and give attribution.

Systematically test and refine programs using a range of test cases.

Distribute tasks and maintain a project timeline when collaboratively developing computational artifacts.

Document programs in order to make them easier to follow, test, and debug.

Understand the design of computing devices based on an analysis of how users interact with the devices.

Design projects that combine hardware and software components to collect and exchange data.

Systematically identify and fix problems with computing devices and components.

Represent data using multiple encoding schemes.

Collect data using computational tools.

Transform the collected data to make it more useful and reliable.

Refine computational models based on the data they have generated and/or data collected.

Compare tradeoffs associated with computing technologies that affect everyday activities and career options.

Describe how equity, access, and influence impact the distribution of computing resources in a global society.

Discuss issues of bias and accessibility in the design of existing technologies

Collaborate, model, and promote effective research strategies for assessing and evaluating innovative resources.

Collaborate with many contributors to create a computational artifact.

Utilize tools and methods for collaboration on a project to increase connectivity of peers.

Examine the benefits and drawbacks of a digital footprint and online identity.

Understand how online interactions make an impact on the social, emotional, and physical aspect of others.

Compare tradeoffs between allowing information to be public and keeping information private and secure.

Explore how laws and regulations impact the development and use of software.

Analyze different ways that data is transferred across a network and the role of protocols in transmitting data.

Explain how physical and digital security measures protect electronic information.

Explain permission and authorizations to access resources to computer systems online.

Apply multiple methods of encryption to model the secure transmission of information.