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Subject Area ResourcesLS
Seventh Grade Life Science


Course Description
Livings things serve as the subjects of study for this course, which includes units on characteristics of life, watersheds and wetlands, ecology, cells, heredity, natural selection, and taxonomy. By using hands-on investigations and projects, students will develop skills in inquiry, problem solving, recording and analyzing data, questioning, communication, and using scientific equipment. The goal is to develop student awareness of and respect for all living things and the environments on which they depend.

The seventh grade science department includes:
Teacher websites:


Units of Study

Watersheds and Wetlands
Essential Question: How do humans affect watersheds and wetlands?
Key Questions:
  • How does water enter & exit a watershed? Include parts of a watershed & the water cycle in your answer.
  • How are topographic maps used to show the boundaries of a watershed? Explain your answer.
  • What are 2 causes of good water quality and 2 causes of bad water quality? Explain each cause.
  • How do macroinvertebrates help indicate the quality of water in a watershed? Cite at least two examples in your answer.
  • What are wetlands and why should they be protected? Cite at least three reasons.
Key Vocabulary:
watershed, source, groundwater, mouth, tributary, condensation, precipitation, evaporation, elevation, topographic map, contour line, contour interval, sediment, erosion, macroinvertebrate, wetland


Ecology
Essential Question: How do living things interact with their environment?
Key Questions:
  • What are 2 parts of an ecosystem? Choose an ecosystem, explain each part & provide examples for each.
  • What does a food chain show and what are the three roles organisms have to obtain energy?
  • What effects do limiting factors and predator-prey relationships have on population size?
  • What are the three kinds of symbiosis?  Cite one example of each.
  • What is IPM and what are the four methods used to control pests?
Key Vocabulary:
ecology, biotic, abiotic, population, community, ecosystem, producer, consumer, decomposer, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, scavenger, food chain, food web, habitat, niche, prey, predator, limiting factors, symbiosis, mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, pest, Integrated Pest Management (IPM)


Cells
Essential Question:  Why are cells called the basic unit of life?
Key Questions:
  • What are the five levels of organization in living things?
  • What steps do you follow to focus a microscope on a cell?  Begin by placing the slide on the stage.
  • What are three shared cell parts and three different cell parts of plant and animal cells? Explain the function of each cell part.
  • What is the difference between photosynthesis and cellular respiration?
  • What is mitosis and why do cells need it?
Key Vocabulary:
cell, tissue, organism, organelle, nucleus, cell membrane, cell wall, mitochondria, chloroplast, ribosome, diffusion, osmosis, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, mitosis


Genetics
Essential Question:  How are traits passed from parents to offspring?
Key Questions:
  • What were the results of Gregor Mendel’s 1st & 2nd generation crosses with pea plants and why?
  • What is a Punnett Square and what is it used for?
  • How are the end results of meiosis and mitosis different and why?
  • What determines the sex of a child?  Explain your answer.
  • How does DNA help make a protein?
Key Vocabulary:
heredity, genetics, chromosome, DNA, gene, allele, dominant trait, recessive trait, genotype, phenotype, heterozygous, homozygous, probability, Punnett Square, incomplete dominance, sex cell, meiosis, sex chromosome, sex-linked trait, pedigree, mutation, genetic engineering


Natural Selection
Essential Question: What evidence supports the theory that living things have changed over time?
Key Questions:
  • What is the fossil record and what information can be read from it?
  • What are adaptations and why must all organisms be adapted to their environment? Use a real example in your answer.
  • What can be determined by comparing groups of organisms?
  • How does natural selection work?
  • What are 2 characteristics of all primates & 1 characteristic hominids have that primates do not have?
Key Vocabulary:
species, fossil, fossil record, adaptation, vestigial structure, natural selection, speciation, primate, hominid


Taxonomy
Essential Question: How and why are living things classified into groups?
Key Questions:
  • How does the number of taxonomic levels shared by 2 organisms show how closely related they are?
  • What steps would you use to identify an organism using a taxonomic key?
  • What are the important characteristics that distinguish the six kingdoms of life from each other?
Key Vocabulary:
taxonomy, taxonomic key, bilateral symmetry, radial symmetry, anterior, posterior, dorsal, ventral, exoskeleton



Instructional Resources

Text Book
  • Life Science (Holt Science & Technology by Holt, Rinehart and Winston)

Web Resources
The Elizabethtown Area School District recognizes that the internet can be an outstanding resource for students to access information and reinforce classroom instruction. The links and information contained in this section have been recommended by district faculty and administrators and represent some of the best educational sites for children. The directory of links provided are located outside of the Elizabethtown Area School District website. They are not maintained, owned or updated by the Elizabethtown Area School District. To cancel, use your browser's "Back" button to return to the previous page.


*The Elizabethtown Area School District makes use of a variety of instructional resources in the classroom to support student learning. Resources could include text books, subscription-based web programs, etc. The resources listed below are regularly used in the classroom to provided support in the subject area. The websites listed may require a username and password. Your son or daughter was provided this sign-in information by his or her teacher. If your child does not know his or her log in, please check with your child's teacher.
**The Elizabethtown Area School District recognizes that the internet can be an outstanding resource for students to access information and reinforce classroom instruction. The links and information contained in this section have been recommended by district faculty and administrators and represent some of the best educational sites for children. The directory of links provided are located outside of the Elizabethtown Area School District website. They are not maintained, owned or updated by the Elizabethtown Area School District. To cancel, use your browser's "Back" button to return to the previous page.





Last Modified on October 7, 2010