Science 7

Students will research a process for growing plants (hydroponics). Students will investigate a variety of different systems and growing mediums for raising plants and will analyze such variables as growth rate and food production.  Plants will be used to introduce the structure and function of living organisms, and students will learn about the characteristics of living things, parts of the cell, and cellular processes.  Students will also learn what materials are required by living things, how the materials are delivered, and how these materials sustain life.

Students will study the body systems of organisms and explore how the interactions of those systems affect overall functions.  Students will learn about the levels of organization within an organism and the contribution cells provide a system as the basic building blocks of life. Students will explore how matter and energy are  processed by organisms to build, maintain, and repair themselves.  Students will relate structure and function of body systems to nutritional requirements and disease prevention. 

Students will study the principles of heredity and genetics.  They will learn how organisms reproduce and transfer their genetic information to their offspring. Students will study how characteristics get passed on from generation to generation and research several genetic disorders that affect human offspring.  Students will use biotechnical processes to explore the genetic characteristics of organisms.  Students will conduct a DNA extraction and a microarray will be performed as a way of checking the genotypes of the offspring.

Students will study Earth’s history, geological time, and explore how organisms have evolved.  Students will examine the fossil record and construct explanations from mass extinctions.  Students will explore the concepts of natural selection and adaptation and will learn that traits of an organism can change as a result of environmental conditions or a need for survival.  Students will explore the similarities between organisms and use biotechnical processes, such as DNA fingerprinting, as means of identification. 

Students will study how ecosystems are complex, interactive systems that include both biological (biotic) and physical (abiotic) components of the environment. As with individual organisms, a hierarchal structure exists; groups of the same organisms (species) form populations, different populations interact to form communities, communities live within an ecosystem, and all of the ecosystems on Earth make up the biosphere. Organisms grow, reproduce, and perpetuate their species by obtaining necessary resources through interdependent relationships with other organisms and the physical environment. These same interactions can facilitate or restrain growth and enhance or limit the size of populations, maintaining the balance between available resources and those who consume them. These interactions can also change both biotic and abiotic characteristics of the environment. Like individual organisms, ecosystems are sustained by the continuous flow of energy, originating primarily from the sun, and the recycling of matter and nutrients within the system. Ecosystems are dynamic, experiencing shifts in population com- position and abundance and changes in the physical environment over time, which ultimately affects the stability and resilience of the entire system.