7th grade Science
16 units matched to the Alabama Course of Study.
Focus areas
- Life Science: cells, body systems, ecosystems, heredity and adaptation
- Science and engineering practices: arguing from evidence
- Engineering design: solving real problems in Alabama and beyond
Units
Unit 1
Cells: Life's Building Blocks
Practices evidence that living things are made of cells, the parts of plant and animal cells and their jobs, and how the cell works as a system.
Content standard: 7.1 · the parts of a cell and what each does
Unit 2
Cells & Life Processes
The cell theory, what organelles do in plant and animal cells, how photosynthesis and respiration are connected, osmosis, and how cells form tissues, organs and organ systems.
Content standard: 7.1; 7.2 · organelles such as chloroplasts and mitochondria, photosynthesis and cellular respiration
Unit 3
Cells, Tissues & Organs
Why cells are the basic unit of life, how plant and animal cells differ, how materials move into and out of cells, and how cells form tissues, organs and systems. Includes working out microscope magnification.
Content standard: 7.1; 7.4 · cells, tissues and organs, and how materials move into and out of cells
Unit 4
Photosynthesis & Respiration
The reactants, products and location of photosynthesis and cellular respiration, why they are complementary, and how they link plants, animals and the carbon cycle.
Content standard: 7.2 · how photosynthesis and cellular respiration cycle matter and move energy
Unit 5
Cells from Cells
How cells copy their DNA and divide by mitosis, the stages in order, why cells divide for growth and healing, and what can go wrong when cell growth isn't controlled.
Content standard: 7.3 · how mitosis makes new cells with identical genetic information
Unit 6
Body Systems
How the nervous and endocrine (hormone) systems send messages, how the excretory system removes waste, and the basic organs of the reproductive system, all at a simple organ-and-job level.
Content standard: 7.4 · how cells, tissues and organs of the body systems work together
Unit 7
Heart, Bones & Muscles
The heart and blood vessels, bones, joints, muscles and tendons, how body systems work together, and heart-rate data.
Content standard: 7.4 · the circulatory, skeletal and muscular systems working together
Unit 8
Food Chains & Energy
Producers, consumers and decomposers, food chains and webs, how energy shrinks as it passes up a chain (about 10% each step), and what happens when part of a chain changes.
Content standard: 7.5 · energy flowing and matter cycling through food chains and webs
Unit 9
Cycles & Succession
How water, carbon and nitrogen are cycled through ecosystems, why cycling supports sustainability, and the difference between primary and secondary succession.
Content standard: 7.5; 7.7 · the carbon, nitrogen and water cycles, and changes in ecosystems over time
Unit 10
Ecosystems
Biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem, how they interact, and the limiting factors and carrying capacity that decide how many organisms an ecosystem can support.
Content standard: 7.6; 7.7; 7.8 · how resources and limiting factors affect populations, and how organisms interact
Unit 11
Biodiversity
Why a variety of life makes species and communities more resilient, how species depend on each other, and why biodiversity matters to people.
Content standard: 7.8; 7.9 · biodiversity and the relationships among organisms in an ecosystem
Unit 12
Genes & Heredity
Practices how genes on chromosomes code for proteins that shape traits, how mutations can be harmful, helpful or neutral, and how sexual and asexual reproduction differ in passing on genes.
Content standard: 7.11; 7.13 · genes on chromosomes, Punnett squares, and how meiosis and sexual reproduction make variation
Unit 13
Asexual & Sexual Reproduction
Practices comparing asexual reproduction (budding, runners, cuttings, splitting) and sexual reproduction (two parents) in plants and animals, how each affects variety in offspring, and why variety matters for a population over time.
Content standard: 7.10; 7.13 · asexual and sexual reproduction and the variation in offspring
Unit 14
Species & Hybrids
Practices what a species is, what viable offspring are, and hybrids such as mules, ligers, grolar bears and hybrid crops.
Content standard: 7.14 · breeding technologies that change the traits of plants and animals
Unit 15
Natural Selection
Variation, inherited versus acquired traits, adaptations, and how natural selection changes populations over generations, with fossils and other evidence. Includes reading data from a predator–prey model.
Content standard: 7.15; 7.17 · how natural selection changes the traits of a population over generations
Unit 16
Natural Selection
Practices how variation in traits leads some individuals to survive and reproduce more, how populations change over generations, and how artificial selection works.
Content standard: 7.15; 7.16; 7.17 · fossils, similar body structures and embryos as evidence of change, and natural selection
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