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7th grade · Science · Unit 3 of 10

Cells & Life Processes

Organelles, photosynthesis and respiration

What your child practices

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.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 7L.1.2.1.1; 7L.3.1.1.1 · cells, microscopes and the parts of a cell

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Cell theory: all living things are made of cells, and cells come from other cells.
  2. Chloroplasts do photosynthesis; mitochondria do respiration. The products of one are the inputs of the other.
  3. Osmosis is water moving across a membrane. Cells form tissues, organs and systems.

Example: What are the products of photosynthesis? Plants use light, water and carbon dioxide. They make sugar and give off a gas. Answer: glucose and oxygen

Cells & Life Processes in Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 3 of 10 in 7th grade Science, after Cells: Life's Building Blocks and before Body Systems.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which organelle releases energy from food for the cell?

    • nucleus
    • mitochondria
    • chloroplast
    • cell membrane

  2. Question 2

    Where does photosynthesis happen in a plant cell?

    • ribosomes
    • mitochondria
    • chloroplasts
    • nucleus

  3. Question 3

    A plant cell placed in salty water loses water. What happens to the cell?

    • It makes more chloroplasts.
    • Nothing changes.
    • It swells and bursts.
    • It shrinks as water leaves.

  4. Question 4

    What are the inputs of photosynthesis?

    • oxygen and water
    • sugar and light
    • carbon dioxide, water and light energy
    • oxygen and sugar

  5. Question 5

    What are the products of cellular respiration?

    • energy, carbon dioxide and water
    • only oxygen
    • only sugar
    • glucose and oxygen

  6. Question 6

    What are the products of photosynthesis?

    • glucose (sugar) and oxygen
    • water and energy
    • carbon dioxide and oxygen
    • carbon dioxide and water

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