7th grade Science
14 units matched to the New York State Learning Standards.
Focus areas
- Atoms, mixtures, chemical reactions and synthetic materials
- Ecosystems, food webs and biodiversity
- Electric circuits, and Earth's surface and resources
- How a growing population and resource use affect Earth
Units
Unit 1
Atoms & Elements
Elements versus compounds and mixtures, chemical symbols (H, O, Na, Cl, Fe, Au…), counting atoms in formulas like H₂O and C₆H₁₂O₆, metals and non-metals, and the basics of the periodic table.
Learning standard: MS-PS1-1 · atoms, elements, compounds and simple molecules
Unit 2
Circuits & Static
Complete circuits, series versus parallel wiring, conductors and insulators, adding cell voltages, and static electricity (like and opposite charges, lightning).
Learning standard: MS-PS3-6; MS-PS2-3 · energy carried by electric currents in circuits, and the electric forces between charges
Unit 3
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.
Learning standard: MS-LS2-1; MS-LS2-2 · how resources limit populations and how organisms interact in ecosystems
Unit 4
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.
Learning standard: MS-LS2-3 · energy flowing through food chains and webs
Unit 5
Cycles & Succession
How water, carbon and nitrogen are cycled through ecosystems, why cycling supports sustainability, and the difference between primary and secondary succession.
Learning standard: MS-LS2-3; MS-LS2-4 · matter cycling in ecosystems and how ecosystems change after disturbances
Unit 6
How Plants Work
The parts of seed plants and what they do, photosynthesis, gas exchange, transpiration and pollination, and how plant structures suit where a plant grows.
Learning standard: MS-LS1-6 · plant structures and photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy
Unit 7
Particles & Mixtures
The particle theory of matter, the states of matter, pure substances versus mixtures, and homogeneous versus heterogeneous mixtures.
Learning standard: MS-PS1-4 · particle models of pure substances and mixtures
Unit 8
Density & Buoyancy
Calculating density from mass and volume, explaining why solids, liquids and gases differ in density using the particle theory, and predicting whether objects float or sink in different fluids.
Learning standard: MS-PS1-7 · density as a property that identifies a sample of matter, and why things float or sink
Unit 9
Chemical Reactions
Practices signs of chemical reactions, how properties change when new substances form, conservation of mass, and devices that release or absorb thermal energy through reactions.
Learning standard: MS-PS1-2; MS-PS1-5; MS-PS1-6 · properties change in chemical reactions, atoms are conserved, and reactions can release or absorb energy
Unit 10
Earth's Changing Surface
Practices the rock cycle, how surface processes change land at different speeds and scales, and evidence that plates move, with examples from the glaciers that shaped the Finger Lakes and Long Island and the old rock of the Adirondacks.
Learning standard: MS-ESS2-1; MS-ESS2-2; MS-ESS2-3 · the rock cycle, surface processes at different scales, and evidence for plate motion
Unit 11
Resources & Hazards
Practices why minerals, fuels and groundwater are unevenly spread because of past geologic processes, how hazard data help forecast events like hurricanes and floods, and designing ways to reduce human impact, such as the salt beds under central New York and flood maps of its coast.
Learning standard: MS-ESS3-1; MS-ESS3-2; MS-ESS3-3 · the uneven distribution of Earth's resources, forecasting natural hazards, and reducing human impact on the environment
Unit 12
Protecting Biodiversity
Practices evaluating solutions that maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services, such as restoring oyster reefs in New York Harbor, controlling zebra mussels in the Great Lakes and the bald eagle's return to New York.
Learning standard: MS-LS2-5 · evaluating solutions that maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services
Unit 13
Synthetic Materials
Practices how synthetic materials such as plastics, nylon, glass and medicines are made from natural resources through chemical processes, and how they help and harm society, from safety vests and insulin to plastic waste and fertilizer runoff.
Learning standard: MS-PS1-3 · synthetic materials come from natural resources through chemical processes, and they affect society
Unit 14
People & Earth's Resources
Practices arguing from evidence how a growing human population and rising use of resources per person affect Earth's land, water, air and living things, and how using less per person can reduce that impact, with examples such as groundwater, fisheries and New York's returning forests.
Learning standard: MS-ESS3-4 · how a growing human population and rising use of resources per person affect Earth's systems
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