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THE COLUMBUS SCHOOL
September 2007
Life Science Grade 7
Benchmarks 32
SC11
Understands the nature of scientific knowledge
SC7.11.1
Knows that an experiment must be repeated many times and yield consistent
results before the results are accepted as correct
SC7.11.2
Knows that scientific explanations are based on evidence and scientific
knowledge
SC7.11.3
Knows that all scientific ideas are tentative and subject to change and
improvement in principle, but for most core ideas in science, there is much
experimental and observational confirmation
SC12
Understands the nature of scientific inquiry
SC7.12.1
Designs and conducts a scientific investigation
 Formulates hypotheses
 Designs and executes investigations
 Interprets data
 Synthesizes evidence into explanations
 Proposes alternative explanations for observations
 Critiques explanations and procedures
SC7.12.2
Knows there is no fixed procedure called “the scientific method” but that
investigation involve
 Systemic observations
 Carefully collected, relevant evidence
 Logical reasoning
 Some imagination in developing hypotheses and explanations
SC7.12.3
Uses appropriate tools (including computer hardware and software) and
techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret scientific data
SC7.12.4
Establishes relationships based on evidence and logical argument (e.g.,
provides causes for effects)
September 2007
Science Grade 7
SC7.12.5
Knows that scientists use different kinds of investigations depending on the
questions they are trying to answer
 Naturalistic observation of things or events
 Data collection
 Controlled experiments
SC7.12.6
Knows possible outcomes of scientific investigations
 Some may result in new ideas and phenomena for study
 Some may generate new methods or procedures for an investigation
 Some may result in the development of new technologies to improve the
collection of data
 Some may lead to new investigations
SC7.12.7
Knows that scientists use different kinds of investigations depending on the
questions they are trying to answer
 Naturalistic observation of things or events
 Data collection
 Controlled experiments
SC15
Understands structure and function in living systems
SC7.15.1
Understands that living systems at all levels of organization demonstrate the
complementary nature of structure and function. Important levels of
organization for structure and function include
 Cells
 Organs
 Tissues
 Organ systems
 Whole organisms
 Ecosystems
SC7.15.2
Knows that all organisms are composed of cells—the fundamental unit of life.
Most organisms are single cells; other organisms, including humans, are
multicellular
SC7.15.3
Understands that cells carry on the many functions needed to sustain life
 They grow and divide, thereby producing more cells
 This requires that they take in nutrients, which they use to provide energy
for the work that cells do and to make the materials that a cell or an
organism needs
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September 2007
Science Grade 7
SC7.15.4
Knows how specialized cells perform specialized functions in multicellular
organisms
 Groups of specialized cells cooperate to form a tissue, such as a muscle
 Different tissues are in turn grouped together and form larger functional
units, called organs
 Each type of cell, tissue, and organ has a distinct structure and set of
functions that serve the organism as a whole
SC7.15.5
Understands that the human organism has systems that interact with one
another
 Digestion
 Respiration
 Reproduction
 Circulation
 Excretion
 Movement
 Control and coordination
 Protection from disease
SC7.15.6
Knows that disease is the breakdown in structures or functions of an organism
 Some diseases are the result of intrinsic failures of the system
 Others are the result of damage by infection by other organisms
SC4
Understands the principles of heredity and related concepts
SC7.4.1
Understands that reproduction is a characteristic of all living systems and is
essential to the continuation of every species
 No living organism lives forever
 Reproduction is essential to the continuation of every species
 Some organisms reproduce asexually
 Others reproduce sexually
SC7.4.2
Knows that females produce eggs and males produce sperm. An egg and
sperm unite to begin development of a new individual. The individual receives
genetic information from its mother (via the egg) and its father (via the sperm).
Sexually produced offspring never are identical to either of their parents
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September 2007
Science Grade 7
SC7.4.3
Understands that every organism requires a set of instructions for specifying
its traits. Heredity is the passage of these instructions from one generation to
another
SC7.4.4
Understands that hereditary information is contained in the genes, located in
the chromosomes of each cell
 Each gene carries a single unit of information
 An inherited trait of an individual can be determined by one or by many
genes
 A single gene can influence more than one trait
 A human cell contains many thousands of different genes
SC7.4.5
Understands that the characteristics of an organism can be described In terms
of a combination of traits. Some traits are inherited and others result from
interactions with the environment
SC6
Understands regulation and behavior between populations and
ecosystems
SC7.6.1
Understands that all organisms must be able to obtain and use resources,
grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a
constantly changing external environment
SC7.6.2
Understands that the regulation of an organism’s internal environment
involves sensing the internal environment and changing physiological activities
to keep conditions within the range required to survive
SC7.6.3
Understands that behavior is one kind of response an organism can make to
an internal or environmental stimulus
 A behavioral response requires coordination and communication at many
levels, including cells, organ systems, and whole organisms
 Behavioral response is a set of actions determined in part by heredity
and in part from experience
SC7.6.4
Understands that an organism’s behavior evolves through adaptation to its
environment. The species’ evolutionary history depends upon how a species
moves, obtains food, reproduces, and responds to danger
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September 2007
Science Grade 7
SC7.6.5
Understands that a population consists of all individuals of a species that
occur together at a given place and time. All populations living together and
the physical factors with which they interact compose an ecosystem
SC7.6.6
Understands that populations of organisms can be categorized by the
functions they serve in an ecosystem
 Plants and some micro-organisms are producers—they make their own
food
 All animals, including humans, are consumers, which obtain their food by
eating other organisms
 Decomposers, primarily bacteria and fungi, are consumers that use
waste materials and dead organisms for food
 Food webs identify the relationship among producers, consumers, and
decomposers in an ecosystem
SC7.6.7
Understands that the major source of energy is sunlight for ecosystems
 Energy entering ecosystems as sunlight is transferred by producers into
chemical energy through photosynthesis
 Energy passes from organism to organism in food webs
SC7.6.8
Understands that organisms in an ecosystem depend on the resources
available. Given adequate biotic and abiotic resources and no disease or
predators, populations (including humans) increase at rapid rates. Lack of
resources and other factors, such as predation and climate, limit the growth of
populations in specific niches in the ecosystem
SC7
Understands the diversity and adaptations of organisms
SC7.7.1
Understands although different species might look dissimilar, the unity among
organisms becomes apparent from an analysis of internal structures, the
similarity of their chemical processes, and the evidence of common ancestry
SC7.7.2
Understands that biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species
developed through gradual processes over many generations
 Species acquire many of their unique characteristics through biological
adaptation, which involves the selection of naturally occurring variations
in populations
 Biological adaptations include changes in structures, behaviors, or
physiology that enhance survival and reproductive success in a particular
environment
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September 2007
Science Grade 7
SC7.7.3
Understands that extinction of a species occurs when the environment
changes and the adaptive characteristics of a species are insufficient to allow
its survival
 Fossils indicate that many organisms that lived long ago are extinct
 Extinction of species is common; most of the species that have lived on
Earth no longer exist
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