Download UNIT 1: Energy: Conservation and Transfer 7.P.2.1, 7.P.2.2, 7.P.2.3

UNIT 1: Energy: Conservation and Transfer
7.P.2.1, 7.P.2.2, 7.P.2.3, 7.P.2.4
What type of simple machine would be used to lower an empty
bucket into a well and then lift the bucket full of water?
To open a door, you push on the part of the door that is farthest
from the hinges. Why would it be harder to open the door if you
pushed on the center of it?
Explain why an engineer would design a road to wind around a
mountain rather than go straight up the side. Show how this
design would be better.
UNIT 2: Forces and Motion
7.P.1.1, 7.P.1.2, 7.P.1.3, 7.P.1.4
Explain how speed, velocity, and acceleration are related.
Two drivers make a 100-km trip. Driver 1 completes the trip in
2 hours. Driver 2 takes 3 hours but stops for an hour halfway.
Which driver had a greater average speed? Explain.
A family takes a car trip. They travel for an hour at 80 km/h and
then for 2 hours at 40 km/h. Find their average speed during the
trip.
Describe the relationship between friction and the efficiency of a
machine.
Write a short paragraph explaining how a parachute works in
terms of forces.
What kind of friction allows you to walk without slipping?
You are moving fast on a skateboard when your wheel gets stuck
in a crack on the sidewalk. Using the term inertia, explain what
happens.
When you drop a golf ball to the pavement, it bounces up. Is a
force needed to make it bounce up? If so, what exerts the force?
UNIT 3: Structures and Functions of Living Organisms
7.L.1.1, 7.L.1.2, 7.L.1.3, 7.L.1.4
To compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, make a list of each
difference. Explain how each difference is important to the
function of that type of cell.
To compare plant and animal cells, make a list of the different
organelles in each cell. Explain how each organelle is vital to the
life and function of a plant or animal.
Skeletal, Muscular, Skin
Compare the dermis and the epidermis layers of the skin. Discuss
the following: their thickness, location, nerves, blood vessels,
sweat glands, and cell life cycle.
In addition to bone, cartilage, and fat, scientists classify blood as
a connective tissue. Explain why.
How is homeostasis important to survival?
A patient is admitted to the emergency room with a severe
headache after a fall. What kind of image should be taken to
diagnose the problem? Explain.
If smooth muscle had to be controlled consciously, what problems
could you foresee in day-to-day living?
A person who is exposed to excessive heat may suffer from
heatstroke. The first sign of heatstroke is that the person stops
sweating. Why is heatstroke a life-threatening emergency?
Digestive System
Compare the processes of mechanical and chemical digestion.
How are they similar? How are they different? In what parts of the
digestive system do the two processes take place? How do the
processes occur?
Before winter, animals that hibernate often prepare by eating
foods high in fat. How is this behavior helpful?
Suppose a medicine killed all the bacteria in your body. How
might this affect vitamin production in your body?
Why is it important for people to chew their food thoroughly before
swallowing?
The digestive system is sometimes said to be “an assembly line in
reverse.” Identify some similarities and some differences between
your digestive system and an assembly line.
Circulatory System
Explain what blood pressure is and what causes it. How is blood
pressure measured and what is the significance of the two
numbers in a blood pressure reading? Why can high blood
pressure be dangerous?
Some babies are born with an opening between the left and right
ventricles of the heart. How would this heart defect affect the
ability of the cardiovascular system to deliver oxygen to body
cells?
People who do not have enough iron in their diets sometimes
develop a condition in which their blood cannot carry a normal
amount of oxygen. Explain why this is so.
Why is atherosclerosis sometimes called a “lifestyle disease”?
Respiratory System & Excretory System
What is respiration? Explain where this process occurs and what
body systems are involved in making respiration possible.
How is respiration similar to the burning of fuel? How is it
different?
Explain how babies can develop smoking-related respiratory
problems.
Do you think that drugstores, which sell medicines, should also
sell cigarettes and other tobacco products? Why or why not?
If the walls of the capillary cluster in a nephron were damaged or
broken, what substance might you expect to find in urine that is
not normally present? Explain.
Nervous System
Outline the path of the reflex action that takes place when you
step on a tack. What is the advantage of the nerve impulse not
needing to go through the brain before action is taken?
When a person has a stroke, blood flow to part of the brain is
reduced, and some brain cells die. Suppose that after a stroke, a
woman is unable to move her right arm and right leg. In which
side of her brain did the stroke occur? Explain.
As a man walks barefoot along a beach, he steps on a sharp
shell. His foot automatically jerks upward, even before he feels
pain. What process is this an example of? How does it help
protect the man?
Endocrine and Reproductive System
What is negative feedback? Choose an example of a hormone,
and describe in a general way how negative feedback regulates
its release.
Contrast the ways in which identical twins and fraternal twins
form.
How can playing games help children develop important skills?
UNIT 4 Evolution and Genetics
7.L.2.1, 7.L.2.2, 7.L.2.3
Compare the processes and outcomes of mitosis and meiosis.
To compare plant and animal cells, make a list of the different
organelles in each cell. Explain how each organelle is vital to the
life and function of a plant or animal.
In rabbits, the allele for a spotted coat is dominant over the allele
for a solid-colored coat. A spotted rabbit was crossed with a solidcolored rabbit. The offspring all had spotted coats. What are the
probable genotypes of the parents? Explain.
A new mutation in mice causes the coat to be twice as thick as
normal. In what environments would this mutation be helpful?
Why?
If the body cells have 12 chromosomes, how many will the sex
cells have?
Why are mutations that occur in an organism’s body cells not
passed on to its offspring?
Explain why, for each pregnancy, human parents have a
50 percent probability of having a boy and a 50 percent probability
of having a girl. Your answer should include the terms X
chromosome and Y chromosome.
A woman with normal color vision has a colorblind daughter. What
are the genotypes and phenotypes of both parents?
If a mother is a carrier of hemophilia and the father does not have
hemophilia, what is the probability that their son will have the
trait? Explain your answer.
The allele for cystic fibrosis is recessive. Identify which members
of the family in the pedigree have cystic fibrosis and which are
carriers.
UNIT 5: Earth Systems: Structures and Processes
7.E.1.1, 7.E.1.2, 7.E.1.3, 7.E.1.4, 7.E.1.5, 7.E.1.6
What is acid rain and why is it considered an environmental
problem? Describe how acid rain forms and how it affects living
things. Include in your answer the specific substances that
combine to form acid rain.
Why are clouds at the top of the troposphere made of ice crystals
rather than drops of water?
Explain how human population growth affects resource use and
pollution.
Describe the process by which a cloud forms. What two
conditions are necessary for this process to take place? How
does this process compare to the process by which dew or frost is
formed?
Describe the journey of a small particle of water through the water
cycle.
Venus has an atmosphere that is mostly carbon dioxide. How do
you think the greenhouse effect has altered Venus?
What circumstances could cause a nighttime land breeze in a city
near the ocean?
A psychrometer gives the same reading on both thermometers.
What is the relative humidity?
Your neighborhood is located at the end of a narrow canyon. You
hear reports of heavy rains several miles away. Is there cause for
concern? Explain.
Sound travels at a speed of about 330 m/s. How could you use
this information to determine how far away lightning bolts are from
you during a thunderstorm? Use an example to show how you
would calculate the distance.
How do differences in air density influence the movement of air
along cold and warm fronts?
Compare thunderstorms and tornadoes. How are they similar?
How are they different?
If you observe that air pressure is decreasing, what kind of
weather do you think is coming?
Would you expect hurricanes to form over the oceans off the
northeast or northwest coasts of the United States? Explain.
What do you think is the most important thing people should do to
reduce the dangers of storms?
Why can’t meteorologists accurately forecast the weather a month
in advance?
Describe three ways in which water influences climate.
How is global warming different from earlier changes in Earth’s
climate?
General Science and Technology
Suppose a newly designed robot automatically scans products at
checkout lines in supermarkets. The robot can perform no other
function. The cost to install a robot at a cash register is less than
the cost of hiring a cashier. Describe some of the positive and
negative impacts that this new technology might have on society
You read an ad claiming that scientific studies prove that frozen
fruit is more nutritious than canned vegetables. What questions
would you want answered before you accept this claim?
Suppose you are doing an experiment and recording your results.
When would a line graph be more useful than a data table? When
would a data table be more useful than a line graph?
The keyboard is the most common input device in a computer
system. What might cause keyboards to become obsolete?