Kentucky State Standards for Science: Grade 7

SC-7-STM. Big Idea: Structure and Transformation of Matter (Physical Science) - A basic understanding of matter is essential to the conceptual development of other big ideas in science. During the middle years, physical and chemical changes in matter are observed, and students begin to relate these changes to the smaller constituents of matter - namely, atoms and molecules. The use of models (and an understanding of their scales and limitations) is an effective means of learning about the structure of matter. Looking for patterns in properties is also critical to comparing and explaining differences in matter. (Academic Expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.5)

SC-7-STM-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that equal volumes of different substances usually have different weights. 3
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-STM-U-1.

SC-7-STM-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that there are only 92 naturally occurring elements and all matter is made of some combination of them (compounds). 12
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-STM-U-2.

SC-7-STM-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that elements, as well as compounds, can be classified according to their similar properties, including how they react with each other and how they may be used. The patterns, which allow classification, can be used to infer or understand real life applications for those substances. 12
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-STM-U-3.

SC-7-STM-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that many factors influence reaction rates, such as temperature, acidity and concentration. 6
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-STM-U-4.

SC-7-STM-U-5. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that investigations are conducted for different reasons, including to explore new phenomena, to check on previous results, to test how well a theory predicts, and to compare different theories. 4
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-STM-U-5.

SC-7-MF. Big Idea: Motion and Forces (Physical Science) - Whether observing airplanes, baseballs, planets, or people, the motion of all bodies is governed by the same basic rules. At the middle level, qualitative descriptions of the relationship between forces and motion will provide the foundation for quantitative applications of Newton's Laws. (Academic Expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.3)

SC-7-MF-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that an object remains at rest or maintains a constant speed and direction of motion unless an unbalanced force acts on it (inertia). 6
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-MF-U-1.

SC-7-MF-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that forces acting against each other can be balanced, canceling each other out and having no net effect. 6
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-MF-U-2.

SC-7-MF-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that gravity is an attractive force created by mass. All objects are attracted to each other by gravity, but this attraction is easy to see only when at least one of the objects has a large mass. 7
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-MF-U-3.

SC-7-MF-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that technology used to gather data enhances accuracy and allows scientists to analyze and quantify results of investigations. 8
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-MF-U-4.

SC-7-EU. Big Idea: The Earth and the Universe (Earth/Space Science) - The Earth system is in a constant state of change. These changes affect life on Earth in many ways. Development of conceptual understandings about processes that shape the Earth begin at the elementary level with understanding what Earth materials are and that change occurs. At the middle level, students investigate how these changes occur. An understanding of systems and their interacting components will enable students to evaluate supporting theories of Earth changes. The use of models and observance of patterns to explain common phenomena is essential to building a conceptual foundation and supporting ideas with evidence at all levels. In middle school, students begin to look beyond what can be directly observed as they explore the Earth-sun-moon system, as well as the rest of our solar system, employing the concept of scale within their models. Patterns play an important role as students seek to develop a conceptual understanding of gravity in their world and in the universe. (Academic Expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.3)

SC-7-EU-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that regular and predictable movement is not limited to our solar system. New technologies, coupled with an understanding of the laws of motion, allow for the discovery of celestial bodies that cannot be directly observed. 19
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-EU-U-1.

SC-7-EU-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that our solar system is part of a larger collection of millions of stars (Milky Way Galaxy), any of which may be the center of its own system of orbiting planets. 6
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-EU-U-2.

SC-7-EU-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that gravitational interactions within the Earth, sun and moon system impact phenomena and organisms on the surface of the Earth. 7
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-EU-U-3.

SC-7-EU-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that models of the interior of the Earth have been constructed primarily from inferences based on limited data obtained during earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. These models are useful, but are open to revision or rejection as new information is obtained. 5
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-EU-U-4.

SC-7-EU-U-5. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that the Earth's layers vary widely in their properties, and interactions between them can manifest themselves in ways that impact both the Earth and its organisms. 3
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-EU-U-5.

SC-7-EU-U-6. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that while some changes to the Earth occur without warning, many changes to the surface or atmosphere can be predicted from available data/evidence. 8
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-EU-U-6.

SC-7-UD. Big Idea: Unity and Diversity (Biological Science) - All matter is comprised of the same basic elements, goes through the same kinds of energy transformations, and uses the same kinds of forces to move. Living organisms are no exception. In middle school, students begin to compare, contrast, and classify the microscopic features of organisms - the cells, as well as investigate reproduction as the essential process to the continuation of all species. Expected patterns of genetic traits are predicted. Distinctions are made between learned behaviors and inherited traits. Emphasis at every level should be placed upon the understanding that while every living thing is composed of similar small constituents that combine in predictable ways, it is the subtle variations within these small building blocks that account for both the likenesses and differences in form and function that create the diversity of life. (Academic Expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4)

SC-7-UD-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that specialized structures called genes are located in the chromosomes of each living cell. These structures have the task of passing on characteristics that make offspring resemble their parents (heredity). 7
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-UD-U-1.

SC-7-UD-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that inherited traits of an offspring come directly from the genes of the parent, while learned traits are acquired after birth through interactions with the offspring's surroundings 7
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-UD-U-2.

SC-7-UD-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that asexual reproduction involves only the passing on of one parent's genes, resulting in offspring with genes identical to those of the parent. Sexual reproduction requires the combination of genes from male and female sex cells, creating offspring with a blend of traits. 3
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-UD-U-3.

SC-7-UD-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that sexual reproduction creates variations among offspring, gradually contributing to a wide variety of life. 3
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-UD-U-4.

SC-7-UD-U-5. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that the observable differences among humans are minor compared to their internal similarity, as evidenced by the ability of people from all over the world to physically mix through reproduction, blood transfusions and organ transplants. 18
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-UD-U-5.

SC-7-UD-U-6. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that research involving living things requires ethical considerations not required when investigating non-living things. Human subjects must be fully informed about potential risks and freely consent to any involvement. Because animals cannot make their own choices, special care must be taken in using them in scientific research. 9
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-UD-U-6.

SC-7-BC. Big Idea: Biological Change (Biological Science) - The only thing certain is that everything changes. At the middle school level, students study relationships among populations and ecosystems that contribute to the success or demise of a specific population or species. Students construct basic explanations that can account for the great diversity among organisms. (Academic Expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 2.6)

SC-7-BC-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that over time, some species have become so adapted to each other that neither could survive without the other. 7
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-BC-U-1.

SC-7-BC-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that most of the species that have lived on Earth no longer exist. A species will become extinct when changes in environmental conditions (either gradual or rapid) are greater than its ability to adapt 7
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-BC-U-2.

SC-7-BC-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that fossils provide evidence of how biological change over time accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations. 7
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-BC-U-3.

SC-7-BC-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that results of scientific investigations are seldom exactly the same, but if the differences are large it is important to try to figure out why. Keeping careful records is important to help investigate what might have caused the differences. 4
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-BC-U-4.

SC-7-ET. Big Idea: Energy Transformations (Unifying Concepts) - Energy transformations are inherent in almost every system in the universe - from tangible examples at the elementary level, such as heat production in simple Earth and physical systems to more abstract ideas beginning at middle school, such as those transformations involved in the growth, dying and decay of living systems. The use of models to illustrate the often invisible and abstract notions of energy transfer will aid in conceptualization, especially as students move from the macroscopic level of observation and evidence (primarily elementary school) to the microscopic interactions at the atomic level (middle and high school levels). (Academic Expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4)

SC-7-ET-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that most of the energy that powers the Earth's systems comes from the sun. Energy from inside the Earth, however, is responsible for some important phenomena (volcanism, plate tectonics). 10
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-ET-U-1.

SC-7-ET-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that the amount of energy in a closed system remains the same, so that the energy lost by a hot object equals the energy gained by a cold one.

SC-7-ET-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that all energy must have a source and may change forms or be transferred in a wide variety of ways, including via waves. 32
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-ET-U-3.

SC-7-ET-U-4. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that thermal energy and motion are inseparable when viewed at the molecular level. 7
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-ET-U-4.

SC-7-ET-U-5. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that the role various organisms play within an ecosystem can be determined by observing the flow of energy between them. 16
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-ET-U-5.

SC-7-ET-U-6. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that systems tend to change until they become stable and remain that way unless conditions change. 32
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-ET-U-6.

SC-7-I. Big Idea: Interdependence (Unifying Concepts) - It is not difficult for students to grasp the general notion that species depend on one another and on the environment for survival. But their awareness must be supported by knowledge of the kinds of relationships that exist among organisms, the kinds of physical conditions that organisms must cope with, the kinds of environments created by the interaction of organisms with one another and their physical surroundings, and the complexity of such systems. In middle school, students should be guided from specific examples of the interdependency of organisms to a more systematic view of the interactions that take place among organisms and their surroundings. Students growing understanding of systems in general will reinforce the concept of ecosystems. Stability and change in ecosystems can be considered in terms of variables such as population size, number and kinds of species, productivity, and the effect of human intervention. (Academic Expectations 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4)

SC-7-I-U-1. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that species may become extinct even if environmental conditions remain constant. Competition between species for limited resources can result in extinction. 4
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-I-U-1.

SC-7-I-U-2. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that changes within an ecosystem may be caused by the interactions of many factors, both biotic and abiotic. Seemingly small changes can have significant consequences as their effects ripple through a community. 16
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-I-U-2.

SC-7-I-U-3. Program of Studies: Understandings - Students will understand that not all actions/decisions have the possibility of a desirable outcome. Sometimes a compromise requires accepting one unwanted outcome to avoid a different unwanted outcome. 20
Suggested Titles for Kentucky Science State Standard SC-7-I-U-3.