Okla. Admin. Code § 210:15-3-77

Current through Vol. 42, No. 8, January 2, 2025

Section 210:15-3-77 - Science standards for grade 7

(a)Physical Science. Standards for seventh (7th) grade students from the domain of Physical Science address the following topics:

(1)Matter and its interactions.

(A)Performance expectation one (1). Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.

(i)Clarification statement. Emphasis is on developing models of molecules that vary in complexity. Examples of simple molecules could include ammonia and/or methanol. Examples of extended structures could include sodium chloride or diamonds. Examples of molecular-level models could include drawings, 3D ball and stick structures, or computer representations showing different molecules with different types of atoms.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. Assessment does not include valence electrons and bonding energy, discussing the ionic nature of subunits of complex structures, or a complete depiction of all individual atoms in a complex molecule or extended structure.

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Developing and using models. Use a model to predict the relationships between systems or between components of a system.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Substances are made from different types of atoms, which combine with one another in various ways.

(II) Atoms form molecules that range in size from two to thousands of atoms.

(III) Solids may be formed from molecules, or they may be extended structures with repeating subunits (e.g., crystals).

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Scale, proportion, and quantity. Time, space, and energy phenomena can be observed at various scales using models to study systems that are too large or too small.

(B)Performance expectation two (2). Analyze and interpret patterns of data related to the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.

(i)Clarification statement. Analyze characteristic chemical and physical properties of pure substances. Examples of reactions could include burning sugar or steel wool, fat reacting with sodium hydroxide, and mixing zinc with HCl.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. Assessment is limited to analysis of the following properties: color change, formation of a gas, temperature change, density, melting point, boiling point, solubility, flammability, and odor.

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Analyzing and interpreting data. Analyze and interpret data to determine similarities and differences in findings.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Each pure substance has characteristic physical and chemical properties (for any bulk quantity under given conditions) that can be used to identify it.

(II) Substances react chemically in characteristic ways. In a chemical process, the atoms that make up the original substances are regrouped into different molecules, and these new substances have different properties from those of the reactants.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Patterns. Macroscopic patterns are related to the nature of microscopic and atomic-level structure.

(C)Performance expectation three (3).* Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.

(i)Clarification Statement. Emphasis is on natural resources that undergo a chemical process to form the synthetic material. Examples of new materials could include new medicine, foods, and alternative fuels.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. (An assessment boundary is not applicable to this performance expectation.)

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. Gather, read, synthesize information from multiple appropriate sources, and assess the credibility, accuracy, and possible bias of each publication and methods used, and describe how they are supported or not supported by evidence.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Each pure substance has characteristics, physical and chemical properties (for any bulk quantity under given conditions), that can be used to identify it.

(II) Substances react chemically in characteristic ways.

(III) In a chemical process, the atoms that make up the original substances regroup into different molecules, and these new substances have different properties from those of the reactants.

(IV) Engineering advances have led to important discoveries in virtually every field of science, and scientific discoveries have led to the development of entire industries and engineered systems.

(V) The uses of technologies and any limitations on their use are driven by individual or societal needs, desires, and values; by the findings of scientific research; and by differences in such factors as climate, natural resources, and economic conditions.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Structure and function. Structures can be designed to serve particular functions by taking into account properties of different materials, and how materials can be shaped and used.

(D)Performance expectation four (4). Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.

(E)Performance expectation five (5).* Construct, test, and modify a device that releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes to solve a problem.

(2)Energy.

(A)Performance expectation one (1). Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the proportional relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.

(i)Clarification Statement. Emphasis is on descriptive relationships between kinetic energy and mass separately from kinetic energy and speed. Examples could include riding a bicycle at different speeds, rolling different sizes of rocks downhill, and getting hit by a wiffle ball versus a tennis ball.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. Does not include mathematical calculations of kinetic energy.

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Analyze and interpret data. Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to identify linear and nonlinear relationships.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Motion energy is properly called kinetic energy; it is proportional to the mass of the moving object and grows with the square of its speed.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Scale, proportion, and quantity. Proportional relationships (e.g., speed as a ratio of distance traveled to time taken) among different types of quantities provide information about the magnitude of properties and process.

(B)Performance expectation two (2). Develop a model to describe that when objects interacting at a distance change their arrangement, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.

(i)Clarification Statement. Emphasis is on the relative amounts of potential energy, not on calculations of potential energy. Examples of objects within systems interacting at varying distances could include: the Earth and either a roller coaster cart at varying positions on a hill or objects at varying heights on shelves, changing the direction/orientation of a magnet, and a balloon with static electrical charge being brought closer to a classmate's hair. Examples of models could include representations, diagrams, pictures, and written descriptions of systems.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. Assessment is limited to two objects and electric, magnetic, and gravitational interactions.

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Developing and using models. Develop a model to predict and/or describe phenomena.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) A system of objects may also contain stored (potential) energy, depending on their relative positions.

(II) When two objects interact, each one exerts a force on the other that can cause energy to be transferred to or from the object.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Systems and system models. Models can be used to represent systems and their interactions (such as inputs, processes, and outputs) and energy and matter flows within systems.

(C)Performance expectation three (3). Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.

(i)Clarification Statement. Examples of empirical evidence used in arguments could include an inventory or other representation of the energy before and after the transfer in the form of temperature changes or motion of an object.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. Assessment does not include calculations of energy.

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Engaging in argument from evidence. Construct, use, and present oral and written arguments supported by empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support or refute an explanation or a model for a phenomenon.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) When the motion energy of an object changes, there is inevitably some other change in energy at the same time.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Energy and matter. The transfer of energy can be tracked as energy flows through a designed or natural system.

(b)Life Science. Standards for seventh (7th) grade students from the domain of Life Science address the following topics:

(1)From molecules to organisms: Structure and function.

(A)Performance expectation one (1). Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.

(i)Clarification statement. Emphasis is on tracing the movement of matter and flow of energy.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. Assessment does not include the biochemical mechanisms of photosynthesis.

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Constructing explanations. Construct a scientific explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from sources (including the students' own experiments) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past an will continue to do so in the future.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. These sugars can be used immediately or stored for growth or later use.

(II) The chemical reaction by which plants produce complex food molecules (sugars) requires an energy input (i.e., from sunlight) to occur.

(III) In this reaction, carbon dioxide and water combine to form carbon-based organic molecules and release oxygen.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Energy and matter. Within a natural system, the transfer of energy drives the motion and/or cycling of matter.

(B)Performance expectation two (2). Develop a model to describe how food molecules in plants and animals are broken down and rearranged through chemical reactions to form new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as matter moves through an organism.

(i)Clarification statement. Emphasis is on describing how energy stored within food molecules is released as they are broken apart and rearranged into new molecules.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. Assessment does not include details of the chemical reactions for photosynthesis or respiration.

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Developing and using models. Develop a model to predict and/or describe phenomena.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Within an individual organism, food moves through a series of chemical reactions in which it is broken down and rearranged to form new molecules, to support growth, or release energy.

(II) Cellular respiration in plants and animals involves chemical reactions with oxygen that release stored energy. In these processes, complex molecules containing carbon react with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and other materials.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Energy and matter. Matter is conserved because atoms are conserved in physical and chemical processes.

(2)Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics.

(A)Performance expectation one (1). Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.

(i)Clarification Statement. Emphasis is on cause and effect relationships between resources and growth of individual organisms and the numbers of organisms in ecosystems during periods of abundant and scarce resources.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. Determining the carrying capacity of ecosystems is beyond the intent.

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Analyzing and interpreting data. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for phenomena.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Organisms, and populations of organisms, are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and nonliving factors.

(II) In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other for limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction.

(III) Growth of organisms and population increases are limited by access to resources.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Cause and effect. Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.

(B)Performance expectation two (2). Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.

(i)Clarification Statement. Emphasis is on constructing explanations that predict consistent patterns of interactions in different ecosystems in terms of the relationships among and between living organisms and nonliving components of ecosystems. Examples of types of interactions could include competition, predation, parasitism, commensalism, mutualism.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. (An assessment boundary is not applicable to this performance expectation.)

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Constructing explanations. Construct an explanation that includes qualitative or quantitative relationships between variables that predict and/or describe phenomena.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Predatory interactions may reduce the number of organisms or eliminate whole populations of organisms. Mutually beneficial interactions, in contrast, may become so interdependent that each organism requires the other for survival. Although the species involved in these competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial interactions vary across ecosystems, the patterns of interactions of organisms with their environments, both living and nonliving, are shared.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Patterns. Patterns can be used to identify cause and effect relationships.

(C)Performance expectation three (3). Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

(i)Clarification Statement. Emphasis is on describing the conservation of matter and flow of energy into and out of various ecosystems, and on defining the boundaries of the system.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. Assessment does not include the use of chemical reactions to describe the processes.

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Developing and using models. Develop a model to describe phenomena.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Food webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy is transferred between producers, consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact within an ecosystem.

(II) Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every level.

(III) Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in aquatic environments.

(IV) The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Energy and matter. The transfer of energy can be tracked as energy flows through a natural system.

(D)Performance expectation four (4). Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.

(i)Clarification Statement. Emphasis is on recognizing patterns in data and making warranted inferences about changes in populations, and on evaluating empirical evidence supporting arguments about changes to ecosystems.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. (An assessment boundary is not applicable to this performance expectation.)

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Engaging in argument from evidence. Construct an oral and written argument supported by empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support or refute an explanation or model for a phenomenon.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time.

(II) Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Stability and change. Small changes in one part of a system might cause large changes in another part.

(E)Performance expectation five (5).* Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.

(i)Clarification Statement. Examples of ecosystem services could include water purification, nutrient recycling, and prevention of soil erosion. Examples of design solution constraints could include scientific, economic, and social considerations.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. (An assessment boundary is not applicable to this performance expectation.)

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Engaging in argument from evidence. Evaluate competing design solutions based on jointly developed and agreed-upon design criteria.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Biodiversity describes the variety of species found in Earth's terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems.

(II) The completeness or integrity of an ecosystem's biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health.

(III) Changes in biodiversity can influence humans' resources, such as food, energy, and medicines, as well as ecosystem services that humans rely on-for example, water purification and recycling.

(IV) There are systematic processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how well they meet the criteria and constraints of a problem.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)

(c)Earth and Space Science. Standards for seventh (7th) grade students from the domain of Earth and Space Science address the following topics:

(1)Earth and Human Activity.

(A)Performance expectation one (1). Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth's mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.

(i)Clarification Statement. Emphasis is on how these resources are limited and typically non-renewable, and how their distributions are significantly changing as a result of removal by humans. Examples of uneven distributions of resources as a result of past processes include but are not limited to petroleum (locations of the burial of organic marine sediments and subsequent geological traps), metal ores (locations of past volcanic and hydrothermal activity associated with subduction zones), and soil (locations of active weathering and/or deposition of rock).

(ii)Assessment Boundary. (An assessment boundary is not applicable to this performance expectation.)

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Engaging in argument from evidence. Evaluate competing design solutions based on jointly developed and agreed-upon design criteria.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Humans depend on Earth's land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for many different resources.

(II) Minerals, fresh water, and biosphere resources are limited, and many are not renewable or replaceable over human lifetimes.

(III) These resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geologic processes.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Cause and effect. Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.

(B)Performance expectation two (2).* Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing human impact on the environment.

(i)Clarification Statement. Examples of the design process include examining human environmental impacts, assessing the kinds of solutions that are feasible, and designing and evaluating solutions that could reduce that impact. Examples of human impacts can include water usage (such as the withdrawal of water from streams and aquifers or the construction of dams and levees), land usage (such as urban development, agriculture, or the removal of wetlands), and pollution (such as of the air, water, or land).

(ii)Assessment Boundary. (An assessment boundary is not applicable to this performance expectation.)

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Constructing explanations. Apply scientific principles to design an object, tool, process, or system.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Human activities have significantly altered the biosphere, sometimes damaging or destroying natural habitats and causing the extinction of other species. But changes to Earth's environments can have different impacts (negative and positive) for different living things.

(II) Typically, as human populations and per-capita consumption of natural resources increase, so do the negative impacts on Earth unless the activities and technologies involved are engineered otherwise.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Cause and effect. Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.

(C)Performance expectation three (3). Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.

(i)Clarification Statement. Examples of evidence include grade-appropriate databases on human populations and the rats of consumption of food and natural resources (such as freshwater, minerals, and energy). Examples of impacts can include changes to the appearance, composition, and structure of Earth's systems as well as the rates at which they change. The consequences of increases in human populations and consumption of natural resources are described by science, but science does not make the decisions for the actions society takes.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. (An assessment boundary is not applicable to this performance expectation.)

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Engaging in argument from evidence. Construct an oral and written argument supported by empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support or refute an explanation or model for a phenomenon.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Typically, as human populations and per-capita consumption of natural resources increase, so do the negative impacts on Earth unless the activities and technologies involved are engineered otherwise.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Cause and effect. Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.

(D)Performance expectation four (4). Obtain, evaluate, and communicate evidence of the factors that have caused changes in global temperatures over the past century.

(i)Clarification Statement. Examples of evidence can include tables, graphs, and maps of global and regional temperatures; atmospheric levels of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane; and the impact humans have on the environment.

(ii)Assessment Boundary. (An assessment boundary is not applicable to this performance expectation.)

(iii)Science and Engineering Practice.

(I)Communicating, obtaining, and evaluating evidence. Gather, read, synthesize information from multiple appropriate sources, and assess the credibility, accuracy, and possible bias of each publication and methods used, and describe how they are supported or not supported by evidence.

(iv)Disciplinary Core Ideas.

(I) Understanding atmospheric changes and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge (such as understanding of human behavior) and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities.

(v)Crosscutting Concepts.

(I)Stability and change. Stability might be disturbed either by sudden events or gradual changes that accumulate over time.

Okla. Admin. Code § 210:15-3-77

Added at 20 Ok Reg 159, eff 10-10-02 (emergency); Added at 20 Ok Reg 821, eff 5-15-03; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 1822, eff 6-25-05; Amended at 28 Ok Reg 2264, eff 7-25-11

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 38, Issue 24, September 1, 2021, eff. 9/11/2021