7th Grade STUDY GUIDE – QUARTER 1 ASSESSMENT
From Chapter 1:
You must be able to put the steps of the Scientific Inquiry Process in the
correct order:
1) Pose a question
2) Develop a hypothesis
3) Design an experiment
4) Conduct an experiment
5) Collect and interpret data
6) Draw a conclusion
7) Communicate the results
You must be able to identify the independent (manipulated) variable,
dependent (responding) variable and controlled variable(s) in a given
experiment.
independent (manipulated) variable is what the scientist CHANGES
dependent (responding) variable is what the scientist MEASURES
controlled variables are all the things that are the SAME in all the groups
Understand and be able to identify examples of the following scientific
skills: observe, predict, infer, classify and evaluate.
observing/observation – use one or more of your senses to gather information;
what you can SEE in your experiment
predicting/prediction –making a statement or claim about what will happen in the future
based on past experience or evidence
inferring/inference (infer) – explain or interpret the things you observe; what CONCLUSIONS
you can make based on your observations
classifying – grouping together of items that are alike in some way
evaluating – comparing observations and data to reach a conclusion about them
From Chapter 3:
Know the correct formulas for photosynthesis and cellular respiration (in
words).
Photosynthesis = LIGHT ENERGY + CARBON DIOXIDE + WATER = OXYGEN + GLUCOSE
Cellular Respiration – OXYGEN + GLUCOSE = ENERGY + CARBON DIOXIDE + WATER ; cells use
OXYGEN to release energy (formula opposite of photosynthesis)
Fermentation – cells DON’T use OXYGEN to release energy
Know where (which organelles) photosynthesis and cellular respiration
take place.
Photosynthesis takes place in the chloroplast
Cellular Respiration takes place in the mitochondria
Know which types of organisms perform photosynthesis and cellular
respiration.
Only producers or autotrophs conduct photosynthesis
All living organisms (autotrophs and heretotrophs) conduct Cellular Respiration
Know what fermentation is, the types of fermentation and what each
type produces.
alcoholic fermentation – creates a small amount of energy; does not use oxygen; creates
carbon dioxide gas; yeast is a common organism to conduct this thype of fermentation
lactic acid fermentation - creates a small amount of energy; does not use oxygen; creates
lactic acid in muscles frequently making them sore after the process has occurred
From Chapter 4… just lessons 1 and 2:
Know the difference between biotic and abiotic factors.
biotic factor – LIVING ORGANISMS in an ecosystem
abiotic factors – NON-LIVING things in an ecosystem
Know how an ecosystem is organized and what each of the following
terms means. (Understand the difference between an organism
(species), population, community and ecosystem.)
organism (species)- a group of organisms that can mate with each other and produce
offspring that can also mate and reproduce
population – a GROUP of individuals of the SAME SPECIES
community – DIFFERENT POPULATIONS living in same area
ecosystem – all the living and non living factors that interact in an area
Understand the energy roles of organisms (producers, consumers
(herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, scavengers) and decomposers.
Know how they are arranged in a food web/energy pyramid: producers,
first level consumer, second level consumer, etc and how some
organisms can take the role in more than one level.
producer – an organism that can make its own food (autotroph)
consumer – an organism that cannot make its own food/obtains energy by feeding on other
organisms (heterotroph)
herbivore – consumers that eat only plants
carnivore - consumers that eat onlyanimals
omnivore - consumers that eat both plants and animals
scavenger – a carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms
decomposer – organisms that break down biotic wastes and dead organisms and return the
raw materials to the ecosystem
Understand how energy flows through an ecosystem. Understand that in
an energy pyramid 90% of the energy is released by the organism as
heat and only 10% of the energy is passed on to the next level’s
organism.
energy flow – sunlight to plants(producers) to herbivore (primary consumer) to carnivore
(secondary consumer) etc