New Mexico State Standards for Science: Grade 7

NM.I. Scientific Thinking and Practice: Understand the processes of scientific investigations and use inquiry and scientific ways of observing, experimenting, predicting, and validating to think critically.

I-A. Use scientific methods to develop questions, design and conduct experiments using appropriate technologies, analyze and evaluate results, make predictions, and communicate findings.

I-A.1a. Use a variety of print and web resources to collect information, inform investigations, and answer a scientific question or hypothesis. 18
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard I-A.1a.

I-A.2a. Use models to explain the relationships between variables being investigated. 9
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard I-A.2a.

I-B. Understand the processes of scientific investigation and how scientific inquiry results in scientific knowledge.

I-B.1a. Describe how bias can affect scientific investigation and conclusions. 4
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard I-B.1a.

I-B.2a. Critique procedures used to investigate a hypothesis. 4
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard I-B.2a.

I-B.3a. Analyze and evaluate scientific explanations. 4
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard I-B.3a.

I-C. Use mathematical ideas, tools, and techniques to understand scientific knowledge.

I-C.1a. Understand that the number of data (sample size) influences the reliability of a prediction. 4
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard I-C.1a.

I-C.2a. Use mathematical expressions to represent data and observations collected in scientific investigations. 4
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard I-C.2a.

I-C.3a. Select and use an appropriate model to examine a phenomenon. 4
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard I-C.3a.

NM.II. Content of Science: Earth and Space Science: Understand the structure of Earth, the solar system, and the universe, the interconnections among them, and the processes and interactions of Earth's systems.

II-A. Describe how the concepts of energy, matter, and force can be used to explain the observed behavior of the solar system, the universe, and their structures.

II-A.1a. Explain why Earth is unique in our solar system in its ability to support life. 7
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-A.1a.

II-A.2a. Explain how energy from the sun supports life on Earth. 3
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-A.2a.

II-A.3a. Populations and Ecosystems: Explain how individuals of species that exist together interact with their environment to create an ecosystem (e.g., populations, communities, niches, habitats, food webs). 18
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-A.3a.

II-A.4a. Populations and Ecosystems: Explain the conditions and resources needed to sustain life in specific ecosystems. 22
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-A.4a.

II-A.5a. Populations and Ecosystems: Describe how the availability of resources and physical factors limit growth (e.g., quantity of light and water, range of temperature, composition of soil) and how the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles contribute to the availability of those resources to support living systems. 22
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-A.5a.

II-B. Describe the structure of Earth and its atmosphere and explain how energy, matter, and forces shape Earth's systems.

II-B.1a. Understand how the remains of living things give us information about the history of Earth, including: layers of sedimentary rock, the fossil record, and radioactive dating showing that life has been present on Earth for more than 3.5 billion years. 54
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.1a.

II-C. Understand the structure of organisms and the function of cells in living systems.

II-C.1a. Structure of Organisms: Understand that organisms are composed of cells and identify unicellular and multicellular organisms. 7
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-C.1a.

NM.II. Content of Science: Life Science: Understand the properties, structures, and processes of living things and the interdependence of living things and their environments.

II-A. Explain the diverse structures and functions of living things and the complex relationships between living things and their environments.

II-A.1a. Populations and Ecosystems: Identify the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem and describe the relationships among these components. 33
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-A.1a.

II-A.2a. Populations and Ecosystems: Explain biomes (i.e., aquatic, desert, rainforest, grasslands, tundra) and describe the New Mexico biome. 18
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-A.2a.

II-A.3a. Populations and Ecosystems: Explain how individuals of species that exist together interact with their environment to create an ecosystem (e.g., populations, communities, niches, habitats, food webs). 16
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-A.3a.

II-A.4a. Populations and Ecosystems: Explain the conditions and resources needed to sustain life in specific ecosystems. 16
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-A.4a.

II-A.5a. Populations and Ecosystems: Describe how the availability of resources and physical factors limit growth (e.g., quantity of light and water, range of temperature, composition of soil) and how the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles contribute to the availability of those resources to support living systems. 16
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-A.5a.

II-A.6a. Biodiversity: Understand how diverse species fill all niches in an ecosystem. 16
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-A.6a.

II-A.7a. Biodiversity: Know how to classify organisms: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. 69
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-A.7a.

II-B. Understand how traits are passed from one generation to the next and how species evolve.

II-B.1a. Reproduction: Know that reproduction is a characteristic of all living things and is essential to the continuation of a species. 5
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.1a.

II-B.2a. Understand how living organisms have played many roles in changes of Earth's systems through time (e.g., atmospheric composition, creation of soil, impact on Earth's surface). 65
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.2a.

II-B.3a. Know that changes to ecosystems sometimes decrease the capacity of the environment to support some life forms and are difficult and/or costly to remediate. 10
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.3a.

II-B.4a. Reproduction: Know that organisms that sexually reproduce fertile offspring are members of the same species.

II-B.5a. Heredity: Understand that some characteristics are passed from parent to offspring as inherited traits and others are acquired from interactions with the environment. 25
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.5a.

II-B.6a. Heredity: Know that hereditary information is contained in genes that are located in chromosomes, including: determination of traits by genes; traits determined by one or many genes; and more than one trait sometimes influenced by a single gene. 2
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.6a.

II-B.7a. Biological Evolution: Describe how typical traits may change from generation to generation due to environmental influences (e.g., color of skin, shape of eyes, camouflage, shape of beak). 3
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.7a.

II-B.8a. Biological Evolution: Explain that diversity within a species is developed by gradual changes over many generations. 16
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.8a.

II-B.9a. Biological Evolution: Know that organisms can acquire unique characteristics through naturally occurring genetic variations. 3
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.9a.

II-B.10a. Biological Evolution: Identify adaptations that favor the survival of organisms in their environments (e.g., camouflage, shape of beak). 3
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.10a.

II-B.11a. Biological Evolution: Understand the process of natural selection. 5
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.11a.

II-B.12a. Biological Evolution: Explain how species adapt to changes in the environment or become extinct and that extinction of species is common in the history of living things. 3
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.12a.

II-B.13a. Biological Evolution: Know that the fossil record documents the appearance, diversification, and extinction of many life forms. 7
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.13a.

II-C. Understand the structure of organisms and the function of cells in living systems.

II-C.1a. Structure of Organisms: Understand that organisms are composed of cells and identify unicellular and multicellular organisms. 24
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-C.1a.

II-C.2a. Structure of Organisms: Explain how organs are composed of tissues of different types of cells (e.g., skin, bone, muscle, heart, intestines). 25
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-C.2a.

II-C.3a. Function of Cells: Understand that many basic functions of organisms are carried out in cells, including: growth and division to produce more cells (mitosis); specialized functions of cells (e.g., reproduction, nerve-signal transmission, digestion, excretion, movement, transport of oxygen). 34
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-C.3a.

II-C.4a. Function of Cells: Compare the structure and processes of plant cells and animal cells. 25
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-C.4a.

II-C.5a. Function of Cells: Describe how some cells respond to stimuli (e.g., light, heat, pressure, gravity). 25
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-C.5a.

II-C.6a. Function of Cells: Describe how factors (radiation, UV light, drugs) can damage cellular structure or function. 25
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-C.6a.

NM.II. Content of Science: Earth and Space Science: Understand the structure of Earth, the solar system, and the universe, the interconnections among them, and the processes and interactions of Earth's systems.

II-A. Describe how the concepts of energy, matter, and force can be used to explain the observed behavior of the solar system, the universe, and their structures.

II-A.1a. Explain why Earth is unique in our solar system in its ability to support life. 7
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-A.1a.

II-A.2a. Explain how energy from the sun supports life on Earth. 207
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-A.2a.

II-B. Describe the structure of Earth and its atmosphere and explain how energy, matter, and forces shape Earth's systems.

II-B.1a. Understand how the remains of living things give us information about the history of Earth, including: layers of sedimentary rock, the fossil record, and radioactive dating showing that life has been present on Earth for more than 3.5 billion years. 6
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.1a.

II-B.2a. Understand how living organisms have played many roles in changes of Earth's systems through time (e.g., atmospheric composition, creation of soil, impact on Earth's surface). 41
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.2a.

II-B.3a. Know that changes to ecosystems sometimes decrease the capacity of the environment to support some life forms and are difficult and/or costly to remediate. 4
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard II-B.3a.

NM.III. Science and Society: Understand how scientific discoveries, inventions, practices, and knowledge influence, and are influenced by, individuals and societies.

III-A. Explain how scientific discoveries and inventions have changed individuals and societies.

III-A.1a. Analyze the contributions of science to health as they relate to personal decisions about smoking, drugs, alcohol, and sexual activity. 30
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard III-A.1a.

III-A.2a. Analyze how technologies have been responsible for advances in medicine (e.g., vaccines, antibiotics, microscopes, DNA technologies). 18
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard III-A.2a.

III-A.3a. Describe how scientific information can help individuals and communities respond to health emergencies (e.g., CPR, epidemics, HIV, bio-terrorism). 73
Suggested Titles for New Mexico Science State Standard III-A.3a.