Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Environment and Ecology -- Grade 7

• Explain the water cycle.
  • The Water Cycle AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/3.asp
    
  • Water
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/5a.asp
    

• Explain the water cycle as it relates to a watershed.

• Identify and explain what determines the boundaries of a watershed.

• Explain how water enters a watershed.
  • Rivers
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/9c.asp
    

• Explain factors that affect water quality and flow through a watershed.
  • Pollution
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10a.asp
    

• Explain how water is necessary for all life.
  • Water
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/5a.asp
    

• Explain how the physical components of aquatic systems influence the organisms that live there in terms of size, shape and physical adaptations.
  • The Move to Land
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/4a.asp
    
  • Invertebrate Animals: Rulers of the Animal Kingdom AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/5.asp
    
  • No Bones about Them: Jawless Fish, Sharks, and Rays
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/6a.asp
    
  • Osteichthyes: Bony Fish
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/6b.asp
    
  • Amphibians: From the Water to Land
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/6c.asp
    
  • Types of Mammals
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/7a.asp
    

• Describe the life cycle of organisms that depend on water.
  • The Move to Land
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/4a.asp
    
  • Invertebrate Animals: Rulers of the Animal Kingdom AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/5.asp
    
  • No Bones about Them: Jawless Fish, Sharks, and Rays
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/6a.asp
    
  • Osteichthyes: Bony Fish
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/6b.asp
    
  • Amphibians: From the Water to Land
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/6c.asp
    
  • Types of Mammals
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/7a.asp
    

• Identify organisms that have aquatic stages of life and describe those stages.
  • The Move to Land
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/4a.asp
    
  • Invertebrate Animals: Rulers of the Animal Kingdom AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/5.asp
    
  • No Bones about Them: Jawless Fish, Sharks, and Rays
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/6a.asp
    
  • Osteichthyes: Bony Fish
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/6b.asp
    
  • Amphibians: From the Water to Land
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/6c.asp
    
  • Types of Mammals
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/7a.asp
    

• Identify specific characteristics of wetland plants and soils.

• Recognize the common types of plants and animals.

• Describe different types of wetlands.

• Describe the different functions of a wetland.

• Explain the impact of watersheds and wetlands in flood control, wildlife habitats and pollution abatement.

• Explain the influence of flooding on wetlands.

4.2.7. Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources

• Identify resources used to provide humans with energy, food, housing and water.
  • Mineral Uses
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/6e.asp
    
  • The Living Earth AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/11.asp
    

• Explain how plants and animals may be classified as natural resources.

• Compare means of growing or acquiring food.

• Identify fiber and other raw materials used in clothing and shelter production.

• Identify types of minerals and fossil fuels used by humans.
  • Mineral Uses
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/6e.asp
    
  • Sedimentary Rocks: Layered Storytellers
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/7b.asp
    

• Identify renewable resources and describe their uses.
  • Natural Resources: Use and Re-Use
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/12b.asp
    

• Identify nonrenewable resources and describe their uses.
  • Natural Resources: Use and Re-Use
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/12b.asp
    

• Compare finished products to their original raw material.
  • Mineral Uses
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/6e.asp
    

• Identify the waste derived from the use of renewable and nonrenewable resources.
  • Pollution
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/12c.asp
    

• Determine how consumption may impact the availability of resources.

• Compare the time spans of renewability for fossil fuels and alternative fuels.

• Distinguish between readily available and less accessible resources.

• Identify the locations of different concentrations of fossil fuels and mineral resources.

• Analyze the effects of management practices on air, land and water in forestry, agriculture, fisheries, wildlife, mining and food and fiber production that is unique to different climates.

• Identify materials that can be recycled in the community.
  • Pollution Solutions
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/12d.asp
    

• Explain the process of closing the loop in recycling.

• Compare the decomposition rates of different organic materials.

• Describe methods that could be used to reuse materials for new products.

• Evaluate the costs and benefits of disposable products.

4.3.7. Environmental Health

• Identify various examples of long-term pollution and explain their effects on environmental health.
  • Our Role in Earth's Future AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/12.asp
    
  • Human Impact on the Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10.asp
    

• Identify diseases that have been associated with poor environmental quality.

• Describe different types of pest controls and their effects on the environment.

• Identify alternative products that can be used in life to reduce pollution.

• Identify land use practices and their relation to environmental health.
  • Human Impact on the Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10.asp
    

• Explain how natural disasters affect environmental health.

• Identify residential and industrial sources of pollution and their effects on environmental health.
  • Pollution
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/12c.asp
    
  • Pollution
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10a.asp
    

• Explain the difference between point and nonpoint source pollution.
  • Pollution
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/12c.asp
    

• Explain how nonpoint source pollution can affect the water supply and air quality.
  • Pollution
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/12c.asp
    
  • Pollution
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10a.asp
    

• Explain how acid deposition can affect water, soil and air quality.
  • Pollution
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/12c.asp
    
  • Pollution
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10a.asp
    

• Explain the relationship between resource use, reuse, recycling and environmental health.
  • Our Role in Earth's Future AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/12.asp
    

• Explain the complex, interactive relationships among members of an ecosystem.
  • Energy and Organisms AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/2.asp
    
  • Ecology: Organisms and Their Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9.asp
    

• Explain how diversity affects ecological integrity of the natural resources.

4.4.7. Agriculture and Society

• Compare the technologies that have advanced agricultural production.

• Explain how energy sources have changed to meet agricultural technology.

4.5.7. Integrated Pest Management

• Compare and contrast integrated pest management monitoring methods utilized in different community settings.

• Compare integrated pest management to past practices.

• Compare and analyze the long-term effects of using integrated pest management products.

4.6.7. Ecosystems and their Interactions

• Identify and explain the characteristics of biotic and abiotic.
  • What Is Life? AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/1.asp
    
  • Abiotic Factors AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/5.asp
    

• Describe and explain the adaptations of plants and animals to their environment.
  • Response to Environment
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/1e.asp
    
  • Adaptation
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/1b.asp
    
  • Ecology: Organisms and Their Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9.asp
    

• Demonstrate the dependency of living components in the ecosystem on the nonliving components.
  • What Is Life? AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/1.asp
    
  • Energy and Organisms AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/2.asp
    
  • It Starts With a Little Chemistry AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/3.asp
    
  • Abiotic Factors AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/5.asp
    

• Explain energy flow through a food web.
  • Energy and Organisms AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/2.asp
    

• Explain the importance of the predator/prey relationship and how it maintains the balances within ecosystems.
  • Response to Environment
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/1e.asp
    
  • Communities: Relationships Among Species
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9b.asp
    

• Understand limiting factors and predict their effects on an organism.
  • Nutrient Cycles
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/5d.asp
    

• Identify niches for producers, consumers and decomposers within an ecosystem.
  • Ecology: Organisms and Their Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9.asp
    
  • Destruction of Habitat
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10b.asp
    
  • Extinction and Loss of Species
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10d.asp
    

• Compare and contrast the major ecosystems of Pennsylvania.

• Identify the major characteristics of a biome.
  • Biomes
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9a.asp
    

• Compare and contrast different biomes and their characteristics.
  • Biomes
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9a.asp
    

• Identify the relationship of abiotic and biotic components and explain their interaction in an ecosystem.
  • What Is Life? AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/1.asp
    
  • Energy and Organisms AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/2.asp
    
  • It Starts With a Little Chemistry AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/3.asp
    
  • Abiotic Factors AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/5.asp
    

• Explain how different soil types determine the characteristics of ecosystems.

• Identify and explain cycles within an ecosystem.
  • Energy and Organisms AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/2.asp
    
  • Abiotic Factors AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/5.asp
    
  • Ecology: Organisms and Their Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9.asp
    

• Analyze the role of different cycles within an ecosystem.
  • Energy and Organisms AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/2.asp
    
  • Abiotic Factors AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/5.asp
    
  • Ecology: Organisms and Their Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9.asp
    

• Explain how ecosystems change.
  • Ecological Succession
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9d.asp
    
  • Destruction of Habitat
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10b.asp
    
  • Alien Invasion: Non-Native Species
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10c.asp
    
  • Extinction and Loss of Species
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10d.asp
    

• Identify the succession stages of a given ecosystem.
  • Ecological Succession
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9d.asp
    

• Explain how specific organisms may change an ecosystem.
  • Human Impact on the Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10.asp
    

• Explain a change in an ecosystem that relates to humans.
  • Human Impact on the Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10.asp
    

4.7.7. Threatened, Endangered and Extinct Species

• Select an ecosystem and describe different plants and animals that live there.
  • Biomes
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9a.asp
    

• Identify adaptations in plants and animals.
  • Evolution: Populations in Motion AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/1.asp
    
  • Bacteria and Viruses AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/2.asp
    
  • Protists, Fungi, and the Origin of Multicellularity AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/3.asp
    
  • Plants: Energy Converters AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/4.asp
    
  • Invertebrate Animals: Rulers of the Animal Kingdom AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/5.asp
    
  • Vertebrate Animals AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/6.asp
    
  • Mammals 'R' Us AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/7.asp
    
  • Ecology: Organisms and Their Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9.asp
    
  • Human Impact on the Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10.asp
    

• Recognize that adaptations are developed over long periods of time and are passed on from one generation to the next.
  • Evolution: Populations in Motion
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/1.asp
    

• Understand levels of ecosystem organization (e.g., individuals, populations, species).
  • Energy and Organisms AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/2.asp
    
  • Ecology: Organisms and Their Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9.asp
    

• Explain the role of individual variations in natural selection.
  • Genetics AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/8.asp
    
  • Evolution: Populations in Motion AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/1.asp
    

• Explain how an adaptation is an inherited structure or behavior that helps an organism survive and reproduce.
  • Evolution: Populations in Motion AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/1.asp
    

• Describe how a particular trait may be selected over time and account for a species' adaptation.
  • Genetics AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/8.asp
    
  • Evolution: Populations in Motion AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/1.asp
    

• Compare and contrast animals and plants that have very specific survival requirements with those that have more general requirements for survival.

• Explain how living things respond to changes in their environment.
  • Ecological Succession
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9d.asp
    
  • Human Impact on the Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10.asp
    

• Explain how one species may survive an environmental change while another might not.

• Identify natural or human impacts that cause habitat loss.
  • Destruction of Habitat
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10b.asp
    

• Explain how habitat loss can affect the interaction among species and the population of a species.
  • Destruction of Habitat
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10b.asp
    
  • Ecological Succession
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/9d.asp
    
  • Alien Invasion: Non-Native Species
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10c.asp
    
  • Extinction and Loss of Species
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10d.asp
    

• Analyze and explain the changes in an animal population over time.

• Explain how a habitat management practice affects a population.

• Explain the differences among threatened, endangered and extinct species.

• Identify Pennsylvania plants and animals that are on the threatened or endangered list.

• Describe state laws passed regarding threatened and endangered species in Pennsylvania.

• Explain why one species may be more susceptible to becoming endangered than another species.

4.8.7. Humans and the Environment

• Describe how natural resources are used for survival.

• Explain how natural resources and technological changes have affected the development of civilizations.

• Explain how climate and extreme weather events (e.g., drought, flood) influence people's lives.
  • El Niņo
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/9d.asp
    
  • Wild and Woolly Weather AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear81/10.asp
    

• Describe what effect consumption and related generation of wastes have on the environment.
  • Human Impact on the Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10.asp
    

• Explain how a particular human activity has changed the local area over the years.

• Explain how human activities and natural events have affected ecosystems.
  • Case Study: Mount Saint Helens
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/ear82/4e.asp
    
  • Human Impact on the Environment AND ALL FOCUS TOPICS
    http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif72/10.asp
    

• Explain how conservation practices have influenced ecosystems.

• Define the roles of Pennsylvania agencies that deal with natural resources.

4.9.7. Environmental Laws and Regulations