Science and Technology

In this unit you will study ecosystems as networks of interactions among living things and their environment. You will identify biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components and how they affect each other, describe the roles of producers, consumers and decomposers, follow energy as it moves up food chains, and predict what happens when a food chain changes, including how some toxins biomagnify. You will trace how matter cycles (water, carbon and nitrogen) and why that makes ecosystems sustainable, compare primary and secondary succession, and explain how limiting factors set an ecosystem's carrying capacity. Then you will look at how farming and harvesting affect ecosystems, assess the impact of technologies, learn how First Nations, Métis and Inuit practices and perspectives, including Two-Eyed Seeing, contribute to sustainability, and judge how well different solutions reduce harm and increase good.

Remember from earlier grades: in Grade 4 you learned about habitats, communities, food chains and food webs, and in Grade 6 you studied biodiversity, interrelationships among species, and resilience. Grade 7 looks at the whole system: energy, matter, change over time and limits.

Along the way you will work like a scientist, engineer and coder: running a fair test with road salt and seeds, modelling energy transfer and population growth with code, building a sealed jar ecosystem, surveying succession near your home, playing a sustainable fishing game, assessing technologies with a life cycle, and designing a runoff filter.

Curriculum expectations covered: A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A1.4, A1.5, A2.1, A2.2, A3.1, A3.2, A3.3, B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B2.1, B2.2, B2.3, B2.4, B2.5, B2.6, B2.7, B2.8 (Ontario Science and Technology, Grade 7, 2022).

In this unit you will look at matter the way a chemist does. You will learn the particle theory of matter and use it to tell pure substances from mixtures, and to sort pure substances into elements and compounds made of atoms. You will classify mixtures as homogeneous (solutions) or heterogeneous, and explore solubility, the rate of dissolving and concentration, including saturated and unsaturated solutions. You will find out why water is called the universal solvent.

Then you will separate mixtures with filtration, evaporation, distillation, chromatography and more, including First Nations practices like making maple syrup and winnowing wild rice, and design your own water filter. Finally, you will assess the impacts of industrial separation and of the pure substances in our phones and other devices, from local and global perspectives.

Safety: a grown-up handles hot water and any cutting. Only food-safe materials are used at home. Never taste test mixtures, never open batteries, and never mix household chemicals or cleaners.

In this unit you will think like a structural engineer and a designer. You will classify structures as solid, frame, shell or combination structures and see how form follows function, including in structures designed by First Nations and Inuit builders. You will describe every force on a structure by its magnitude, direction, point of application and plane of application, draw force diagrams, and see why triangles, arches and beams on edge handle forces so well.

Then you will find the centre of gravity of objects and use it to explain stability, discover the role of symmetry, and weigh all the factors in choosing materials. You will investigate why structures fail (including the Quebec Bridge disaster), and how engineers, inspectors and skilled trades workers use safety factors, building codes, inspections, sensors and maintenance to keep structures safe.

Finally, you will evaluate ergonomic design in your own spaces, weigh the environmental, social and economic factors in building structures for communities, and use the engineering design process to build the most efficient paper bridge you can.

Remember from earlier grades: In Grade 3 you learned about solid, frame and shell structures, dead and live loads, and stability. In Grade 5 you learned about internal forces and static and dynamic loads. In Grade 6 you learned that weight is about 9.8 N per kilogram and used the engineering design process. Grade 7 brings these ideas together and goes deeper.

Every lesson has a hands-on activity using things from home, lots of practice and a short quiz.

Curriculum expectations covered: D1, D1.1, D1.2, D2, D2.1 to D2.7 (Ontario Science and Technology, Grade 7, 2022, Strand D: Structures and Mechanisms, topic: Form and Function), with STEM skills and connections from Strand A (A1.1 to A1.5, A2.1, A2.2, A3.1, A3.2, A3.3).

Why does a metal railing feel colder than a wooden bench? Why does a lake breeze blow on a hot afternoon, and why is a clear winter night so cold? In this unit you will answer questions like these with the particle theory of matter.

You will learn the difference between temperature, thermal energy and heat, discover the many ways heat is generated, and explain how heating changes volume and causes changes of state. You will explore the three ways heat moves (conduction, convection and radiation) and the natural processes that depend on them, from snow insulating the ground to thunderstorms, lake turnover and the Sun's energy on snow, water and pavement. Then you will use radiation to explain how Earth heats and cools, how greenhouse gases work, where they come from and how we can reduce them.

Finally, you will assess technologies that reduce heat loss, from insulation and heat pumps to Inuit igluit, and analyse the impacts of renewable and non-renewable energy sources on people, the economy and the environment, including First Nations leadership in clean energy.

Remember from Grade 5: matter is made of moving particles, and changes of state absorb or release thermal energy. Every lesson has a hands-on activity, practice questions and a short quiz. Heat safety: all activities use ice, cold water or hot tap water poured by a grown-up. Never use boiling water, stoves or flames for these activities, and never look at the Sun.

Curriculum expectations covered: E1.1, E1.2, E2.1, E2.2, E2.3, E2.4, E2.5, E2.6, E2.7, E2.8 (Ontario Science and Technology, Grade 7, 2022, Strand E: Earth and Space Systems, Heat in the Environment), with STEM skills and connections from Strand A (A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A1.4, A1.5, A2.1, A2.2, A3.1, A3.2, A3.3).