Students learn to describe interactions of matter and energy throughout the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. They continue to develop skills of scientific inquiry, explain how matter can change forms and describe how energy is potential or kinetic and takes many forms. Students apply math skills to evaluate and analyze variables and data from investigations as they draw conclusions from scientific evidence. Seventh-grade students are able to recognize that technology can create environmental and economic conflicts, affect the quality of life, and that science and technology cannot answer all questions and cannot solve all human problems. Students access knowledge to explain how energy entering the ecosystems, such as sunlight, supports the life of organisms through photosynthesis and the transfer of energy through the interactions of organisms and the environment. (back)