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7th grade The breathing and nervous systems, and how a signal reaches the brain worksheet

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The breathing and nervous systems, and how a signal reaches the brain

Grade 7 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Tala pedals up a hill and breathes faster. The figure shows the nervous and breathing systems. Which sentence explains how they work together?

    • The diaphragm sends the signal to the brain, which then speeds up
    • The lungs sense the hill and speed up on their own without waiting for any signal
    • The brain sends signals along nerves that make the diaphragm contract faster
    • The brain tells the lungs to make more oxygen for the muscles
  2. “Two drawings, not to scale:” Zee’s class records breathing at rest and on a bike. Use the table and both systems to explain the change. Which explanation fits?

    • The lungs make extra oxygen when the muscles ask for it
    • Working muscle cells give off more carbon dioxide, so the brain signals the diaphragm to contract faster
    • Muscles work harder, so the lungs take in pure oxygen with each breath
    • The diaphragm sends the signal to the brain, and the brain follows it
  3. At a swim lesson, Bo draws an air path: nose, trachea, stomach, lungs. Which statement finds the flaw?

    • Breathed-out air should be carbon dioxide, so the path needs no oxygen
    • The diaphragm should come before the nose to pull air in
    • Air goes from the trachea to the bronchi and lungs, not to the stomach
    • Oxygen should start in the lungs, because the lungs make it
  4. Read this first

    Use this

    Nervous-system drawing, not to scale: a body outline with the signal path inside. Parts shown: receptor, sensory nerve, brain, motor nerve, muscle. Esme's drawing of a reflex.

  5. Esme draws the pinecone reflex path: receptor, sensory nerve, brain, motor nerve, muscle. Which statement finds the flaw?

    • There is no flaw, because the brain must decide before any movement
    • The receptor should sit in the muscle, not in the skin
    • The motor nerve should carry the signal toward the brain
    • A reflex path turns around in the spinal cord, not in the brain
  6. “A student's ladder, not to scale, read from the bottom step to the top step:” Jun’s ladder, from smallest to biggest, reads cell, organ, tissue, organ system. Which statement finds the flaw?

    • Organ system should come first, because it contains the other levels
    • There is no flaw, because organs and tissues are about the same size
    • Cell should come last, because it holds the most parts
    • Tissue should come before organ, because organs are made of tissues
  7. Read-about card: an adult holds the bag; the sensor reads some oxygen in the breathed-out air. At a swim lesson, Kira breathes out once into a clear bag. A sensor still finds oxygen in the bag. How can that be?

    • The bag adds oxygen from the room to the breath
    • Breathed-out air is carbon dioxide, so the sensor reading must be wrong
    • Air breathed in has oxygen, and the body takes just part of it
    • The lungs make fresh oxygen as the air leaves
  8. Levels ladder, not to scale

    Four steps from the smallest piece at the bottom to the biggest group at the top. Part | letter | job: cell | W | the smallest unit of life; tissue | X | a group of similar cells that do one job; organ | Y | several tissues working together as one body part; organ system | Z | several organs working together on a big job.

  9. Milo reads that nervous tissue carries signals in the brain, yet the brain is called an organ, not a tissue. Why?

    • An organ joins nervous tissue with other tissues that work together
    • An organ is one kind of cell, so the brain counts as one
    • The brain is an organ system, since it controls the whole body
    • A tissue is a bigger level than an organ, so the brain fits the smaller one
  10. Breathing drawing, not to scale. Before a swim lesson, Pia and a teacher talk about how air gets into the lungs. Which claim with its reason is better?

    • The lungs pull air in, because they are muscles that squeeze
    • The air sacs push air in, because they make oxygen to fill the lungs
    • The windpipe pushes air in, because it pumps air down toward the stomach first
    • The diaphragm contracts, because that makes more room for air in the chest
  11. Nervous-system drawing, not to scale: a body outline with the signal path inside. Ren and a teacher compare ideas about the pinecone reflex. Which claim with its reason is better?

    • The brain starts the pull-back, because it must decide first
    • The spinal cord starts the pull-back, because a reflex does not wait for the brain
    • The motor nerve starts the pull-back, because it carries signals in
    • The muscle starts the pull-back, because it feels the prick itself
  12. Use this

    Four level cards, not to scale, shown in no order. Part | letter | job: organ | W | several tissues working together as one body part; cell | X | the smallest unit of life; organ system | Y | several organs working together on a big job; tissue | Z | a group of similar cells that do one job.

  13. Noah sorts nerve cell, nervous tissue, brain and nervous system onto a ladder. Which order with its reason is better?

    • Cell, tissue, system, organ, because a system is just one small part of an organ
    • Tissue, cell, organ, system, because tissues hold the cells’ jobs
    • Cell, organ, tissue, system, because an organ is simpler than a tissue
    • Cell, tissue, organ, system, because each level is built from the one before
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7th grade The breathing and nervous systems, and how a signal reaches the brain worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

The breathing and nervous systems, and how a signal reaches the brain. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can follow the path of air from the nose to the alveoli, and say what happens to oxygen and carbon dioxide there.
  • I can follow a signal from a receptor to a muscle, and say why a reflex is faster than a decision.
  • I can put cell, tissue, organ and organ system in order, and say how the nervous system tells the diaphragm to breathe faster.

Standard: MS-LS1-3, MS-LS1-8

Words to know

cell, tissue: A cell is the smallest unit of life; a tissue is a group of similar cells that do one job

organ, organ system: An organ is several tissues working as one body part; a system is several organs working together

trachea (windpipe): The tube that carries air down from the nose or mouth toward the lungs

bronchi: Two tubes that branch off the windpipe, one into each lung

alveoli: Tiny air sacs in the lungs where oxygen passes into the capillaries around them

capillaries: Tiny vessels around the air sacs; they carry oxygen to body cells

diaphragm: A muscle under the lungs that contracts to pull air in

esophagus: The tube that carries food to the stomach; air does not travel down it

Common mistakes

Your child thought air goes down to the stomach. Ask your child which tube carries air and which carries food, and where each one ends.

Your child thought we breathe in only oxygen and breathe out only carbon dioxide. Ask your child what else is in air, and whether breathed-out air still has oxygen.

Your child thought the lungs make oxygen. Ask your child where the oxygen comes from, and what the lungs do with it.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with the breathing and nervous systems, and how a signal reaches the brain?

Your child thought air goes down to the stomach. Ask your child which tube carries air and which carries food, and where each one ends.

Are these 7th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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