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7th grade What makes a population grow or shrink worksheet

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What makes a population grow or shrink

Grade 7 Science Worksheet

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. The rabbit count was flat at 20 while shelter was short. Brush piles add shelter spots in year 4. Bo predicts year 5. Which prediction fits?

    • Higher than 20, then it levels off again
    • Rising faster and faster with no end
    • Still 20, because the line was flat before
    • Lower than 20, because the field is more crowded
  2. All the open ground for burrows in the town was used by year 5. Zee predicts the year 6 count. Which prediction fits?

    • About 20, because the line starts over
    • About 100, the same as year 5
    • About 120, because the line is still rising
    • About 80, because births stop at the top
  3. Light reaching a forest gap lets oak seedlings grow. In year 4, branches spread over the gap and shade it. Kira predicts year 5. Which prediction fits?

    • Lower than 80, because less light reaches the gap
    • Higher than 80, because the line was rising
    • Higher than 80, because shade helps seedlings sprout
    • About 80, because the gap is the same size
  4. Field A has 2 brush piles and Field B has 6. Milo compares the lines. In year 5, how many more rabbits are in Field B than in Field A?

    • 80 more
    • 60 more
    • 40 more
    • 20 more
  5. Noah compares two prairie dog towns that both have open ground around them. Which town grew faster from year 1 to year 4?

    • Town B, which gained 70 against 30
    • Town A, which had the steadier line
    • Town A, which began with the higher count
    • Neither, since both lines go up
  6. Pia reads about oak seedlings in a small gap among tall trees. The line levels off at 60. Which cause best explains the level-off?

    • Populations stop changing after four years
    • The seedlings get more light than they can use
    • No new seedlings sprout once the line is flat
    • The gap lets in a limited amount of light
  7. Ari's yeast line levels off at 80 on day 5. Nothing else in the jar changed. Which cause best explains the level-off?

    • Yeast level off after five days, whatever the sugar
    • The jar has endless sugar, so it is still growing
    • The sugar in the jar is running low
    • The yeast have stopped making new cells
  8. A field has plenty of plants and water but only 4 brush piles. Esme sees the rabbit line level off at 40. Which cause best explains it?

    • The field is short of water
    • The shelter spots are all in use
    • There is no limit, so it will rise again soon
    • Rabbits stop being born at 40
  9. Jun sees a letter mark event X at year 3 on the prairie dog graph. Which event fits the line after X?

    • A very dry summer began
    • Open prairie was added next to the town
    • The town stopped having young
    • Open ground next to the town was paved over
  10. Ren sees a letter mark event X on day 4 on the yeast graph. Which event fits the line after X?

    • Some of the sugar water was poured out
    • The yeast stopped making new cells
    • More sugar was stirred into the jar
    • The jar was left on the shelf unchanged
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7th grade What makes a population grow or shrink worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Population growth: what makes a population grow, level off or fall. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can read a value, a shape and a flat part off a population graph, using the bottom axis for the year and the side axis for the count.
  • I can say that a population speeds up when resources are plentiful, then slows and levels off when food, water, space or shelter run short.
  • I can name the resource that limits a population from a short description and a graph.
  • I can use a marked event (a dry year, a new pond, more nest boxes, a wider forest gap) to predict or explain a change in the line, and choose the change that helps most.

Standard: MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-4

Words to know

population: All the living things of one kind in one place

resource: Something a living thing needs, such as food, water, space, shelter or sunlight

level off: The line stops rising and stays near one height

J-shaped growth: Growth that gets faster and faster while resources are plentiful

S-shaped growth: Growth that speeds up, then slows and levels off as resources run short

carrying capacity: The most living things of one kind that a place can support (optional; the bank says it in plain words)

event: Something that changes a resource, such as a dry year or new nest boxes

model data: Numbers made up to show a pattern, labeled on every graph

Common mistakes

Your child thought a population keeps growing with no limit. Try asking, 'What would run short first in this place?' Point to where the line levels off.

Your child named a cause that did not match the description, such as luck or the calendar. Ask, 'Which of food, water, space or shelter is short here?'

Your child thought a flat line means nothing is happening. Try saying that births and losses can balance. Ask, 'Is the count staying steady, or has it stopped?'

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with what makes a population grow or shrink?

Your child thought a population keeps growing with no limit. Try asking, 'What would run short first in this place?' Point to where the line levels off.

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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