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7th grade What makes a population grow or shrink worksheet

6 printable versionsBuilding Confidence10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

Level: Building Confidence · On Level · Challenge Me

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What makes a population grow or shrink

Grade 7 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Ari reads a graph of sunflower plants in a field with plenty of room. How many sunflower plants grew in the field in year 3?

    • 80 plants
    • 40 plants
    • 20 plants
    • 3 plants

  2. Bo reads a graph of duckweed floating on a pond. What percent of the pond surface did the duckweed cover in year 4?

    • 4 percent
    • 80 percent
    • 50 percent
    • 25 percent

  3. Esme reads a graph from a park where nest boxes were added in year 3. How many bluebird pairs nested in year 4?

    • 6 pairs
    • 10 pairs
    • 12 pairs
    • 4 pairs

  4. Jun's class grows beans in one small box with plenty of sun and water. The line levels off at 30 plants and the leaves touch. Which resource ran short?

    • The number of weeks
    • Nesting spots
    • Shelter from rain
    • Space to grow

  5. The park has 8 nest boxes, plenty of water and plenty of food. Kira sees the line level off at 8 pairs. Which resource ran short?

    • The calendar year
    • Food for the pairs
    • Drinking water
    • Nesting spots

  6. Luz sees the sunflower line fall in year 4, a dry year. The field is big and sunny. Which resource ran short?

    • Sunlight
    • Space
    • Water
    • The number of years

  7. A garden bed has plenty of room. Noah reads the line for bean plants. Which sentence describes how the count grows?

    • It levels off after the first week
    • It grows faster each week
    • It grows by the same amount each week
    • It stays the same, then falls

  8. Pia compares two sunflower fields. Which field's line shows that resources are starting to run short?

    • Both: the lines start the same
    • Field A: its line keeps rising
    • Field B: its line levels off
    • Field A: its line reaches the top

  9. The line for bluebird pairs is flat in years 4, 5 and 6. Tala says nothing happens in those years. What is right?

    • The nest boxes were taken away
    • The pairs moved to a new park
    • No young are raised in those years
    • Young are still raised, but the count stays steady

  10. Zee sees the sunflower line flat at 120 plants in years 3 to 6. What is true about the number of plants in those years?

    • No new plants sprout in those years
    • It keeps rising a little each year
    • It stays about the same from year to year
    • It is 3 plants, then 4, 5 and 6
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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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