Course Description
The 8th-grade science curriculum provides extensive opportunities to practice and master science processing skills. The emphasis will be on Physical Science. Topics of study include lab safety, scientific method, measurement, motion, forces, energy, waves, states of matter and their changes, classification of matter, the Periodic Table, and chemical interactions.
Core Curriculum Content Standards
Science, Technology & Engineering, and Environmental Literacy & Sustainability (2023)
Physical Science
Grades 6-8
- Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.(3.2.6-8.A)
- Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in the particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.(3.2.6-8.B)
- Gather and make sense of information to describe how synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.(3.2.6-8.C)
- Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.(3.2.6-8.D)
- Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.(3.2.6-8.E)
- Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.(3.2.6-8.G)
- Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.(3.2.6-8.H)
- Ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.(3.2.6-8.I)
- Construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects.(3.2.6-8.J)
- Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.(3.2.6-8.K)
- Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample.(3.2.6-8.N)
- Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.(3.2.6-8.O)
- Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.(3.2.6-8.P)
- Use mathematical representations to describe a simple model for waves that includes how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave.(3.2.6-8.Q)
- Develop and use a model to describe how waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.(3.2.6-8.R)
- Integrate qualitative scientific and technical information to support the claim that digitized signals are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information than analog signals.(3.2.6-8.S)
Technology & Engineering
Grades 6-8
- Use instruments to gather data on the performance of everyday products.(3.5.6-8.B)
- Interpret the accuracy of information collected.(3.5.6-8.O)
Units
Unit #1 - Scientific Method & Safety
Unit #2 - Measurement & Graphing
Unit #3 - Principles of Motion and Force
Unit #4 - Energy
Unit #5 - States of Matter
Unit #6 - Classification and Changes of Matter
Unit #7 - The Periodic Table & Chemical Bonding
Unit #8 - Waves
Course Resources
Textbook - Holt Physical Science & Holt Earth Science
Holt Science Book Resources
BrainPop/EdPuzzle
Newsela/Science World/Kids Discover Magazine
YouTube/Kahn Academy/Crash Course Videos/Bill Nye
Quizziz/Blooket/Quizlet/Gimkit/JLab/Kahoot
