Eighth Grade Science Content Standards

Students become ecologically literate — to understand the interconnectedness of humans and the environment and to live and act in ways which reflect this understanding.

Students develop knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, as well as an understanding of how scientists study the natural world with increasingly higher levels of complexity.

Students use scientific strategies, knowledge and common sense to formulate questions about, understand and explain a wide range of phenomena.

Students seek knowledge and understanding by questioning, observing, investigating, analyzing and evaluating.

Eighth grade students are expected to:

• Physical Science
  • Motion and forces — an introduction to the concept of physics
    • Experiment with rate as any observable event measured over time
    • Understand that motion must be defined relative to a standard point of reference
    • Demonstrate Newton’s Laws through experimentation and models
    • Observe how all objects experience a buoyant force when immersed in a fluid
    • Perform experiments to explore the properties of the electromagnetic force
  • Elements have distinct properties and atomic structure
    • Compare the states of matter
    • Understand the periodic table
    • Explore physical and chemical properties of matter
  • Chemical reactions are processes in which atoms are rearranged into different combinations of molecules
    • Observe how atoms combine to form molecules and compounds
    • Experiment with chemical reactions that demonstrate conversions of matter and mass, endothermic and exothermic, and how to determine whether a solution is acidic, basic or neutral
• Earth Science
  • The structure and composition of the universe
    • Learn the appearance, general composition, relative position and size and motion of objects in the solar system
    • Compare stars, galaxies and planets and their evolution
    • Use astronomical units and light years as measures of distance
• Life Science
  • The principles of biochemistry
    • Learn that the carbon atom has a central role in the chemistry of living things
    • Understand that living organisms are made of molecules largely consisting of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur
    • Identify living organisms as having many different kinds of molecules including carbohydrates, fats, proteins and nucleic acids
• Family Life
  • Discuss values of building a strong relationship
  • Review male and female reproductive anatomy
  • Understand the responsibilities of sexual activity
  • Introduce the process of childbirth
• Investigation and experimentation
  • Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations
    • Select and use appropriate tools and technology
    • Report data using graphs, charts and maps
    • Write a lab report following the scientific method

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