8th grade Science
16 units matched to the Alabama Course of Study.
Focus areas
- Physical Science: atoms and the periodic table, reactions, forces and motion, energy and waves
- Science and engineering practices: planning investigations and using math
- Engineering design: solving real problems in Alabama and beyond
Units
Unit 1
Mixtures & Solutions
Telling pure substances from mixtures, mechanical mixtures from solutions, solutes and solvents, comparing concentration, and choosing separation methods like filtering, evaporation, magnets and distillation.
Content standard: 8.1; 8.3 · pure substances, mixtures and solutions, and solubility
Unit 2
Density & Buoyancy
Calculating density from mass and volume, explaining why solids, liquids and gases differ in density using the particle theory, and predicting whether objects float or sink in different fluids.
Content standard: 8.1 · density as a property that identifies a pure substance
Unit 3
Particles & Matter
How the movement of particles explains solids, liquids and gases and changes of state, the parts of an atom (including the quarks inside protons and neutrons, and electrons as leptons), elements and compounds, and telling physical from chemical changes.
Content standard: 8.2 · how adding or removing thermal energy changes particle motion, temperature and state
Unit 4
Atoms & Elements
Elements versus compounds and mixtures, chemical symbols (H, O, Na, Cl, Fe, Au…), counting atoms in formulas like H₂O and C₆H₁₂O₆, metals and non-metals, and the basics of the periodic table.
Content standard: 8.4 · atoms, elements and the information in the periodic table
Unit 5
The Periodic Table
Groups and periods, metals, non-metals and metalloids, alkali metals, halogens and noble gases, and how valence electrons and shells explain the patterns.
Content standard: 8.4; 8.5 · groups, periods and electrons, and predicting how reactive an element is
Unit 6
Chemical Reactions
Practices signs of chemical reactions, how properties change when new substances form, conservation of mass, and devices that release or absorb thermal energy through reactions.
Content standard: 8.6; 8.7; 8.8 · evidence of a chemical reaction, energy released or absorbed, and conserving atoms
Unit 7
Chemical Change
Telling a chemical change from a physical change, reading simple word and symbol equations, why mass is conserved, what speeds a reaction up, exothermic and endothermic changes, and GHS safety.
Content standard: 8.6; 8.8 · chemical changes and balancing atoms so mass is conserved
Unit 8
Speed, Velocity & Motion Graphs
Practices calculating average speed from distance and time, telling speed from velocity (which includes direction) and distance from displacement, and reading distance-time graphs.
Content standard: 8.9; 8.10 · speed, velocity and acceleration on motion graphs
Unit 9
Motion, Forces & Newton’s Laws
Practices speed, velocity, acceleration, forces, friction, gravity and Newton's three Laws of Motion, with stability. It follows the Grade 8 science skill descriptors on motion and stability and the Laws of Motion in the New Brunswick curriculum.
Content standard: 8.9; 8.10; 8.11 · how forces and mass affect acceleration, and Newton's laws
Unit 10
Newton's Laws
Inertia (1st law), force = mass × acceleration (2nd law) and action–reaction pairs (3rd law), with everyday examples and a few simple calculations.
Content standard: 8.11 · Newton's three laws of motion and net force
Unit 11
Fields & Forces at a Distance
Practices forces that act without touching: what affects electric and magnetic force strength, why gravity is always attractive and depends on mass, and how fields store energy.
Content standard: 8.12 · magnetic, gravitational and electric forces and fields between objects that don't touch
Unit 12
Kinetic & Potential Energy
Practices how kinetic energy depends on mass and speed, how potential energy changes with position, and how energy transfers change an object's motion.
Content standard: 8.13; 8.14; 8.15 · kinetic energy, mass and speed, potential energy, and energy being conserved
Unit 13
Work, Energy & Efficiency
Using the scientific terms force, displacement, work, energy and efficiency, calculating work as force times displacement, finding efficiency, and how friction and design affect the energy lost from machines.
Content standard: 8.15 · work, energy transformations and efficiency
Unit 14
Circuits & Static
Complete circuits, series versus parallel wiring, conductors and insulators, adding cell voltages, and static electricity (like and opposite charges, lightning).
Content standard: 8.16 · how electrical energy is transferred in circuits and changed into other forms
Unit 15
Light & Radiation
Wavelength and frequency, the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays and what each is used for, reflection, refraction and color, and staying safe from UV radiation.
Content standard: 8.17 · wave properties of light and other electromagnetic waves
Unit 16
Energy Transfers & Waves
Practices how energy is conserved as it is transferred and transformed in systems such as circuits, food webs, roller coasters and photosynthesis, and how transverse and longitudinal waves carry energy.
Content standard: 8.17 · mechanical waves, amplitude and wavelength, and energy transfer
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