8th grade Science
10 units matched to the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards.
Focus areas
- Physical science: atoms and reactions, forces and motion, energy, fields and waves
- Science and engineering practices: planning investigations and using math
- How science connects to people and communities in Minnesota and beyond
Units
Unit 1
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.
Benchmark: 8P.1.2.1.1; 8P.3.2.1.1 · how adding or removing thermal energy changes a pure substance, explained with particles
Unit 2
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.
Benchmark: 8P.2.2.1.1; 8P.3.1.1.4 · waves, and how light is reflected, absorbed or transmitted
Unit 3
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.
Benchmark: 8P.1.1.1.1; 8P.3.1.1.1 · the periodic table, and the atoms in simple molecules
Unit 4
Circuits & Static
Complete circuits, series versus parallel wiring, conductors and insulators, adding cell voltages, and static electricity (like and opposite charges, lightning).
Benchmark: 8P.1.1.1.2 · what affects the strength of electric forces
Unit 5
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.
Benchmark: 8P.1.2.1.3; 8P.3.1.1.3; 8P.4.1.1.1 · electric, magnetic and gravitational fields between objects that don't touch
Unit 6
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.
Benchmark: 8P.1.2.1.2; 8P.3.2.2.2 · how forces change motion, and Newton's third law in collisions
Unit 7
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.
Benchmark: 8P.1.2.1.2 · how an object's motion depends on the forces on it and its mass
Unit 8
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.
Benchmark: 8P.2.1.1.2; 8P.4.1.1.2 · kinetic energy, mass and speed, and energy moving when motion changes
Unit 9
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.
Benchmark: 8P.2.1.1.1; 8P.3.1.1.2 · telling when a chemical reaction happened, and atoms being conserved in a reaction
Unit 10
Thermal Energy & Insulation
Practices how thermal energy moves from warmer to cooler objects, how mass and material affect temperature change, and how to design a device that slows heat transfer.
Benchmark: 8P.1.2.1.4; 8P.3.2.2.3 · how thermal energy transfer changes temperature, and designing to slow it
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