Grade 8 Science
7 units matched to the New Brunswick Curriculum.
Learning focus
- Grade focus: Beyond Earth - Human Presence in the Solar System.
- Scientific Literacy: Investigation. Plan investigations to answer questions about relationships between and among variables observed in motion and stability, the Laws of Motion, and space exploration.
- Scientific Literacy: Sensemaking. Analyze and interpret qualitative and quantitative data to construct explanations and conclusions.
- Scientific Literacy: Communication. Communicate procedure, result, and conclusion using a variety of media and working collaboratively.
- Learning and Living Sustainably: Responsible and Sustainable Application. Apply scientific and technological knowledge and an understanding of sustainable practices responsibly with respect to motion and stability, the Laws of Motion, and space exploration.
Units
Unit 1
Cells & Life Processes
The cell theory, what organelles do in plant and animal cells, how photosynthesis and respiration are connected, osmosis, and how cells form tissues, organs and organ systems.
Skill descriptor: Scientific Literacy: Sensemaking · cells, and how they make up living things
Unit 2
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.
Skill descriptor: Scientific Literacy: Sensemaking · particle theory and how matter behaves
Unit 3
Viscosity & Flow
What viscosity is, how temperature and other factors change how fluids flow, and how to find a flow rate by dividing volume by time.
Skill descriptor: Scientific Literacy: Sensemaking · viscosity and how fluids flow
Unit 4
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.
Skill descriptor: Scientific Literacy: Sensemaking · density and buoyancy
Unit 5
Pressure & Pascal's Law
Why gases compress easily and liquids do not, how heating or compressing a fluid changes its pressure and volume, and how a hydraulic press uses Pascal's law to multiply a force.
Skill descriptor: Scientific Literacy: Sensemaking · pressure in fluids
Unit 6
Hydraulics & Pneumatics
How hydraulic systems (liquids) and pneumatic systems (compressed air) work, where each is used, and how valves, pumps and tubes in machines compare with the heart, lungs and blood vessels.
Skill descriptor: Scientific Literacy: Sensemaking · hydraulic and pneumatic systems
Unit 7
Climate Change: Causes & Action
Practises human causes of climate change, the carbon cycle, effects on coasts and communities, and the difference between mitigation and adaptation. Ties to the Nova Scotia Grade 8 science outcomes on Climate Change.
Skill descriptor: Learning and Living Sustainably: Responsible and Sustainable Application · the causes of climate change and actions people can take
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