8th grade Science
13 units matched to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
Focus areas
- Classifying matter, acids and bases, and conservation of mass
- Newton's laws, and waves of the electromagnetic spectrum
- Stars, galaxies, weather, hurricanes and climate
- Cells, genes, adaptations and ecosystem change
Units
Unit 1
Elements & Compounds
Elements, compounds and mixtures, reading chemical formulas, physical and chemical properties and changes, density, and common household chemicals, including why some should never be mixed.
TEKS student expectation: 8.6(A); 8.6(B) · classifying elements and compounds, and atoms in chemical formulas
Unit 2
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.
TEKS student expectation: 8.6(E) · conservation of mass in chemical reactions and balanced equations
Unit 3
Forces, Motion & Momentum
Practices Newton's second law (F = ma), momentum and its conservation, and designing devices that reduce the force of a collision.
TEKS student expectation: 8.7(A); 8.7(B) · Newton's second law and how all three laws act in collisions and vehicle safety
Unit 4
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.
TEKS student expectation: 8.8(A); 8.8(B) · the electromagnetic spectrum, wavelength and frequency, and uses of electromagnetic waves
Unit 5
Cycles & Succession
How water, carbon and nitrogen are cycled through ecosystems, why cycling supports sustainability, and the difference between primary and secondary succession.
TEKS student expectation: 8.11(C); 8.12(B) · the carbon cycle, and primary and secondary succession
Unit 6
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.
TEKS student expectation: 8.13(A) · the functions of cell parts such as the membrane, nucleus, mitochondria and chloroplasts
Unit 7
Genes & Heredity
Practices how genes on chromosomes code for proteins that shape traits, how mutations can be harmful, helpful or neutral, and how sexual and asexual reproduction differ in passing on genes.
TEKS student expectation: 8.13(B) · genes on chromosomes determining inherited traits
Unit 8
Natural Selection
Practices how variation in traits leads some individuals to survive and reproduce more, how populations change over generations, and how artificial selection works.
TEKS student expectation: 8.13(C) · how trait variation leads to adaptations that affect survival
Unit 9
Water, Acids & Bases
Practices the properties of water (cohesion, adhesion and surface tension) and the everyday things they explain, and comparing acids and bases, including their pH relative to pure water.
TEKS student expectation: 8.6(C); 8.6(D) · cohesion, adhesion and surface tension in water, and the properties and pH of acids and bases
Unit 10
Stars, Galaxies & the Universe
Practices the life cycle of stars and classifying stars on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, spiral, elliptical and irregular galaxies and where our solar system sits in the Milky Way, and the evidence (such as galaxies moving apart and leftover radiation) for the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe.
TEKS student expectation: 8.9(A); 8.9(B); 8.9(C) · star life cycles and the H-R diagram, kinds of galaxies, and evidence for the origin of the universe
Unit 11
Weather, Winds & Hurricanes
Practices how energy from the Sun, the oceans and the atmosphere interact to shape weather and climate, global wind patterns such as the trade winds and westerlies, the jet stream, and how warm ocean water and air masses produce tropical cyclones such as Gulf hurricanes.
TEKS student expectation: 8.10(A); 8.10(B); 8.10(C) · how the Sun, ocean and atmosphere shape weather, global winds, and how hurricanes form
Unit 12
What Changes Climate
Practices how natural events (volcanic eruptions, meteor impacts, changes in ocean currents) and human activities (greenhouse gases, deforestation, urbanization) can influence climate, using evidence such as temperature records and Texas examples like urban heat islands.
TEKS student expectation: 8.11(A); 8.11(B) · how natural events and human activities can influence global climate
Unit 13
Food Web Disruptions & Biodiversity
Practices how population changes, natural disasters and human actions disrupt the flow of energy in food webs, and how biodiversity makes an ecosystem more stable and its organisms healthier, with Texas examples such as Gulf Coast marshes, invasive species and coastal prairie.
TEKS student expectation: 8.12(A); 8.12(C) · how disruptions affect energy transfer in food webs, and how biodiversity supports stable, sustainable ecosystems
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