Grade 8 Science: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 8 science in the Alberta Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Unit A, Mix and Flow of Matter: substances mix and flow, and their properties can be explained with the particle model
- Unit B, Cells and Systems: living things are made of cells, and body systems work together
- Unit C, Light and Optical Systems: light behaves in predictable ways, and optical devices use it
- Unit D, Mechanical Systems: machines transmit force and motion, and some are more efficient than others
- Unit E, Freshwater and Saltwater Systems: water shapes Earth's surface and supports life, and people protect its quality
Easy ways to practise science at home
- Turn everyday questions into investigations: “Which paper towel holds the most water?”
- Read a science news story together and ask what evidence it gives.
- Look up how a household machine works, such as a bike gear, a lamp or a fridge.
- Have your child draw and label a diagram of something they just learned.
What each unit covers
Mixtures, Solutions & WHMIS
Safety symbols on hazardous products, telling pure substances, mechanical mixtures and solutions apart, what changes how fast and how much a solid dissolves, and measuring concentration in grams per 100 mL.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cells, Organisms & Technology
How microscopes and newer technologies such as stem cell research and gene editing have changed our understanding of cells, how single-celled and many-celled organisms meet their needs, and the benefits and concerns of cell biology developments.
Cells, Tissues & Organs
Why cells are the basic unit of life, how plant and animal cells differ, how materials move into and out of cells, and how cells form tissues, organs and systems. Includes working out microscope magnification.
Systems in Action
Identifying inputs, outputs and purposes of systems including food processing, what makes systems safe and efficient, how automation changes work, and why people's needs and values change systems over time.
Human Body Systems
The main jobs of the respiratory, circulatory, digestive, excretory and nervous systems, how they work together, and what affects healthy function, such as exercise and air quality.
How Light Behaves
Light as rays that travel in straight lines, how materials reflect, absorb or transmit it, the law of reflection and why light bends (refracts) between materials.
Light & Radiation
Wavelength and frequency, the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays and what each is used for, reflection, refraction and colour, and staying safe from UV radiation.
Lenses, Eyes & Optical Devices
How lenses form images, how the eye and a camera are alike, how microscopes and telescopes extended what scientists could see, and how technology helps vision and stores images.
Simple Machines & Advantage
Identifying the six simple machines, finding mechanical advantage from input and output forces, understanding that machines trade force for distance, and how innovations such as combine harvesters and robotics raised productivity.
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.
Gears, Pulleys & Efficiency
How gears trade speed for force, how pulleys and screws are used, how to calculate efficiency, and how designers weigh efficiency against effects on people and the environment.
Water Systems of Earth
Where Earth's water is found and in what form, the water cycle, watersheds and the Great Lakes, how groundwater and the water table change, and how large lakes shape local weather.
Fresh Water, Salt Water & Water Quality
How much of Earth's water is fresh, where it is stored, what makes water safe to drink, simple water quality tests, and ways to turn salt water into fresh water.
Waves, Streams & Glaciers
How water and ice wear away and rebuild land, what causes waves and tides, how streams and deltas form, what ocean basins look like, and how ocean currents affect climate.
Life in Water & Our Impact
How animals are adapted to water, what living things tell us about water quality, how nutrients and fishing can harm aquatic systems, and how people monitor and protect them.
Caring for Water
Why fresh water must be managed with care, how water quality is measured, how drinking water and wastewater are treated, the effects of melting glaciers and sea ice, and the many teachings of First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities about caring for water.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Alberta report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Grade 8 child with science?
Turn everyday questions into investigations: “Which paper towel holds the most water?” Read a science news story together and ask what evidence it gives. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
What does my child learn in Grade 8 science in Alberta?
The Alberta Curriculum Grade 8 science units include mixtures, solutions & whmis, particles & matter, viscosity & flow, density & buoyancy, pressure & pascal's law, hydraulics & pneumatics.
Free printable Grade 8 science practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.