Greenwich Public Schools Science Curriculum Objectives. Grade 8

Transcription

1 Greenwich Public Schools Science Curriculum Objectives Grade 8 1

2 Greenwich Science Objectives Grade 8 The Nature of Scientific Inquiry, Literacy and Numeracy The objectives listed under The Nature of Scientific Inquiry, Literacy and Numeracy are Enduring introduced Understandings: throughout the school year as the domains of life science, earth science, and physical science are being taught. In other words, The Nature of Scientific Inquiry objectives are integrated into the teaching of the science disciplines. SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY Scientific inquiry is a thoughtful and coordinated attempt to search out, describe, explain and predict natural phenomena. Scientific inquiry progresses through a continuous process of questioning, data collection, analysis and interpretation. Scientific inquiry requires the sharing of findings and ideas for critical review by colleagues and other scientists. SCIENTIFIC LITERACY Scientific literacy includes speaking, listening, presenting, interpreting, reading and writing about science. Scientific literacy includes also the ability to search for and assess the relevance and credibility of scientific information found in various print and electronic media. SCIENTIFIC NUMERACY Scientific numeracy includes the ability to use mathematical operations and procedures to calculate, analyze and present scientific data and ideas. Important to Know and Do: Students will 1. Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigation. (CTF) 2. Read, interpret and examine the credibility of scientific claims in different sources of information. (CTF) 3. Design and conduct appropriate types of scientific investigations to answer different questions. (CTF) 2

3 4. Identify independent and dependent variables, and those variables that are kept constant, when designing an experiment. (CTF) 5. Use appropriate tools and techniques to make observations and gather data. (CTF) 6. Use mathematical operations to analyze and interpret the data. (CTF) 7. Identify and present relationships between variables in appropriate graphs. (CTF) 8. Draw conclusions and identify sources of error. (CTF) 9. Provide explanations to investigated problems or questions. (CTF) 10. Communicate about science in different formats, using relevant science vocabulary, supporting evidence and clear logic. (CTF) 11. Identify and implement the safety measures to be taken in laboratory and field investigations (GPS) 12. Collect and record data, using a variety of metric measures (GPS) 13. Analyze direct and indirect evidence in order to propose reasonable explanations (GPS) 14. Write lab reports about his or her laboratory and field investigations, using a standard format: Problem, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure, Results, and Conclusion (GPS) 3

4 Eighth Grade Science Objectives Biology: Human Body Connecticut State Content Standard 7.2 Many organisms, including humans, have specialized organ systems that interact with each other to maintain dynamic internal balance. Enduring Understandings: Multicellular organisms need specialized structures and systems to perform basic life functions. Essential Questions: 1. How are organisms structured to ensure efficiency and survival? Important to Know and Do: Students will 1. Describe how the structures of the human digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems function to bring oxygen and nutrients to the cells and remove waste materials. 2. Describe how the human muscular/skeletal system supports the body and allows movement. 3. Describes how the structures of the male and female human reproduction system function to produce egg and sperm. 4

5 Eighth Grade Science Objectives Physical Science I - Atomic and Molecular Structure Connecticut State Content Standard 6.1 Materials can be classified as pure substances or mixtures, depending on their chemical and physical properties. The periodic table displays the elements in increasing atomic number and shows how periodicity of the physical and chemical properties of the elements relates to atomic structure. Enduring Understandings: Mixtures are made of combinations of elements and/or compounds, and they can be separated using a variety of physical means. Pure substances can be either elements or compounds, and they cannot be broken down by physical means. Essential Questions: 1. How can physical and chemical properties be used to separate, identify and use matter? 2. How is the organization of the Periodic Table used to predict properties and atomic structure of elements? Important to Know and Do: Student will 1. Describe the properties of common elements such as oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, iron and aluminum. (C1) 2. Describe how the properties of simple compounds, such as water and table salt, are different from the properties of the elements of which they are made. (C2) 3. Explain how mixtures can be separated by using the properties of the substances from which they are made, such as particle size, density, solubility and boiling point. (C3) 4. Explain that there are over 100 different elements that have been identified, most of which do not exist in a pure form, and that they vary in their abundance (*8-14.7) 5. Describe that each element has a set of characteristic properties of boiling point, freezing/melting point, density, flammability, odor, and solubility (*8-14.7, CAPT) 5

6 6. Explains that some properties (such as mass and volume) depend on the amount of material and that other properties (such as melting point and boiling point) are independent of the amount of material (*8-14.4) 7. Explains why the Periodic Table is an important and useful tool (e.g., shows chemical relationships among elements, provides uniform descriptions of elements) (*8-14.6, CAPT) 8. Identifies the horizontal rows on the Periodic Table as periods and the vertical columns on the Periodic Table as groups (*8-14.6, CAPT) 9. Explains that most elements are grouped according to their reactivity (*8-14.6, CAPT) 10. Identifies the atomic number, name, symbol, and atomic mass for any element, using the Periodic Table (*CAPT) 11. States the number of protons or electrons any element contains, using the Periodic Table (*CAPT) 12. Locates any element on the Periodic Table, given its name, symbol, atomic number, or atomic mass (*CAPT) 13. Explains how compounds are made from elements (GPS) 14. Describes the contributions of Dmitri Mendeleev (e.g., the development of the first periodic table) (*8-14.6) 15. Describes how matter may change form or may result in the formation of new materials, but that the quantity of matter cannot be created or destroyed (*8-15.2, CAPT) 16. Explains that mixtures and compounds are composed of molecules of different kinds of matter and differentiates between them (*8-14.1, CAPT) 17. Identifies some common mixtures and compounds (e.g., water, salt, lemonade, air) (*8-14.1) 18. Explains that atoms are rearranged in a reaction, but do not disappear, so that the total mass of a system stays the same. (GPS) 19. Describes the gain or loss in chemical reactions (e.g., exothermic and endothermic reactions) 20. Lists the four signs of a chemical reaction: release of a gas, color change, precipitate formation, and energy change (*CAPT) 21. Describes the transfer of thermal energy in chemical reactions (e.g., exothermic and endothermic reactions). (GPS) 22. Identifies the parts of a chemical equation: reactants, yield sign, and products (*8-15.3) 23. Demonstrates the usefulness of formulas and equations in expressing what happens in a chemical reaction (*8-15.3) 24. Describes a solution as a type of mixture that forms when one substance dissolves in another substance and that a suspension is a type of mixture that forms when the particles of one substance scatter through another substance without dissolving (*8-14.1) (GPS) 6

7 25. Names examples of solutions and suspensions (*8-14.1) (GPS) 26. Defines solubility as the amount of solute that will dissolve in a given amount of solvent at a specific temperature. (GPS) 27. Explains what density is and how to determine it in the three states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas). (*CAPT) 28. Identifies ways that physical and chemical properties influence the development of everyday materials (e.g., cooking surfaces, insulation, adhesives, plastics). (GPS) 29. Experiments with a wide variety of substances, using a variety of variables (e.g., temperature variations, solute variations). (GPS) 7

8 Eighth Grade Science Objectives Physical Science II - Conservation of Energy Connecticut State Content Standard Energy cannot be created or destroyed although, in many processes, energy is transferred to the environment as heat. Enduring Understandings: Energy cannot be created or destroyed Energy may change form (from potential energy to kinetic energy) Energy can exist in many forms for example, chemical potential energy Heat flow and work are two forms of energy transfer between systems. The work done by a heat engine that is working in a cycle is the difference between the heat flow into the engine at high temperature and the heat flow out at a lower temperature. The internal energy of an object includes the energy of random motion of the object's atoms and molecules. The greater the temperature of the object, the greater the energy of motion of the atoms and molecules that make up the object. Essential Questions: 1. What are different forms of energy and how can they help us do work? 2. In what forms can energy be formed? Important to Know and Do: Student will 1. Distinguishes between matter and energy. (GPS) 2. Recognizes that all physical changes, including changes of state, require energy (*8-17.6, CAPT) 3. Recognizes that most of the things that happen in the universe are a result of an energy transformation. (GPS) 4. Recognizes that heat is often one of the products during an energy transformation and that some systems transform energy more efficiently than others (*8-17.3, CAPT) 5. Recognizes that energy is neither created nor destroyed, but rather changed from one form to another (*8-17.4, , CAPT) 6. Explains the law of conservation of mass and energy. (GPS) 8

9 7. Defines a calorie as the amount of heat needed to raise one gram of water one degree Celsius. (GPS) 8. Explains the concept of absolute zero. (GPS) 9. Describes energy sources in terms of molecular motion and arrangement (*CAPT) 10. Differentiates among the three types of nuclear reactions: radioactivity, fission, and fusion. (GPS) 11. Describes how fission and fusion are used today. (GPS) 12. Recognizes the effects of radioactivity on living organisms. (GPS) 13. Debates the desirability of using nuclear reactions as an energy source. (GPS) Worth Being Familiar With: 14. Describes the contributions of Marie Curie (e.g., pioneered work in radioactivity) and Irène Joliot-Curie (e.g., won the Nobel Prize in chemistry). (GPS) 15. Lists devices used to detect radioactivity (e.g., Geiger counters, cloud chambers, scintillation counters, electroscopes). (GPS) 16. Describes the contributions of Albert Einstein (e.g., his theory of relativity, his formula showing the relationship of mass and energy). (GPS) 9

10 Eighth Grade Science Objectives Science and Technology in Society Connecticut State Content Standard 7.4 Technology allows us to improve food production and preservation, thus improving our ability to meet the nutritional needs of growing populations Enduring Understandings: Methods have been developed to prevent food spoilage caused by bacteria Essential Questions: 1. How do science and technology affect the quality of our lives? Important to Know and Do: Student will 1. Describe how freezing, dehydration, pickling and irradiation prevent food spoilage caused by bacteria. (CFW) 2. Identifies the constraints that will limit or dictate a given scientific investigation (e.g., political, ethical, financial, physical) (GPS) 3. Identifies current technological advances being made that are in the news ((GPS) 4. Describes how increasingly sophisticated technology is used to learn about the natural and physical worlds (GPS) 5. Gives examples of scientific advances that have been misused and that have developed into technologies with negative consequences (GPS) 10

11 Worth Being Familiar With: 8. Identifies career opportunities in advanced technology fields (*8-3.5) 9. Describes how science and technology are used in many professions (*8-3.5) 10. Describes how engineers, architects, and other professionals use scientific knowledge to solve practical problems (*8-3.10) 11

12 Eighth Grade Science Objectives Science and Technology in Society Connecticut State Content Standard 6.4 Water moving across and through earth materials carries with it the products of human activities. Enduring Understandings: Most precipitation that falls on Connecticut eventually reaches Long Island Sound. Essential Questions: 1. What is the role of septic and sewage systems on the quality of surface and ground water sources. (C10) 2. How does human activity impact water resources in Connecticut such as local ponds, rivers and the Long Island Sound ecosystem (C11 3. How do science and technology affect the quality of our lives Important to Know and Do: Student will 1. Lists sources of water pollution (e.g., acid rain, heat and chemicals from factories, dumping of trash) (*8-11.6) 2. Predicts the effects of pollution on cycles in nature (*8-11.6) 3. Recognizes that the atmosphere and hydrosphere have limited capacities to absorb or recycle the elements in pollution (*8-11.6) Worth Being Familiar With: 4. Develops ways to test for air, water, and soil pollution 5. Explains the difficulties involved in cleaning up polluted water (*8-11.6) 12