8th Grade Science Supports

• Observation– what I see, taste, touch, smell, hear
• Inference– what I guess, assume
• Prediction– a future statement with words like, “will,” “might,” “could” etc
• Hypothesis Statement– If (inference), then (prediction)
• Independent Variable– what I choose/change in my experiment
  • Ex: The amount of light I expose the grass to
• Dependent Variable– what I measure at the end of my experiment
  • Ex: The growth of the grass
• Controlled Variable– what I keep consistent in my experiment
  • Ex: The type of grass, the amount of time since it was planted, the watering schedule
• Bias– my preferences that cause unfair/inaccurate results
• Ex: If the grass needs light to grow, then grass in the shade will not grow well.

Unit 1 Storyline: https://openscied-uploads-production.s3.amazonaws.com/G8_UCF/parts/storyline.pdf

• Newton’s Three Laws of Motion
  • If the net force of an object is 0 then the object will not change its motion
  • Acceleration of an object is equal to the net force acting on the object divided by the mass of the object
  • When 1 object exerts force on another, the second object exerts equal force in the opposite direction
• Contact Force– When objects exert a push or a pull through direct contact (ex: drag, friction)
• Noncontact Force– When objects exert a push or pull with no contact (ex: gravity, magnetism)
• Peak Force– The moment when forces are equal and opposite during a collision
• Force– Any push or pull
• Kinetic Energy– The amount of motion present in a system (more movement, more energy)
• Free Body Diagram– A model showing all the forces acting on objects (making sure to center the forces and show the direction and intensity using arrows)

Unit 2 Storyline: https://openscied-uploads-production.s3.amazonaws.com/G8_USO/parts/storyline.pdf

• Frequency– How fast a wave travels
  • High frequency– scrunched up, high pitch note
  • Low frequency– spread out, low pitch note
• Amplitude– How tall a wave is
  • High amplitude– tall wave, loud sound
  • Low amplitude– short wave, quiet sound
• Kinetic Energy– Energy of motion (how fast particles are moving)

• PhET Simulation to review (visit Sound): https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/waves-intro/latest/waves-intro_en.html

Unit 3 Storyline: https://openscied-uploads-production.s3.amazonaws.com/G8_UDF/parts/storyline.pdf

• Electricity: when electrons flow through a conductive material (like metal)
• Magnetism: when electrons flow together in a material, causing a magnetic field 
• Electromagnet: when a wire (or other impermanent magnet) has electricity flowing through it, causing it to generate a magnetic field
• MAGNETS: How Do They Work?
  • Magnetic fields are generated by electrically charged objects: Magnetic fields are generated when electrically charged objects start moving, transforming electric fields into magnetic fields. (00:00:23)
• Significance of the arrangement of electrons in an atom concerning its magnetism: The arrangement of electrons, particularly in half-filled outer shells, determines an atom’s magnetism, with unpaired electrons contributing to the magnetic field. (00:02:57)
•  How do magnetic domains affect the overall magnetism of a material? Magnetic domains can align in the same direction to create a strong magnetic field, but if they are misaligned, they can cancel each other out, resulting in no overall magnetic field. (2:36-2:57)

Unit 4 Storyline: https://openscied-uploads-production.s3.amazonaws.com/G8_USS/parts/storyline.pdf

• Solar: referring to our sun
• Lunar: referring to our moon
• Orbit: circling an object
• Elevation: how high up something is
• Elliptical: type of oval
• Rotation: spinning around a point
• Axis: a point something spins around
• Annual: Happens every year
• Diurnal: Happens every day
• Hemisphere: Half of a sphere (we divide the Earth into southern and northern hemispheres)
• Umbra: darker shadow (reddish because of refraction through the atmosphere)
• Penumbra: lighter, wide shadow (blue or purplish because of refraction)

North Star: does not appear to move because the axis points directly to it

Seasons: are caused by the axis tilting towards the sun or away from the sun:

Lunar Phases:

Simulation from class:

https://ccnmtl.github.io/astro-simulations/lunar-phase-simulator/

Lunar Phases Simulation | PBS LearningMedia

Light review:

Eclipses:

Formation of the Solar System

As particles in space become closer and closer, a new object can form. The mass of the new object will grow, so the force of gravity increases.

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/resources/2331/astronomical-objects-through-the-history-of-the-universe/

Unit 5 Storyline: https://openscied-uploads-staging.s3.amazonaws.com/G8_UGE/parts/storyline.pdf

Genetics and Evolution

Evidence for Evolution:

• Morphology- similar body shapes in related species
• Structural Homology- similar bone structures in related species
• Developmental similarities in Embryos- similar embryo structures in related species
• Fossil Record- older fossils are more ancient versions of modern species
• DNA- more similarities in DNA means we are more closely related. The fact that all life on Earth uses DNA for genetics means we are all related in the distant past

Processes of Evolution:

• Mutations- changes to the DNA
• Natural Selection- only some individuals can survive their environments and create the next generation
• Genetic Drift- when only a few individuals represent the whole population, there can be changes to which genes are common
• Gene flow- when multiple separate populations mix, causing a change in which genes are common
• Sexual Selection- when females and males in the population choose who to mate with based on how they look or act