EIGHTH GRADE SCIENCE ESSENTIAL STANDARDS AND BENCHMARKS
Essential
Standard:
STUDENTS WILL UNDERSTAND THAT ALL MATTER
HAS DISTINCT PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES WHICH CAN BE DETERMINED BY
CONDUCTING SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS
First Quarter:
Benchmarks
Ø
Students will be able to measure mass, volume and length, and calculate
density.
Ø
Students know how to predict whether an object will float or sink based on
the principles of density.
Ø
Students construct appropriate graphs from data and develop quantitative
statements about the relationships between variables.
Second Quarter:
Benchmarks
Ø
Students know that the states of matter depend on molecular motion
(solid-locked in position, liquid-loosely connected and able to move,
gas-free to move independently).
Ø
Students know substances have an unique set of physical properties,
including their melting temperature, freezing point, boiling point,
density, and thermal and electrical conductivity.
Ø
Students know how to identify types of elements based on their locations
on the Periodic Table (metals, nonmetals, and inert gases).
Ø
Construct appropriate graphs from data and develop quantitative statements
about the relationships between variables.
Third
Quarter: Benchmarks
Ø
Students use the periodic table to describe atoms and isotopes as composed
of protons, neutrons, and electrons.
Ø
Students know that combining two or more different elements produces
compounds whose properties are different from the original elements.
Ø
Students know reactant atoms and molecules interact (rearrange) to form
products while the number of atoms and total mass (conservation of
matter/mass) stays the same.
Ø
Students know how to determine whether a solution is acidic, basic, or
neutral.
Essential
Standard:
STUDENTS WILL
UNDERSTAND HOW FORCES ACTING ON MATTER DETERMINE ITS MOTION BY CONDUCTING
SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS.
Fourth
Quarter: Benchmarks
Ø
Students know how to solve problems involving distance, time, and average
speed.
Ø
Students know that when unbalanced forces act on an object, the object
will change its velocity (that is, it will speed up, slow down, or change
direction).
Ø
Students know how to identify the forces of gravity and friction acting on
a single object.
Ø
Students know the greater the mass of an object, the more force is needed
to achieve the same rate of change in motion.
Ø
Students know a force has both direction and magnitude and when forces on
an object are balanced, the motion of the object does not change.
Ø
Students know how to interpret graphs of position versus time and graphs
of speed versus time for motion in a single direction.
MARCH 4, 2002
