How to learn Grade 8: Science

Oklahoma academic standards: Science, Grade 8

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1. Earth's Place in the Universe

1. Galaxies and the universe: Describe the scale of the universe, including the structure of galaxies, the position of the Sun in the Milky Way, and the use of light years as a unit of distance, and appreciate why space exploration requires enormous timescales
2. Universal Gravitation: Describe gravity as a universal attractive force between all masses, explain that orbital motion arises because gravity provides the centripetal force keeping objects in orbit, and compare gravitational field strengths on different planets
3. Phases of the Moon: Explain the phases of the Moon as the changing angle of sunlight on the lunar surface as seen from Earth, and describe how solar and lunar eclipses occur

2. Biological Unity and Diversity

1. Variation in Species: Explain variation within and between species, distinguishing between continuous variation (e.g. height) and discontinuous variation (e.g. blood group), and between genetic and environmental causes
2. Genetic Mutation: Explain genetic mutation as a random change in DNA sequence, describe causes of mutation (e.g. radiation, chemicals, copying errors), and explain that most mutations are neutral, some harmful, and a few beneficial
3. How Natural Selection Works: Explain natural selection as the mechanism of evolution: heritable variation + competition for resources + differential survival and reproduction = change in allele frequency over generations
4. Fossils as Evidence: Analyse and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of organisms and environments that existed long ago
5. Evidence for Evolution: Describe the main types of evidence for evolution: the fossil record (change over time), comparative anatomy (homologous structures), and the geographic distribution of related species

3. From Molecules to Organisms: Structure and Processes

1. Plant Reproduction: Describe the structure of a flower and explain the processes of wind and insect pollination, fertilisation, seed and fruit formation, and seed dispersal in plants

4. Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

1. Waves & Different Materials: Explain how waves can be absorbed, transmitted, or reflected by different materials, and apply these interactions to explain colour perception, sight, communication technologies, and the effects of different surfaces on wave behaviour

5. Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

1. Investigating Forces: Plan and carry out investigations into forces, including measuring force with a newton meter, investigating Hooke's Law, and collecting and interpreting motion data to test Newton's laws
2. Electromagnets: Describe the magnetic effect of an electric current (a current-carrying wire produces a magnetic field), and investigate how the strength of an electromagnet depends on current, number of coil turns, and core material
3. Relative Motion: Explain relative motion — how the apparent speed and direction of an object depends on the observer's own motion — using everyday examples such as trains and cars passing
4. Newton's Third Law: State and apply Newton's Third Law: every force has an equal and opposite reaction force acting on a different object, distinguishing action-reaction pairs from balanced forces