Science

Year 8 Science 

Unit 1: Plant and Human Body Systems

Term 1 week 1 - Term 1 week 10

Our goal for this term is to introduce students to different body systems in humans and in plants. Students will gain an appreciation of how the different cells work together to form major systems in plants and humans in the removal wastes, support and movement, growth, repair and reproduction.  Skills include research, extracting information, making working models and use cause and effect language to explain ideas in explaining different functioning systems and to communicate and present scientific understanding in different media.

Unit 2: Let's Start Cooking

Term 1 week 1 - Term 2 week 9

Our goal for this term is to investigate the world of chemistry and the different types of reactions within the context of food. Students recall that matter is made up of particles (atoms) and use this as a basis to study substances in more detail to determine their nature as being pure or mixtures of a variety of things. Students will explore different aspects of our food chemically and how properties of food changes when exposed to different conditions. Students will investigate how our understanding of food preparation and storage have changed throughout history. Students will justify why it is important to continue Scientific research across different disciplines of Science.

Unit 3: Changing Earth

Term 3 week 1 - Term 3 week 10

The Earth’s surface is constantly changing. While volcanoes and earthquakes can alter a landscape in a matter of days, most of the changes to the Earth's surface happen very slowly. Rocks on and below on the surface of the Earth are constantly being changed by natural processes that act over millions of years. As a result, rocks also provide a valuable record of past events. 

The understanding that the rocks on our surface (lithosphere) are continually recycled and changing forms assist in developing an appreciation of natural recycling materials. Our geological history is trapped in rocks: some date back before life, other trap fossils that give us a snapshot of previous life, others show us that major catastrophic events have occurred.

Throughout time, humans have been able to extract some useful materials from the Earth (mining). The understanding that the Earth is finite and that sustainability through better resource management is essential as we proceed through the early 21st Century.

This unit also investigates the implications of managing a natural resource originating from the ores and minerals of our Earth.

Unit 4: Energy Transformations

Term 4 week 1 - Term 4 week 10

 In this unit, students investigate the different forms of energy that they encounter in their daily lives and how each form of energy can be converted into other forms of energy. Students will investigate kinetic, electrical, heat, light and potential energies and how many of our home appliances use energy changes in their design. This unit will also allow students to analyse the ways the energy they use at home is generated and compare that to the energy used by others in different parts of the world. Finally the students look at how science and technology have created energy efficient appliances to be used in the household.