Science

Welcome to 8th Grade Science!

For more information about the course, please see the Course Description Handout and Lab Safety Guidelines. Students can find daily assignments and resources on Google Classroom.

First Up - Measurements and Observations

To begin the year, we're practicing making detailed qualitative observations and precise measurements in the laboratory. For the first half of the year, we work at the lab benches most days and do about 2 experiments per week. Our first lab of the year was elephant toothpaste - mixing yeast with peroxide to create bubbles, release heat and observe changes in both matter and energy. We have also been practicing our measurements with rulers, graduated cylinders, and both triple-beam and electric balances. Students have written their first scientific argument - that air is matter because it has a mass and a volume, and they submitted their paragraphs today. Our first quiz of the year is coming up on Friday, September 25th.

For a full study guide to our first unit, click here!

From the Wellesley Middle School Program of Studies:

In 8th grade science, students use the lab bench extensively to learn about the physical properties of matter, chemistry, weather systems, and Earth processes that lead to major events like earthquakes and volcanoes. A unifying theme is heat, heat transfer and the flow of energy. Students’ ability to understand the discoveries of others that led to scientific laws and theories depends on having real experiences themselves. They profit most by making their own observations and drawing their own conclusions; therefore, the course is designed such that students first collect evidence about a scientific concept that they then describe in their own words using the evidence they’ve collected. They then practice their scientific reading skills and notetaking strategies to learn about the discoveries of others and the vocabulary that is assigned to the concepts. Students continue to practice a variety of laboratory techniques and project-based learning principles and are expected to keep careful and accurate records of their laboratory work in a lab notebook.

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