8th Grade Science
Fall Semester | |||
Unit Title | Organisms & Environments | Earth Systems | Force & Motion |
Time | 6 weeks | 3 weeks | 7 weeks |
Understandings | Cells are the basic building blocks of life. Depending on whether they are plant or animal cells, they contain specific organelles that perform specialized tasks to keep the organism healthy.
Inherited traits such as eye color or leaf shape are determined by instructions stored within a cell's nucleus.
Not every individual in a population is identical. These differences, known as variations, are the foundation for how species change over time to survive.
The diverse relationships among organisms and the environment's impact affect an ecosystem's sustainability, establishment, and health.
Succession describes the predictable process of change in an ecosystem's species composition over time, usually following a disturbance.
Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem. | Climate and weather are driven by the uneven heating of Earth's surface by the Sun. This energy creates a continuous exchange between the Sun, the hydrosphere, and the atmosphere.
Global winds follow predictable patterns caused by the Earth’s rotation and the distribution of heat from the equator to the poles. Tropical cyclones are powerful low-pressure systems that form over warm tropical waters.
| Unbalanced forces cause changes in the motion of objects, and those changes in motion can be predicted and described within systems using Newton’s Laws of Motion.
Force, mass, and acceleration interact to govern the movement of objects, both in simple calculations and complex real-world systems.
Acceleration increases if the net force increases, but decreases if the mass of the object increases.
Newton’s three laws do not act in isolation. In any complex system, all three laws are functioning simultaneously. |
TEKS | 8.13A, 8.13B, 8.13C, 8.12A, 8.12B, 8.12C | 8.10A, 8.10B, 8.10C
| 8.7A, 8.7B
|
Skills TEKS | 8.1A-H, 8.2A-D, 8.3A-C, 8.4A-C, 8.5A-G | ||
Spring Semester | |||
Unit Title | Matter & Energy | Astronomy | Human & Natural Impacts |
Time | 6 weeks | 8 weeks | 5 weeks |
Understandings | Matter is classified based on whether it is a "pure" substance or a combination of different substances.
Water possesses unique properties of cohesion, adhesion, and surface tension, which are essential for life.
Acids and bases are classified by their chemical behavior and their position on the pH scale relative to water.
Matter undergoes chemical reactions following the law of conservation of mass, evidenced by the arrangement of the atoms involved in the chemical reactions.
The Periodic Table is used to identify every element involved in a chemical reaction. | A star's life cycle is a process of formation and its path is determined primarily by their initial mass. Scientists use the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) Diagram to organize stars based on their luminosity (brightness) and surface temperature.
Galaxies are massive systems of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity and are classified by their distinct shapes.
Characteristics of stars within galaxies and the universe are classified and compared as evidence to develop scientific theories.
Define and compare the three primary measurements of a transverse wave to determine how much energy a wave carries and how it behaves.
Electromagnetic waves are used in daily life and specialized fields of study.
| Scientific evidence and an understanding of the carbon cycle are used to explain how natural events and human activities influence climate. |
TEKS | 8.6A, 8.6B, 8.6C, 8.6D, 8.6E
| 8.8A, 8.8B, 8.9A, 8.9B, 8.9C
| 8.11A, 8.11B, 8.11C |
Skills TEKS | 8.1A-H, 8.2A-D, 8.3A-C, 8.4A-C, 8.5A-G | ||