Grade 8 Physical Science Assignments

Practice Final.  Here is a practice final with an answer key. We will continue reviewing in class. See me with any questions.

19. Build a Machine. The last STEM project of the year is to build a machine that incorporates hydraulics and simple machines. Attached find a feedback rubric.

20.Energy Transformations, Inventions, and Sources. This independent learning assignment will count as QUIZ10, our last written assignment of the year.

18.CW05 Energy  This is the beginning of a series of assignments related to energy. Look here for updates.

17.LAB10 Simple Machines. This is a hands-on exploration of the six simple machines.

16.HW12 Bill Nye #10 Simple Machines. We are starting our last unit of the year, "Work, Machines, and Energy." We will building on knowledge students already have on these topics. This video assignment is a review of simple machines.

Brooklyn Bridge story. This is the read-aloud we will complete in class. Information from this story will be on an upcoming open-notes quiz. When reading, focus on

15.LAB09 Building Under Water. In reading about the Brooklyn Bridge, which was built in the mid-1800s, the problem comes up of how to dig underwater. This lab explores ideas related to this building challenge.

14.Manhattan Bridges HW11. This is the first assignment for term 4. We will be studying the building of an iconic structure, the Brooklyn Bridge. Attached find an interactive introduction to bridges around Manhattan, which also serves to review bridge designs. Students are to complete the introduction individually or with one friend (not groups), then share it with me. UPDATE: I understand that you should be able to copy this document before working on it, to ensure privacy. Let me know if you have any problems.

 

13.QUIZ08. This will be a quiz on bridge designs and materials. A practice quiz will be uploaded shortly. UPDATE: Attached find the practice quiz. UPDATE: Attached find an answer key for the practice quiz.

12.LAB08 Build a Bridge. Student teams are building model bridges that incorporate elements of four classic bridge designs-- truss, arch, suspension, and cable stay. This project applies ideas from both chemistry and physics.

11.HW10 Bridge Designs and Materials. This packet will start students thinking about how bridge strength derives not only from the properties of materials used to make it, but also from the type of structure made with the materials. Other considerations when making bridges include cost and time. We will be making model bridges using four different designs-- arch, suspension, cable stay, and truss. UPDATE: It has come to my attention that some students are having trouble accessing the game on the site http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bridge/. Attached find a "New" document that directs you to a different site. In this new document I also provide clues for questions 1-11 on the packet-- about cost, span, and support for loads.

9.CW03 Paper Bridges vocabulary and diagram. We are starting a new unit on structural design that follows naturally from our two previous units, physics and chemistry,  because all structures are made out of materials (chemistry) and deal with different forces (physics). We begin with a paper bridge challenge.

10.Corrugated Cardboard as a Truss Structure. Students are to view a video, and to do more research as needed, to develop a list of eight selling features for this structural material.

8.QUIZ07 Written assessment. This assignment uses biography to to inform, to inspire, and to explore what enables people to be happy and successful. Students will read a short biography of Isaac Newton, rate the scientist on several scales, then defend their top rating in a well-written paragraph. The rating scales are based on the book How Children Succeed Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough (2012).

6.#3 Newton's Law of Motion. We will have class time for demonstrations, C1. For homework, students are to complete C2.

6.#2 Newton's Law of Motion. We will have class time for sample problems, B1. For homework, students are to choose ONE more assignment, either B2 or B3.

6.#1 Newton's Law of Motion. We will have class time for a simulated lab, A1. For homework, students are to choose ONE more assignment, either A2, A3, or A4.

QUIZ06 Physics. A practice quiz will be posted shortly. UPDATE: Attached find a practice quiz with study guide. UPDATE: The quiz will now be taken on Wednesday, February 21, the day after we return from winter break. Attached find an answer key to the practice quiz to help with study. 

LAB06 Friction. For this lab, students will investigate types of friction, changes in frictional forces, and friction around us.

HW09 The World in 50 Years E3 Global Community. This video incorporates many ideas about chemistry (materials) and physics (motion and energy) that complement what we are learning in class. Students are to complete the attached crossword that summarizes the video.

LAB05 Speed Relay. Groups work together for this lab, but each person will have different tasks and be graded individually.

STREAMS11 Fair Presentation Boards and Talk. Students will prepare a trifold presentation board for the fair on January 30. They will also prepare to be interviewed by judges at the fair. Attached find guidelines. This grade will count for term 3.

CW/HW08 Friction and Gravity. As we continue our unit on physics, students will be learning about a natural pulling force (gravity) as well as a force that interferes with movement (friction, including air resistance), and how the two forces relate to each other. Students have a packet to work on, either independently or with a buddy, that we will review and augment with demonstrations in class. UPDATE: This assignment will count for term 3.

MIDTERM Our midterm for science will be Thursday, January 18. Attached find a practice midterm, along with an answer key. I will be available for extra help during recess/lunch on Tuesday (Jan 16), as well as after school on Wednesday (Jan 17).

STREAMS05 log book Students have been keeping logbooks on their fair projects-- ideas, problems/solutions, research, etc. Each entry is about a page in length, and includes both text and a visual (diagram, downloaded photo, data table, etc). Each group should make a weekly entry in the log book. By now, students should have at least 3-4 entries in the log book. Starting this week, be prepared for me to check the log book when we conference. Altogether, by this date there should be ten or more entries in the log book.

STREAMS09 Results and Conclusion. This part of the STREAMS report includes data collected and translated into a graph. 

 

For science investigations, the conclusion reviews whether or not the data support the hypothesis. It also analyzes errors that might have occurred, further experiments that might be done, and a connection back to the real world.

 

For engineering challenges, the conclusion reviews whether or not the design met the criteria for success. It also suggests improvements for the future, and expands on how this design might be used in the real world.

 

UPDATE: Attached find the feedback form I will use to grade these assignments.

STREAMS10 Complete report. Students will compile their work into one report, and add a title page, table of contents, and acknowledgements. They will also draft an abstract, which is a summary (250 words or less) of the whole project. The abstract is useful to people who will visit or judge the project.

 

UPDATE: Attached find the feedback form I will use to grade this assignment.

QUIZ05 Physics. Attached find the practice quiz.We have rescheduled this quiz to allow for extra review time in class. Students will take the quiz on Monday, 18 December. UPDATE: Attached find an answer key for the practice quiz.

CLASSWORK We are starting our new unit on physics by completing activities related to measurement and speed.

1. speed equations

2. graphing speed stories

CLASSWORK We will solve speed equations. Students will calculate the missing variable-- whether it be speed, distance, or time.

LAB04 Periodic Motion: Pendulums. The lab is attached below: I will provide a printed copy for students to complete by hand. In addition, students will send me a digital graph. Attached also find the feedback form I will use to grade this lab.

HW07 Bill Nye Measurement    This is a light-hearted review of measurement-- what we measure, why we measure, and how we measure.

HW07 Bill Nye 97 Measurement. We will check this assignment in class.

STREAMS07 Introduction to the STREAMS Fair report.

 

For science projects, this will be a full paragraph (8-12 sentences in MLA format) that explains the question that the investigation will explore. It should include a connection to the real world, and how this topic fits in. It should end with a hypothesis, an independent variable, a dependent variable, and controls that will make the experiment fair. 

 

For engineering projects. this will be a full paragraph (8-12 sentences in MLA format) that explains a problem, want, or need that the design will address. It should include a connection to the real world, and how this item fits in. It should end with an engineering goal, criteria (how success will be measured), and constraints (considerations that limit or restrict the design).

 

QUIZ04 This will be the last quiz for our unit on chemistry. Attached find the practice quiz, which will will review in class.

HW06 Marie Curie summary and reflection. 

STREAMS08 Materials and Procedure. Students should prepare this part of their report (MLA format). It may change in the next few weeks, but there should be enough here for me to feel confident that students know how they will proceed. This month (November) and into early December is when students must be doing their projects in order to have results and conclusions written up by Christmas break. 

STREAMS06 Background Research. Students are to find three or more expert sources for their topic. These sources could be online sites, books, encyclopedias, or people. Students will then write up what they learn from these sources in the form of an annotated bibliography (MLA style). Attached find an example. UPDATE: This assignment was moved from term 1 to term 2. Students who have completed it for their approved project do not have to do it over again, but students who changed their project will have to do it.

QUIZ03 This is our third and final quiz for term 2. This will be an "open book" quiz in that students will be able to use their binders and the Glencoe textbook during the quiz. We will also find time to preview a practice quiz that includes a study guide. NOTE: There will not be time for students to retake this quiz to improve grades. UPDATE: Attached find a practice quiz, and an answer key. UPDATE: This is an open notes quiz. Students will also have access to the textbook, but not to computers.

LAB03 Periodic Table Part 2. This assignment has three parts. The first part is reading for information in our Glencoe text. The second part is using an online simulation to explore the structure of atoms. The third part is building a "mini" periodic table for the first 18 elements. UPDATE: A useful site for completing part 3 is www.chemicalelements.com 

LAB02 Separation of Mixtures. Students will conceive their own procedures to use physical processes in the separation of a mixture of salt, sand, iron filings, and metal nuts.

QUIZ02. This is our second quiz of the quarter. We will go through a practice quiz the day before. Update: Attached find a copy of the practice quiz, which includes a study guide, as well as an answer key for the practice quiz. I strongly advise students to try to finish the quiz independently before looking at the answers. We will go over any additional concerns on Monday, as we now plan to take the quiz on Tuesday (October 17). 

CW02 States of Matter. This assignment has four parts. We will work on parts 1, 3, and 4 mostly in class. Part 2 will be homework.

STREAMS05 Project Approval due, signed by both teacher and parent. We may make changes after this, but we need to settle in by this time with a workable project idea. The complete STREAMS Fair packet is attached here. Look inside for the permission form.

LAB01 Density. Density is a basic property of all matter. For this lab, students will be working with eggs, water, and salt. They will be calculating the density of an egg, the density of fresh water (in which the egg sinks), the density of salt water (in which the egg floats), and the density of brackish water (in which the egg remains suspended). Students will use group data to write lab reports and also to create a graph with a formula for average.

QUIZ01-A This is an opportunity for students who scored below 80% on our first quiz to come in for a review and then to take an equivalent quiz. Their final grade for the quiz will be an average of the two grades, up to 80%. Review will be available this Wednesday after school, and the quiz will be available for retake either Thursday during recess or after school.

HW05 Density "Quick Research." Density can also be explored in terms of how it plays out in the real world. Here, students work alone, in pairs, or threesomes to explore six natural and designed situations that involve density. We will share findings in class.

HW04 Density math. In chemistry, we are considering properties of matter. Here, students practice calculating density, mass, or volume, using the formula d= m/v. Students are to make every attempt to set up and solve these sample problems before class. We will self-check and discuss in class.

STREAMS04 Logbook #1. When we conference about possible STREAMS Fair topics, students are to show me their first logbook entry, entitled "Brainstorming." It is to be the equivalent of a paragraph in length, and include a visual (table, photo, diagram, etc). I expect one logbook per group.

QUIZ01 Chemistry. This is our first quiz. We will review concepts and skills on Wednesday, then have the quiz on Friday.

HW02 Chemical Equations. Students are learning the language of chemistry by identifying parts of chemical equations.

HW03 Periodic Table Part 1. Students are becoming familiar with what the table shows and how it is organized. 

STREAMS03 Accidental Inventions and Spinoffs. As we get ready to start working on our STREAMS Fair, I would like students to consider how one invention can turn into another.

STREAMS02 Biomimicry as a Model for Sustainability     The purpose of this assignment is to move students beyond an appreciation of nature as inspiration for design. Nature's solutions may also show us how to better engineer a sustainable world, in which there is a lasting balance among natural resources. Perhaps some students will consider a biomimicry theme for their STREAMS Fair project.

HW01 Is it Matter? Students are to complete this assignment in their marble composition books. 

Forms to sign (not graded). Please sign and turn in two documents.

 

1. The Lab Safety Contract (attached).

 

2. The letter home (attached)

STREAMS01 (due 6 September Wednesday) This assignment is preliminary to finding projects to pursue for our STREAMS fair. Each student is to write about one "next generation" leader who has been identified by Time Magazine, using the MLA format, and sending me their finished work by e-mail. Students should also be prepared to present their "leader" to the rest of the class.