The Science Department
| Units Studied in Year 8 | ||
Here is a summary of the units studied in Year 8 with a link to the Department for Education and Skills web site for further details. |
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Jump to: | Unit 8A: Food and digestion | Unit 8B: Respiration | Unit 8D: Ecological relationships | Unit 9C: Plants and photosynthesis | Unit 9D: Plants for food | Unit 7H: Solutions | Unit 8F: Compounds and mixtures | Unit 8G: Rocks and weathering | Unit 8H: The rock cycle | Unit 7K: Forces and their effects | Unit 8I: Heating and cooling | Unit 8J: Magnets and electromagnets | Unit 8K: Light | |
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In this unit pupils learn about different foods and how they can be combined to produce a balanced diet. They learn how food is broken down by digestion so it can be used by the body for energy, growth and repair. - Top |
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In this unit pupils learn how cells are supplied with the materials they need for respiration, how cells in animals and plants release energy and that the process of respiration is similar in all cells. - Top |
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| In this unit pupils study a habitat in detail and learn how organisms can be identified and sizes of populations compared. How feeding relationships can be modelled quantitatively and living things within a community influence each other and are affected by the environment. - Top | ||
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| In this unit pupils learn about photosynthesis as the key process producing new plant biomass, that the carbon dioxide for photosynthesis comes from the air and that the water is absorbed through the roots. They learn that chlorophyll enables a plant to utilise light in photosynthesis, about the role of the leaf in photosynthesis and about the importance of photosynthesis to humans and other animals. - Top | ||
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| In this unit pupils learn about humans as part of a complex food web. They learn about factors affecting plant growth, about how management of food production has many implications for other animal and plant populations in the environment. They also consider some of the issues involved in sustainable development of the countryside. - Top | ||
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| In this unit pupils extend their knowledge of dissolving and the separation of the components of a solution and relate this to particle theory. They begin to distinguish between a 'pure' substance and a mixture and apply the particle model of solids, liquids and gases in a range of contexts. - Top | ||
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| In this unit pupils distinguish between elements and compounds and how they are represented by symbols and formulae. They recognise chemical change as a process in which atoms join together in new ways, distinguish between compounds and mixtures and distinguish between chemical reactions in which new compounds are formed and the formation of mixtures.- Top | ||
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| In this unit pupils learn about rock texture as one of the key characteristics of different rock types. They model rock texture, learn about the processes of weathering, erosion, transportation and sedimentation. They relate processes, eg evaporation and dissolving, involved in rock formation to processes observed in other contexts and consider processes operating on different timescales. - Top | ||
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| In this unit pupils learn about the major rock-forming processes, how rock-forming processes are linked by the rock cycle and use the concept of rock texture as one of the key characteristics of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. They relate processes observed in other contexts, eg crystallisation, to processes involved in the rock cycle and consider processes operating on different timescales. - Top | ||
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| In this unit pupils consolidate and build on their concept of force and its measurement, identify the origin of friction, air resistance, upthrust and weight and describe situations in which these forces act and distinguish between mass and weight. They use the concept of speed, relate forces acting to changes in motion and identify situations in which forces are balanced and unbalanced. - Top | ||
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| In this unit pupils recognise the need for a temperature scale and learn to distinguish between heat (as energy) and temperature. They learn about mechanisms of heat transfer: conduction, convection and radiation, and apply this to familiar contexts. They also learn about expansion and change of state in solids, liquids and gases and use the particle model to explain conduction, convection and change of state. - Top | ||
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| In this unit pupils identify magnetic materials, make a magnet and test the strength of a magnet. They use the concepts of a magnetic field, a permanent magnet and an electromagnet, investigate factors affecting the strength of an electromagnet and explain the working of a number of devices that use magnets and electromagnets. - Top | ||
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| In this unit pupils build on their knowledge of light and its effects and learn how we see objects. They represent light as a ray and use this concept to explain reflection and refraction. They also find out about the origin of coloured light and the appearance of coloured objects. - Top | ||