UK Year 8 National Curriculum - Science

This outlines the curriculum for Science in Year 8, based on the UK National Curriculum Key Stage 3. It covers Biology, Chemistry and Physics, emphasizing the development of scientific knowledge, inquiry skills, and understanding of the nature, processes, and methods of science.

Working Scientifically

Integrated throughout the science curriculum, these skills are developed through practical investigations and theoretical exploration:

• Scientific Attitudes: Objectivity, accuracy, precision, repeatability, reproducibility, understanding of scientific method development, peer review, and risk evaluation.
• Experimental Skills: Asking questions, developing lines of inquiry, making predictions, selecting and carrying out investigations, using apparatus and materials safely, making and recording observations, evaluating methods, and applying sampling techniques.
• Analysis and Evaluation: Applying mathematical concepts, calculating and presenting results, interpreting data, drawing conclusions, presenting explanations, evaluating data and potential errors, and identifying further questions.
• Measurement: Understanding and using SI units and IUPAC nomenclature, using and deriving equations, and performing calculations and basic data analysis.

Biology

• Structure and Function of Living Organisms:
• Cells and Organisation: Cell structure and function, including observing cells under a microscope, comparing plant and animal cells, and understanding the role of diffusion and the hierarchical organization of multicellular organisms.
• Skeletal and Muscular Systems: Structure and function of the human skeleton, biomechanics, and muscle function.
• Nutrition and Digestion: Components of a healthy diet, calculating energy requirements, consequences of dietary imbalances, and the human digestive system.
• Gas Exchange Systems: Structure and function of the human gas exchange system, mechanics of breathing, and the impact of exercise, asthma, and smoking. Also covers gas exchange in plants.
• Reproduction: Human and plant reproduction, including the menstrual cycle, fertilization, gestation, birth, flower structure, pollination, seed and fruit formation, and dispersal.
• Health: Effects of recreational drugs on behavior, health, and life processes.
• Material Cycles and Energy:
• Photosynthesis: Reactants and products of photosynthesis, its importance for life, and leaf adaptations.
• Cellular Respiration: Aerobic and anaerobic respiration, including fermentation, and comparing the two processes.
• Interactions and Interdependencies:
• Relationships in an Ecosystem: Interdependence of organisms, food webs, insect-pollinated crops, and the impact of organisms on their environment.
• Genetics and Evolution:
• Inheritance, Chromosomes, DNA and Genes: Heredity, DNA structure, variation within and between species, natural selection, extinction, and the importance of biodiversity.

Chemistry

• The Particulate Nature of Matter: Properties of solids, liquids, and gases, changes of state, and the particle model.
• Atoms, Elements and Compounds: Atomic model, differences between atoms, elements, and compounds, chemical symbols and formulae, and conservation of mass.
• Pure and Impure Substances: Pure substances, mixtures, dissolving, diffusion, separating mixtures, and identifying pure substances.
• Chemical Reactions: Rearrangement of atoms, representing reactions with formulae and equations, types of reactions (combustion, thermal decomposition, oxidation, displacement, neutralization), pH scale, indicators, and catalysts.
• Energetics: Energy changes during state changes and chemical reactions (exothermic and endothermic).
• The Periodic Table: Properties of elements, the Periodic Table, periods and groups, metals and non-metals, predicting reactions, and properties of oxides.
• Materials: Reactivity series of metals, obtaining metals from oxides, and properties of ceramics, polymers, and composites.
• Earth and Atmosphere: Earth's composition and structure, the rock cycle, Earth's resources and recycling, the carbon cycle, atmospheric composition, and the impact of human activity on climate.

Physics

• Energy:
• Calculation of Fuel Uses and Costs: Comparing energy values of foods, power ratings of appliances, energy transfer, and domestic fuel bills.
• Energy Changes and Transfers: Simple machines, heating and thermal equilibrium, insulators, and other energy transfer processes.
• Changes in Systems: Quantifying and calculating energy, and describing energy changes in systems.
• Motion and Forces:
• Describing Motion: Speed, distance, time, distance-time graphs, and relative motion.
• Forces: Forces as pushes and pulls, force arrows, balanced and unbalanced forces, moments, contact and non-contact forces, measuring forces, Hooke's Law, and work done.
• Pressure in Fluids: Atmospheric pressure, pressure in liquids, upthrust, floating, sinking, and calculating pressure.
• Balanced Forces: Opposing forces and equilibrium.
• Forces and Motion: Forces causing changes in motion.
• Waves:
• Observed Waves: Waves on water, reflection, and superposition.
• Sound Waves: Frequency, echoes, reflection, absorption, speed of sound, sound production and detection, and auditory range.
• Energy and Waves: Pressure waves and energy transfer.
• Light Waves: Comparing light waves to waves in matter, speed of light, transmission of light, ray model, reflection, refraction, lenses, the human eye, and colors.
• Electricity and Electromagnetism:
• Current Electricity: Electric current, circuits, potential difference, resistance, and conductors and insulators.
• Static Electricity: Charge separation, electron transfer, forces between charged objects, and electric fields.
• Magnetism: Magnetic poles, magnetic fields, Earth's magnetism, the magnetic effect of a current, and electromagnets.
• Matter:
• Physical Changes: Conservation of mass, reversibility, comparing solids, liquids, and gases, Brownian motion, diffusion, and chemical vs. physical changes.
• Particle Model: Particle arrangements and motion explaining changes of state, shape, and density.
• Energy in Matter: Changes in particle motion and spacing with temperature, and internal energy.
• Space Physics: Gravity, weight, gravitational field strength, gravity in space, stars and galaxies, seasons, Earth's tilt, day length, and the light year.