Science department information for parents- Yr 8

Pupils will be taught the following topics as below:

Term 1

Variables
Plotting graphs
Heating and cooling-
What’s the temperature?
Warming up and cooling down
Temperature and heat energy
What are conductors and insulators?
Expanding and contracting
Convection
Radiation and energy escape
Explaining changes in matter

Magnets and electromagnets
What can a magnet do?
Magnetic fields and compasses
The earth’s magnetic field
How electricity can make a magnet? 

     • First assessment


Term 2 

Sound-
How are different sounds made?
How does sound travel through solids, liquids and gases?
How do we hear?
Can sound be dangerous?

Atoms and elements-
How many different materials are there?
What are elements made from?
What are elements like?
How do we get other materials?
How can we record the changes when atoms join?

Compounds and mixtures-
All about elements and compounds
How do compounds differ from the elements in them?
Do compounds react chemically?
Compounds and mixtures

Completion of one full investigation 

     • Second assessment


Term 3 
Rocks and weathering-
What are rocks made from?
Rain and weathering
Temperature and weathering
Transport and erosion
What happens when transportation stops?
How do sediments form layers?

The rock cycle-
Making sedimentary rocks
Are all limestones the same?
Metamorphic rocks
Igneous rocks
The rock cycle 

     • Third assessment


Term 4
Food and digestion-
What is in food?
Why is food important?
A balanced diet
What happens to food inside the digestive system?
What do digestive enzymes do?
Where are the products of digestion used?

Respiration-
What happens to food molecules after digestion?
How does oxygen get into the blood?
How does oxygen and glucose reach the cells?
How does the heart pump blood around the body?
Do other living things respire?

Microbes and diseases-
What are micro organisms?
How can we use microbes?
Can microbes be harmful?
Stopping the spread of disease
Natural defences
Antibiotics Immunity and immunisation 
     • Fourth assessment


Term 5 

Ecological relationships-
How are green plants classified?
Communities
Populations Interdependency

Light-
How does light travel?
Materials and light
How do we see?
Reflection Refraction
Colour 

     • Fifth assessment


Term 6

Investigation 2

Revision of year 7 topics 

     • Sixth assessment

End of term