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Skills available for South Carolina eighth-grade science standards

Standards are in black and IXL science skills are in dark green. Hold your mouse over the name of a skill to view a sample question. Click on the name of a skill to practice that skill.

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P.2 Physical Science: Forces and Motion

  • 8.P.2 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the effects of forces on the motion and stability of an object.

    • 8.P.2A Motion occurs when there is a change in position of an object with respect to a reference point. The final position of an object is determined by measuring the change in position and direction of the segments along a trip. While the speed of the object may vary during the total time it is moving, the average speed is the result of the total distance divided by the total time taken. Forces acting on an object can be balanced or unbalanced. Varying the amount of force or mass will affect the motion of an object. Inertia is the tendency of objects to resist any change in motion.

P.3 Physical Science: Waves

  • 8.P.3 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the properties and behaviors of waves.

    • 8.P.3A Waves (including sound and seismic waves, waves on water, and light waves) have energy and transfer energy when they interact with matter. Waves are a repeating pattern of motion that transfers energy from place to place without overall displacement of matter. All types of waves have some features in common. When waves interact, they superimpose upon or interfere with each other resulting in changes to the amplitude. Major modern technologies are based on waves and their interactions with matter.

      • 8.P.3A.1 Construct explanations of the relationship between matter and energy based on the characteristics of mechanical and light waves.

      • 8.P.3A.2 Develop and use models to exemplify the basic properties of waves (including frequency, amplitude, wavelength, and speed).

      • 8.P.3A.3 Analyze and interpret data to describe the behavior of waves (including refraction, reflection, transmission, and absorption) as they interact with various materials.

      • 8.P.3A.4 Analyze and interpret data to describe the behavior of mechanical waves as they intersect.

      • 8.P.3A.5 Construct explanations for how humans see color as a result of the transmission, absorption, and reflection of light waves by various materials.

      • 8.P.3A.6 Obtain and communicate information about how various instruments are used to extend human senses by transmitting and detecting waves (such as radio, television, cell phones, and wireless computer networks) to exemplify how technological advancements and designs meet human needs.

E.4 Earth Science: Earth's Place in the Universe

  • 8.E.4 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the universe and the predictable patterns caused by Earth's movement in the solar system.

    • 8.E.4A Earth's solar system is part of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is one of many galaxies in the universe. The planet Earth is a tiny part of a vast universe that has developed over a span of time beginning with a period of extreme and rapid expansion.

      • 8.E.4A.1 Obtain and communicate information to model the position of the Sun in the universe, the shapes and composition of galaxies, and the measurement unit needed to identify star and galaxy locations.

      • 8.E.4A.2 Construct and analyze scientific arguments to support claims that the universe began with a period of extreme and rapid expansion using evidence from the composition of stars and gases and the motion of galaxies in the universe.

    • 8.E.4B Earth's solar system consists of the Sun and other objects that are held in orbit around the Sun by its gravitational pull on them. Motions within the Earth-Moon-Sun system have effects that can be observed on Earth.

E.5 Earth Science: Earth Systems and Resources

  • 8.E.5 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the processes that alter the structure of Earth and provide resources for life on the planet.

    • 8.E.5A All Earth processes are the result of energy flowing and matter cycling within and among Earth's systems. Because Earth's processes are dynamic and interactive in nature, the surface of Earth is constantly changing. Earth's hot interior is a main source of energy that drives the cycling and moving of materials. Plate tectonics is the unifying theory that explains the past and current crustal movements at the Earth's surface. This theory provides a framework for understanding geological history.

    • 8.E.5B Natural processes can cause sudden or gradual changes to Earth's systems. Some may adversely affect humans such as volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. Mapping the history of natural hazards in a region, combined with an understanding of related geological forces can help forecast the locations and likelihoods of future events.

      • 8.E.5B.1 Analyze and interpret data to describe patterns in the location of volcanoes and earthquakes related to tectonic plate boundaries, interactions, and hot spots.

      • 8.E.5B.2 Construct explanations of how forces inside Earth result in earthquakes and volcanoes.

      • 8.E.5B.3 Define problems that may be caused by a catastrophic event resulting from plate movements and design possible devices or solutions to minimize the effects of that event on Earth's surface and/or human structures.

    • 8.E.5C Humans depend upon many Earth resources–some renewable over human lifetimes and some nonrenewable or irreplaceable. Resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geological processes.

      • 8.E.5C.1 Obtain and communicate information regarding the physical and chemical properties of minerals, ores, and fossil fuels to describe their importance as Earth resources.

E.6 Earth Science: Earth's History and Diversity of Life

  • 8.E.6 The student will demonstrate an understanding of Earth's geologic history and its diversity of life over time.

    • 8.E.6A The geologic time scale interpreted from rock strata provides a way to organize major historical events in Earth's history. Analysis of rock strata and the fossil record, which documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms throughout history, provide only relative dates, not an absolute scale. Changes in life forms are shaped by Earth's varying geological conditions.

      • 8.E.6A.1 Develop and use models to organize Earth's history (including era, period, and epoch) according to the geologic time scale using evidence from rock layers.

      • 8.E.6A.2 Analyze and interpret data from index fossil records and the ordering of rock layers to infer the relative age of rocks and fossils.

      • 8.E.6A.3 Construct explanations from evidence for how catastrophic events (including volcanic activities, earthquakes, climatic changes, and the impact of an asteroid/comet) may have affected the conditions on Earth and the diversity of its life forms.

      • 8.E.6A.4 Construct and analyze scientific arguments to support claims that different types of fossils provide evidence of

        • 8.E.6A.4.1 the diversity of life that has been present on Earth,

        • 8.E.6A.4.2 relationships between past and existing life forms, and

        • 8.E.6A.4.3 environmental changes that have occurred during Earth's history.

      • 8.E.6A.5 Construct explanations for why most individual organisms, as well as some entire taxonomic groups of organisms, that lived in the past were never fossilized.

    • 8.E.6B Adaptation by natural selection acting over generations is one important process by which species change in response to changes in environmental conditions. The resources of biological communities can be used within sustainable limits, but if the ecosystem becomes unbalanced in ways that prevent the sustainable use of resources, then ecosystem degradation and species extinction can occur.