COLEGIO DECROLY AMERICANO Middle School SCIENCE CORE

Transcription

1 COLEGIO DECROLY AMERICANO Middle School 8 th GRADE SCIENCE CORE I PERIOD Identify the skills and attitudes that scientist use to learn about the world. Explain what scientific inquiry involves. Differentiate between a scientific theory and scientific law. Explain the big ideas, or main concepts, of Earth science. Identify the branches of Earth Science. Explain what a model is in science and why models are important in Earth Science. Describe the goal of technology. Explain how technology differs from science. Describe how technology affects society. Explain why preparation is important when carrying out scientific investigations in the lab and in the field. Describe what you should do if an accident occurs in the lab. Explain what the topography of an area includes. Identify the main types of landforms. Explain how maps and globes represent Earth s surface. Identify latitude and longitude as reference lines that help locate points on Earth. Identify three common map projections. Explain how computer mapping differs from earlier methods of making maps. Describe the types of data that are used for making computer maps. Explain how elevation, relief, and slope are shown on topographic maps. Explain how a topographic map is read. Describe some uses of topographic maps. Define a mineral. Explain how minerals are identified. Explain how minerals form from magma and lava. Explain how minerals form from water solutions. List the characteristics used to identify rocks. Identify and describe the three major groups of rocks. Identify the characteristics used to identify an igneous rock. Describe ways in which igneous rocks are used. Describe how sedimentary rocks form.

2 List and describe the major types of sedimentary rocks. Explain how sedimentary rocks are used. Describe the formation of coral reefs. Describe the conditions under which metamorphic rocks from. Identify the ways in which geologist classify metamorphic rocks. Explain how metamorphic rocks are used. Describe the rock cycle. Explain how geologist learns about Earth s inner structures. Identify the characteristics of Earth s crust, mantle, and core. Explain how heat is transferred. Identify what causes convection currents. Describe convection currents in Earth s mantle. Explain Alfred Wegener s hypothesis about the continents. List the evidence used by Wegener to support his hypothesis. Explain why other scientist of Wegener s time rejected his hypothesis. List the evidence for sea-floor spreading. Explain the process of sea-floor spreading. Describe the processes of subduction.

3 II PERIOD Explain the theory of plate tectonics. Describe the three types of plate boundaries. Explain how stress in the crust changes Earth s surface. Describe where faults are usually found and why they form. Identify the land features that result from plate movement. Describe how the energy of an earthquake travels through Earth. Identify the scales used to measure the strength of an earthquake. Explain how scientists locate the epicenter of an earthquake. Explain how seismographs work. Describe how geologist monitor faults. Explain how seismographic data are used. Explain how geologists determine earthquake risk. Identify the kings of damage an earthquake can cause. Provide suggestions to increase earthquake safety and reduce earthquake damage. Identify where Earth s volcanic regions are located and explain why they are found in these areas. Explain how hot spot volcanoes form. Identify some physical and chemical properties of matter. Explain why some fluids flow more easily than others. Explain what factors determine the viscosity of magma. Explain what happens when a volcano erupts. Describe the two types of volcanic eruptions. Identify volcano s stages of activity. List the landforms that lava and ash create. Explain how the magma that hardens beneath Earth s surface creates landforms. Identify other distinct features that occur in volcanic areas. Explain how weathering and erosion affect Earth s surface. Identify what causes mechanical weathering and chemical weathering. Describe the factors that determine how fast weathering occurs. Describe the composition of soil and explain how it forms. Explain how scientist classifies soils. Identify the roles of plants and animals. Explain why soil is a valuable resource. List ways that soil can lose its value. Identify ways that soil can be conserved. Describe the processes that wear down and build up Earth s surface. Identify the causes of the different types of mass movement. Explain how water erosion is mainly responsible for shaping the surface

4 of the land. Describe some of the land features that are formed by water erosion and deposition. Describe the causes of groundwater erosion. Describe how water is able to do work. Explain how sediment enters rives and streams. List the factors that affect a river s ability to erode and carry sediment. Identify the two types of glaciers. Describe how glaciers forms and moves. Explain how glaciers cause erosion and deposition. Identify what gives ocean waves their energy. Describe how ocean waves erode a coast. Identify features that result from deposition by waves. Explain how wind causes erosion. Identify features resulting from deposition by wind.

5 III PERIOD Explain how fossils form. Identify the different kinds of fossils. Describe what fossils tell about organisms and environment of the past. State the law of superposition. Describe how geologist determines the relative age of rocks. Explain how index fossils are useful to geologist. Explain what happens during radioactive decay. Describe what can be learned from radioactive dating. Explain why the geologist time scale is used to show Earth s history. Describe the different units of the geologic time scale. State when earth was formed. Explain how Earth s physical features developed during Precambrian Time. Describe what early Precambrian organism ware like. Describe the major events in the Paleozoic Era. Describe the major events in the Mesozoic Era. Describe the major events in the Cenozoic Era. Explain how fuels provide energy. Name the three major fossils fuels. Explain why fossils fuels are considered nonrenewable resources. Describe the forms of energy provided by the sun. Identify and describe various renewable sources of energy. Describe what happens during a nuclear fission reaction. Explain how nuclear power plant produces electricity. Describe what takes place in a nuclear fusion reaction. Name ways to ensure that there will be enough energy in the future. Explain how Earth s water moves through the water cycle. Describe how Earth s water is distributed. Tell what a river system is. Describe the characteristics of ponds and lakes. Describe how water moves through underground layers of soil and rock. Identify ways that people use water. Describe some ways to conserve available fresh water. Identify factors that affect water quality. Explain how waves form

6 Describe how waves change near the shore Explain what causes tides Explain what affects the height if tides. Describe the salinity of ocean water. Explain how the temperature and gas content of ocean water varies. Identify what causes surface currents and explain how surface currents affects climate. Describe how upwelling affects the distribution of nutrients in the ocean. Describe the composition of Earth s atmosphere. Identify some properties of air. Name instruments that are used to measure air pressure. Identify the four main layers of the atmosphere. Identify what causes smog and acid rain. Identify the major sources of air pollution. State in what form energy travels from the sun to Earth. Describe how temperature is measured. Identify three ways in which heat is transferred. Distinguish between local winds and global winds. Describe humidity and how it is measured. Explain how clouds form Name the three types of clouds. Describe how precipitation is measured.

7 IV PERIOD Demonstrate how Earth moves in space. Explain the causes of the cycle of seasons on Earth. Identify what determines the strength of the force of gravity between two objects. Describe two factors that keep the moon and Earth in orbit. Explain what causes the phases of the moon. Describe features found on the moon s surface. Identify some characteristics for the moon. Demonstrate how a rocket works. Identify the geocentric and heliocentric systems. Name the three layers of the sun s interior. Identify the three layers of the sun s atmosphere. Describe features that form on or above the sun s surface. Describe the characteristics that the inner planets have in common. Identify the main characteristics that distinguish each on the inner planets. Describe characteristics that the gas giants have in common. Describe the characteristics of comets. Identify where most asteroids are found. Explain what meteoroids are and how they form. Recognize why scientist think Mars and Europe are good places to look for signs of life. State the regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Explain what telescopes are and how they work. Identify where most large telescopes are located. Explain how stars are classified. Describe how astronomers measure distances to the stars. Describe the H-R diagram, and explain how astronomers use it. Explain how a star forms. Identify what determines how long a star will live. Describe what happens to a star when it runs out of fuel. Identify the major types of galaxies. Explain how astronomers describe the scale of the universe. State the big bang theory.