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Earth Layer Diagram Project by Shawn S. Period 4

Welcome to Mr. Presho's 
8th Grade Physical Science Web Site

What is Physical Science?

Physical Science is the study of the physical world around us. Matter is the stuff everything is made of. Matter floats and matter sinks. Matter gets hot and matter gets cold. Matter changes to become different matter. In the physical world, all of this usually occurs as a result of a change in the amount of energy in the matter, or the environment surrounding the matter.

What things will we learn in Physical Science?

 Measurement 
In order to do science, we must have a way to formally observe what we are studying. One way to do this is to measure. In order that we make accurate observations, and therefore have an accurate understanding of what we are studying, we need to be able to take accurate measurements. Measurements in science are done using metric units, so students will be gaining a sense of the metric system, and how to accurately measure using it.

Matter and Energy
The world is made of matter. Matter is affected by energy. We will be exploring the different types of energy and how they easily change from one type to another. We will be looking at matter; what it is, properties of matter and how that matter can change.

We will be studying how matter is affected by energy. We will look at what happens to matter when various amounts of energy are added or subtracted. We will explore how combining different matter affects the physical properties of that matter.

What sort of Projects will we be doing?

The study of Physical Science involves a lot of laboratory work. Many of the things we will be investigating will require that we go to the lab stations and gather data using lab equipment. This data will then be analyzed and the results of this analysis will help us understand aspects of the world around us.

Along with lab work, we will be doing some projects:

The Submarine Project

This project provides students an opportunity to explore using the concepts they have learned in the Buoyancy unit. They will be asked to create a working submarine at home that is designed to float, sink, and then refloat. The more imagination they use in the design, and the more stable and functional the submarine is, the more successful they will be.

The Elements Project

In order to better understand the nature of matter,

The Scientific Investigation Project

In this project, each student is asked to design, run, and report on a scientific investigation using the Scientific Method. The problem to be solved by this investigation is determined by the student. It must be a problem that can be solved using analysis of measured data. Some problems that have been chosen in the past include: 
“What material will keep an ice cube from melting the longest?”  
“How much of an apple is made of water?”
“Is a human taller in the morning or at night?”
“What creates a stronger acid; an old car, a new car, or human breath?” 
The report, written using a word processer, will include the following components:

  • Title-This will be the question or problem
  • Purpose-What are you trying to find out?
  • Hypothesis-This will be a possible solution or answer based on current knowledge.
  • Materials-This is a complete list of what will be needed to run the investigation.
  • Procedures-This is a detailed list of what will be done to complete the investigation.
  • Data Table-This will hold all quantitative and qualitative data collected during the investigation.
  • Observations-This will include anything noticed during the investigation.
  • Analysis-The data will be quantified and graphed. Percentages, averages and trends will be discussed.
  • Conclusion-This is a summary of what happened. It will include an answer to the question or solution to the problem based on the findings of the data analysis.