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.
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