8/8/11

UNIT 1: STATIC FORCES/BRIDGES

CINQ5 Use appropriate tools and techniques to make observations and gather data.

CINQ6 Use mathematical operations to analyze and interpret data.

C. 23 Describe the qualitative relationships among force, mass

C. 30 Explain how beam, truss and suspension bridges are designed to withstand the forces that act on them

ST: STRONG BRIDGES

Q1 Assessment

UNIT 2 MOTION

C 22. Calculate the average speed of a moving object and illustrate the motion of objects in graphs of distance over time.

C 23. Describe the qualitative relationships among force, mass and changes in motion.

C 24. Describe the forces acting on an object moving in a circular path

ST: REQUIRED EMBEDDED CMT TASK: SHIPPING/SLIDING

UNIT 3 PLANETARY MOTION/PHASES/SEASONS/ECLIPSES

C 28. Explain the effect of gravity on the orbital movement of planets in the solar system.

C 29. Explain how the regular motion and relative position of the sun, Earth and moon affect the seasons, phases of the moon and eclipses.

Q 2 Assessment

UNIT 4 LANDFORMS & CONSTRUCTIVE/DESTRUCTIVE EARTH FORCES

C 18. Describe how folded and faulted rock layers provide evidence of the gradual up and down motion of the Earth’s crust.

C 19. Explain how glaciation, weathering and erosion create and shape valleys and floodplains.

UNIT 5 TECTONIC PLATES

C 20. Explain how the boundaries of tectonic plates can be inferred from the location of earthquakes and volcanoes.

CMT TEST 1st Week of March

Q3 Assessment

UNIT 6 ROCK CYCLE

D.21 Explain how internal energy of the Earth causes matter to cycle through the magma and the solid earth.

UNIT 7 NATURAL DISASTERS

8.f.3 National Standard

Grades 6-8 Core Scientific Inquiry, Literacy and Numeracy
How is scientific knowledge created and communicated?
Content Standards / Expected Performances
SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
Scientific inquiry is a thoughtful and coordinated attempt to search out, describe, explain and predict natural phenomena.
Scientific inquiry progresses through a continuous process of questioning, data collection, analysis and interpretation.
Scientific inquiry requires the sharing of findings and ideas for critical review by colleagues and other scientists.
SCIENTIFIC LITERACY
Scientific literacy includes speaking, listening, presenting, interpreting, reading and writing about science.
Scientific literacy also includes the ability to search for and assess the relevance and credibility of scientific information found in various print and electronic media.
SCIENTIFIC NUMERACY
Scientific numeracy includes the ability to use mathematical operations and procedures to calculate, analyze and present scientific data and ideas. / C INQ.1Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigation.
C INQ.2Read, interpret and examine the credibility of scientific claims in different sources of information.
C INQ.3Design and conduct appropriate types of scientific investigations to answer different questions.
C INQ.4Identify independent and dependent variables, and those variables that are kept constant, when designing an experiment.
C INQ.5Use appropriate tools and techniques to make observations and gather data.
C INQ.6Use mathematical operations to analyze and interpret data.
C INQ.7Identify and present relationships between variables in appropriate graphs.
C INQ.8Draw conclusions and identify sources of error.
C INQ.9Provide explanations to investigated problems or questions.
C INQ.10Communicate about science in different formats, using relevant science vocabulary, supporting evidence and clear logic.
Grade 8 Core Themes, Content Standards and Expected Performances
Content Standards / Expected Performances
Science and Technology in Society – How do science and technology affect the quality of our lives? (PHYS)
8.4 - In the design of structures there is a need to consider factors such as function, materials, safety, cost and appearance.
Bridges can be designed in different ways to withstand certain loads and potentially destructive forces. / C. 30 Explain how beam, truss and suspension bridges are designed to withstand the forces that act on them.
DISTRICT EMBEDDED TASK: STRONG BRIDGES
Forces and Motion – What makes objects move the way they do? (PHYS)
8.1 - An object’s inertia causes it to continue moving the way it is moving unless it is acted upon by a force to change its motion.
The motion of an object can be described by its position, direction of motion and speed.
An unbalanced force acting on an object changes its speed and/or direction of motion.
Objects moving in circles must experience force acting toward the center. / C 22. Calculate the average speed of a moving object and illustrate the motion of objects in graphs of distance over time.
C 23. Describe the qualitative relationships among force, mass and changes in motion.
C 24. Describe the forces acting on an object moving in a circular path.
REQUIRED EMBEDDED CMT TASK: SHIPPING/SLIDING
Earth in the Solar System – How does the position of Earth in the solar system affect conditions on our planet? (PHYS)
8.3 - The solar system is composed of planets and other objects that orbit the sun.
Gravity is the force that governs the motions of objects in the solar system.
The motion of the Earth and moon relative to the sun causes daily, monthly and yearly cycles on Earth. / C 28. Explain the effect of gravity on the orbital movement of planets in the solar system.
C 29. Explain how the regular motion and relative position of the sun, Earth and moon affect the seasons, phases of the moon and eclipses.
Energy in the Earth’s Systems – How do external and internal sources of energy affect the Earth’s systems? (EARTH)
7.3 - Landforms are the result of the interaction of constructive and destructive forces over time.
Volcanic activity and the folding and faulting of rock layers during the shifting of the Earth’s crust affect the formation of mountains, ridges and valleys.
Glaciation, weathering and erosion change the Earth’s surface by moving earth materials from place to place. / C 18. Describe how folded and faulted rock layers provide evidence of the gradual up and down motion of the Earth’s crust.
C 19. Explain how glaciation, weathering and erosion create and shape valleys and floodplains.
C 20. Explain how the boundaries of tectonic plates can be inferred from the location of earthquakes and volcanoes.
DISTRICT EMBEDDED TASK: EROSION
(MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE CMT IN MARCH)
The Changing Earth – How do materials cycle through the Earth’s systems? (STRAND III)
9.7 - Elements on Earth move among reservoirs in the solid earth, oceans, atmosphere, organisms as part of biogeochemical cycles.
Elements on Earth exist in essentially fixed amounts and are located in various chemical reservoirs.
The cyclical movement of matter between reservoirs is driven by the Earth’s internal and external sources of energy. / D 21. Explain how internal energy of the Earth causes matter to cycle through the magma and the solid earth.
(POSSIBLE 4th Quarter TOPIC)
DISTRICT EMBEDDED TASK: CYCLES
NATURAL DISASTERS / NATURAL DISASTERS (NAEP standard)

Science Curriculum Pacing Chart 8th Grade Integrated Science

Units by Quarter / Power Standards / Significant Tasks / Dates / √
Q1. Unit One:
Static Forces and Bridges / C23 Describe the qualitative relationships among force and mass.
C30 Explain how beam, truss, and suspension bridges are designed to withstand the forces that act on them. / Which bridge is the strongest?
Q1-2. Unit Two:
Motion / C22 Calculate the average speed of a moving object and illustrate the motion of objects in graphs of distance over time.
C23 Describe the qualitative relationships among force, mass, and changes in motion.
C24 Describe the forces acting on an object moving in a circular path. / Required CMT embedded task: Shipping and Sliding
Q2. Unit Three:
Planetary Motion, Phases, Seasons, and Eclipses / C28 Explain the effect of gravity on the orbital movement of planets in the solar system.
C29 Explain how the regular motion and relative position of the sun, Earth, and moon affect the seasons, phases of the moon, and eclipses. / Reasons for Seasons
What if moon didn’t exist?
Q3. Unit Four:
Landforms, Constructive and Destructive Earth Forces / C18 Describe how folded and faulted rock layers provide evidence of the gradual up and down motion of the Earth’s crust.
C19 Explain how glaciation, weathering and erosion create and shape valleys and floodplains. / Erosion Lab
Q3. Unit Five:
Tectonic Plates / C20 Explain how the boundaries of tectonic plates can be inferred from the location of earthquakes and volcanoes. / Plate Tectonics
STATE CMT TEST MARCH
Q4. Unit Six:
The Rock Cycle / D21 Explain how internal energy of the Earth causes matter to cycle through the magma and the solid Earth.
Q4. Unit Seven:
Natural Disasters

8th Grade Integrated Science

COURSE OVERVIEW

The 8th grade Integrated Science course will explore key concepts of physical science. Students will be introduced to qualitative relationships among mass and force as well as speed and distance. Some forces can only act on objects when they touch. Other forces, such as gravity, affect objects from a distance. Students will apply those relationships to explore what happens to objects when forces act on them. Bridges offer a way to get over difficult obstacles. Early bridges were simple, made from available materials such as trees or vines. Today, bridges are more complex. They are designed in ways that consider factors such as function, materials, safety, cost and appearance. However, regardless of their design, bridges must be made to withstand the forces that affect them. In this course, students will explore how forces affect beam, truss, and suspension bridges. Gravity is the force that governs the motions of objects in the solar system. Students will explain how the motions of the sun, Earth, and moon affect the seasons, phases of the moon, and eclipses. Internal forces inside the Earth result in the construction and destruction of different landforms on Earth’s crust. Students will study how tectonic plate interactions, earthquakes, volcanic activity, glaciation, weathering and erosion work to change the face of earth’s crust.

Students will also work to develop skills in scientific inquiry, literacy, and numeracy by questioning, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data. Students will communicate about science through reading, writing, researching information in both print and electronic media.

UNIT DESCRIPTIONS

UNIT DESCRIPTIONS

FIRST QUARTER

UNIT 1: STATIC FORCES AND BRIDGES

II. UNIT 1: Static Forces and Bridges

Time: Entire quarter

  1. Unit Introduction:

Bridges can be designed in different ways to withstand certain loads and the forces that act on them.

  1. Standards
  1. C23 Describe the qualitative relationships among force and mass.
  2. C30 Explain how beam, truss, and suspension bridges are designed to withstand the forces that act on them.
  3. CINQ1 Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigation.
  4. CINQ2 Read, interpret and examine the credibility of scientific claims in different sources of information.
  5. CINQ3 Design and conduct appropriate types of scientific investigations to answer different questions.
  6. CINQ4 Identify independent and dependent variables, and those variables that are kept constant, when designing an experiment.
  7. CINQ5 Use appropriate tools and techniques to make observations and gather data.

CT State Grade Level Expectations (Draft)

GRADE-LEVEL CONCEPT Bridges can be designed in different ways to withstand certain loads and potentially destructive forces.

GRADE-LEVEL EXPECTATIONS (Forces GLEs 1-4 are also in 8.1)

  1. Force is a push or a pull and is described by its strength and direction and can be caused by a moving or a stationary object. Forces are measured in newtons or pounds using scales.
  2. Forces can act simultaneously on an object from all directions with different strengths (magnitudes). When the magnitude and direction of all the forces acting on an object are combined, or added together, the total force (net force) determines the object’s motion. Forces in opposite directions are subtracted; forces in the same direction are added.
  3. If the strength of all the forces acting on an object from one direction is equivalent to the strength of the forces from the opposite direction, then the forces cancel each other out, and are said to be balanced.
  4. Bridges are elevated structures designed to support the movement of objects over a span. Two important forces at work in bridges are tension and compression.
  5. Bridges must support their own weight (dead load) and the weight of those objects that will cross over them or act on them from time to time, such as wind, snow and ice (live load). Bridges are kept stable by balancing the load forces with the supporting forces of the structure. These forces can cause parts of the bridge structure to push together (compression) or pull apart (tension).
  6. Different bridge designs distribute tension and compression forces in different ways, depending on the shapes of the parts of the structure. The biggest difference among bridge designs is the distances they can cross in a single span. Shapes commonly used in bridge design include arches, triangles andrectangles.
  7. Bridges are constructed of different materials whose properties and costs vary. Some materials are strong against compression forces but weak against tension forces; some materials resist fire, corrosion or weathering. Materials commonly used in bridge design include wood, rope, aluminum, concrete and steel.
  8. A beam bridge balances the load by concentrating it entirely onto the two piers that support the bridge at either end. When a force pushes down on the beam, the beam bends. Its top edge is pushed together (compression), and its bottom edge is pulled apart (tension). The amount of bend depends on the length of the beam.
  9. A truss bridge uses rigid, interlocking beams to form a system of triangles that distribute the load among all parts of the structure, increasing the structural strength of the bridge.
  10. A suspension bridge uses cables suspended from tall towers to hold up the deck and distribute the load. The tension and compression forces acting on the beam are distributed among the cables (which experience tension) and the towers (which experience compression).

Engineers and scientists build models of bridges, conduct controlled experiments to learn how they will withstand various stresses, and consider the benefits and trade-offs of various design alternatives.

  1. Bridge design is influenced by the length of the span, the properties of the materials and the environmental conditions, as well as by practical considerations, such as the bridge’s appearance, cost of materials or construction site challenges.
  2. Bridges can fail because they have faulty parts, are used in ways that exceed what was intended by the design, or were poorly designed to begin with.

SCIENTIFIC LITERACY TERMINOLOGY: balanced/unbalanced forces, net force, load, tension force, compression force, beam bridge, truss bridge, suspension bridge

  1. Essential Questions

1.What is the relationship between mass and weight?

2.What affect do balanced and unbalanced forces have on an object’s motion?

3.What keeps a bridge from falling down?

4.How does a bridge support its own weight and the weight of a load?

5.How do different bridge designs balance the forces that act on them?

  1. Essential Content

1.Force is a push or a pull and is described by its strength and direction.

2.Mass is the measure of the amount of matter in an object; weight is the force of gravity that depends on mass.

3.Net force is the combination of all forces acting on an object. They can add or cancel each other depending on direction and strength (magnitude).

4.Unbalanced forces acting on an object cause a change in the object’s motion.

5.The most fundamental rule of bridge design is that the net force acting on a bridge must be zero.

6.Bridges are kept from falling down by balancing action/reaction forces.

7.Compression is a “pressing together” force. Tension is a “stretching or pulling apart” force.

8.A beam bridge balances the load of the bridge with the piers that support the bridge.

9.A truss is a structure composed of thin horizontal and vertical members which is used to reinforce the structural strength of bridges.

10.The load on a suspension bridge creates tension forces on the cables. The towers and abutments create reaction forces.

  1. Essential Skills:

1.To identify dependent and independent variables in an experiment.

2.To measure force using spring scales.

3.To design an experiment that tests how changing different properties on bridges affects bridge strength.

4.To read and interpret different scientific sources of information.

  1. Vocabulary:

1.Force

2.Mass

3.Weight

4.Gravity

5.Friction

6.Net Force

7.Balanced Forces

8.Unbalanced Forces

9.Action/Reaction Forces

10.Tension

11.Compression

12.Pier

13.Abutment

14.Member

15.Load/Decking

16.Beam Bridge

17.Truss Bridge

18.Suspension Bridge

19.Magnitude

g. Science Misconceptions:

  1. If an object is at rest, no forces are acting on the object.
  2. A rigid solid cannot be compressed or stretched.

h. Suggested Labs and Activities:

  1. Lab – Sticky Notes
  2. Understanding: Bridges (United Streaming Video and Quiz)
  3. Bridge “capstone” task
  4. Sponge Beam

III. Significant Task: Which bridge is the strongest?

RESOURCES

SPONGE BEAM LAB

WHICH BRIDGE IS STRONGEST

STRONG BRIDGES LAB

READING FOR INFORMATION

CAPSTONE TASK

SAMPLE UNIT ASSESSMENT

SAMPLE BRIDGE LESSONS

SAMPLE BRIDGE UNIT

06-07 QUARTER ONE ASSESSMENT

8.2 UNIT 2 SECOND QUARTER

UNIT 2: MOTION

II. UNIT 2: Motion

Time:

Approximate Dates:

  1. Unit Introduction:

During this unit, students will be introduced to basic concepts about motion. Students will describe the motion of an object based on an object’s position, direction, and speed.

  1. Standards:
  1. C22 Calculate the average speed of a moving object and illustrate the motion of objects in graphs of distance over time.
  2. C23 Describe the qualitative relationships among force, mass, and changes in motion.
  3. C24 Describe the forces acting on an object moving in a circular path.
  4. CINQ1 Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigation.
  5. CINQ7 Identify and present relationships between variables in appropriate graphs.

CT State Grade Level Expectations (Draft)