2nd Nine Weeks Topics
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Parent Resources
8 Grade Science Topic Highlights
Questions to ask your child
Combining Atoms
November
VI. Combining Atoms
A. Compounds
B. Pure Substances and
Mixtures
C. Solutions
Question to learner: What types of mixtures are used around the house?
Sample Response: There are many examples of mixtures that can be found in a home that
are one of two types. Some mixtures have parts that can be easily distinguished
(heterogeneous mixture), such as trail mix. Other mixtures are blended evenly so that the
mixture is the same throughout (homogeneous mixture), such as lemonade. While water
(H2O) is made of different elements (hydrogen and oxygen), water is a pure substance, not a
mixture, because the hydrogen and oxygen are bonded together.
Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration
November - December
VII. Photosynthesis and Cellular
Respiration
A.
B.
C.
D.
Cell Structure Overview
Photosynthesis
Cell Respiration
Law of Conservation of
Mass and Energy
Question to learner: What roles do photosynthesis and cellular respiration play in the
transformation of energy through ecosystems?
Sample Response: Photosynthesis takes energy from the sun and stores it in sugar, a
usable form of energy for living things. This process requires not just sunlight, but also water
and carbon dioxide. Besides the energy rich sugar, oxygen is also produce in
photosynthesis. Once energy is stored in the form of sugar, plants and other organisms can
release the energy from the sugars a process known as cellular respiration that effectively
reverses the process of photosynthesis by converting the sugar and oxygen back into water
and carbon dioxide while release the stored energy.
Cycles of Matter
December
VIII. Cycles of Matter
A.
B.
C.
Overview of Cycles in
Nature
Carbon Cycle
Conservation of Matter and
Energy
January
IX. Objects in the Universe
A.
B.
Objects in Space
Distances in Space
Question to learner: How does material, such as carbon, travel among living things and the
physical environment?
Sample Response: The carbon on Earth is constantly being recycled. The simplest model of
a carbon cycle includes plants taking carbon dioxide out of the air and changing it into sugar
and all living things taking the same carbon and putting it back into the air through cellular
respiration. Some additional processes that add carbon to the atmosphere are burning of
materials (wild fires, fossil fuels, etc) and decomposition of living things. Carbon dioxide can
also transferred in and out of oceans where some marine life can use it to create their shells.
Objects in the Universe
Question to learner: How varied are the objects in space?
Sample Response: Objects in space vary greatly based on their size and material make up
or composition. Some of the smaller objects in space are asteroids and comets. Moons,
dwarf planets and planets are bigger objects, but still relatively small compared to most stars.
Other astronomical bodies such as nebulae and galaxies are even bigger. Objects may be
composed of primarily rocks (asteroids), gasses (stars), or combinations of these materials.
For instance, comets contain rocks, dust, ice, and some gases.
Division of Academics and Transformation – Department of Science
November-January Topic Highlights
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