New York 8th Grade Science Standards

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PS Physical Sciences

• Structure and Properties of Matter
  • MS-PS1-1 Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.
  • MS-PS1-3 Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
  • MS-PS1-4 Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and phase (state) of a substance when thermal energy is added or removed.
  • MS-PS1-7 NY Use evidence to illustrate that density is a property that can be used to identify samples of matter.
  • MS-PS1-8 NY Plan and conduct an investigation to demonstrate that mixtures are combinations of substances.
• Chemical Reactions
  • MS-PS1-2 Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
  • MS-PS1-5 Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.
  • MS-PS1-6 Undertake a design project to construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy during a chemical and/or physical process.
• Forces and Interactions
  • MS-PS2-1 Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.
  • MS-PS2-2 Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
  • MS-PS2-3 Ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.
  • MS-PS2-4 Construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects and the distance between them.
  • MS-PS2-5 Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.
• Energy
  • MS-PS3-1 Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.
  • MS-PS3-2 Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.
  • MS-PS3-3 Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.
  • MS-PS3-4 Plan and conduct an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the temperature of the sample of matter.
  • MS-PS3-5 Construct, use, and present an argument to support the claim that when work is done on or by a system, the energy of the system changes as energy is transferred to or from the system.
  • MS-PS3-6 NY Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred by electric currents.
• Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation
  • MS-PS4-1 Develop a model and use mathematical representations to describe waves that includes frequency, wavelength, and how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave.
  • MS-PS4-2 Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.
  • MS-PS4-3 Integrate qualitative scientific and technical information to support the claim that digitized signals are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information than analog signals.

LS Life Sciences

• Structure, Function, and Information Processing
  • MS-LS1-1 Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells; either one cell or many different numbers and types of cells.
  • MS-LS1-2 Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function.
  • MS-LS1-3 Construct an explanation supported by evidence for how the body is composed of interacting systems consisting of cells, tissues, and organs working together to maintain homeostasis.
  • MS-LS1-8 Gather and synthesize information that sensory receptors respond to stimuli, resulting in immediate behavior and/or storage as memories.
• Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems
  • MS-LS1-6 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.
  • MS-LS1-7 Develop a model to describe how food molecules are rearranged through chemical reactions to release energy during cellular respiration and/or form new molecules that support growth as this matter moves through an organism.
  • MS-LS2-1 Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
  • MS-LS2-3 Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
  • MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
• Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
  • MS-LS2-2 Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms in a variety of ecosystems.
  • MS-LS2-5 Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and protecting ecosystem stability.
• Growth, Development, and Reproduction of Organisms
  • MS-LS1-4 Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants, respectively.
  • MS-LS1-5 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
  • MS-LS3-1 Develop and use a model to explain why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.
  • MS-LS3-2 Develop and use a model to describe how asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.
  • MS-LS4-5 Gather and synthesize information about the technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.
• Natural Selection and Adaptations
  • MS-LS4-1 Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past.
  • MS-LS4-2 Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.
  • MS-LS4-3 Analyze displays of pictorial data to compare patterns of similarities in the embryological development across multiple species to identify relationships not evident in the fully formed anatomy.
  • MS-LS4-4 Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.
  • MS-LS4-6 Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time.

ESS Earth and Space Sciences

• Space Systems
  • MS-ESS1-1 Develop and use a model of the Earth-Sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the Sun and moon, and seasons.
  • MS-ESS1-2 Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
  • MS-ESS1-3 Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.
• History of Earth
  • MS-ESS1-4 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth’s 4.6-billion-year-old history.
  • MS-ESS2-2 Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying temporal and spatial scales.
  • MS-ESS2-3 Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions.
• Earth’s Systems
  • MS-ESS2-1 Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.
  • MS-ESS2-4 Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems driven by energy from the Sun and the force of gravity.
  • MS-ESS3-1 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth’s mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geologic processes.
• Weather and Climate
  • MS-ESS2-5 Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions.
  • MS-ESS2-6 Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.
  • MS-ESS3-5 Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.
• Human Impacts
  • MS-ESS3-2 Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.
  • MS-ESS3-3 Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
  • MS-ESS3-4 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems.

ETS Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

• Engineering Design
  • MS-ETS1-1 Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
  • MS-ETS1-2 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
  • MS-ETS1-3 Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.
  • MS-ETS1-4 Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.