Wisconsin 8th Grade Science Standards

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SCI.LS Life Science

• SCI.LS1 Students use science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and an understanding of structures and processes (on a scale from molecules to organisms) to make sense of phenomena and solve problems.
  • SCI.LS1.A Structure and Function
    • SCI.LS1.A.m All living things are made up of cells. In organisms, cells work together to form tissues and organs that are specialized for particular body functions.
  • SCI.LS1.B Growth and Development of Organisms
    • SCI.LS1.B.m Animals engage in behaviors that increase the odds of reproduction. An organism’s growth is affected by both genetic and environmental factors.
  • SCI.LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
    • SCI.LS1.C.m Plants use the energy from light to make sugars through photosynthesis. Within individual organisms, food is broken down through a series of chemical reactions that rearrange molecules and release energy.
  • SCI.LS1.D Information Processing
    • SCI.LS1.D.m Each sense receptor responds to different inputs, transmitting them as signals that travel along nerve cells to the brain. The signals are then processed in the brain resulting in immediate behavior or memories.
• SCI.LS2 Students use science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and an understanding of the interactions, energy, and dynamics within ecosystems to make sense of phenomena and solve problems.
  • SCI.LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
    • SCI.LS2.A.m Organisms and populations are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors, any of which can limit their growth. Competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial interactions vary across ecosystems but the patterns are shared.
  • SCI.LS2.B Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
    • SCI.LS2.B.m The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem. Food webs model how matter and energy are transferred among producers, consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact within an ecosystem.
  • SCI.LS2.C Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience
    • SCI.LS2.C.m Ecosystem characteristics vary over time. Disruptions to any part of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all of its populations. The completeness or integrity of an ecosystem’s biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health.
  • SCI.LS2.D Social Interactions and Group Behavior
    • SCI.LS2.D.m Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’ resources, such as food, energy, and medicines, as well as ecosystem services that humans rely on — for example, water purification and recycling.
• SCI.LS3 Students use science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and an understanding of heredity to make sense of phenomena and solve problems.
  • SCI.LS3.A Inheritance of Traits
    • SCI.LS3.A.m Genes chiefly regulate a specific protein, which affect an individual’s traits.
  • SCI.LS3.B Variation of Traits
    • SCI.LS3.B.m In sexual reproduction, each parent contributes half of the genes acquired by the offspring resulting in variation between parent and offspring. Genetic information can be altered because of mutations, which may result in beneficial, negative, or no change to proteins in or traits of an organism.
• SCI.LS4 Students use science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and an understanding of biological evolution to make sense of phenomena and solve problems.
  • SCI.LS4.A Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
    • SCI.LS4.A.m The fossil record documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms and their environments through Earth’s history. The fossil record and comparisons of anatomical similarities between organisms enables the inference of lines of evolutionary descent.
  • SCI.LS4.B Natural Selection
    • SCI.LS4.B.m Both natural and artificial selection result from certain traits giving some individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing, leading to predominance of certain traits in a population.
  • SCI.LS4.C Adaptation
    • SCI.LS4.C.m Species can change over time in response to changes in environmental conditions through adaptation by natural selection acting over generations. Traits that support successful survival and reproduction in the new environment become more common.
  • SCI.LS4.D Biodiversity and Humans
    • SCI.LS4.D.m Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’ resources and ecosystem services they rely on.

SCI.PS Physical Science

• SCI.PS1 Students use science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and an understanding of matter and its interactions to make sense of phenomena and solve problems.
  • SCI.PS1.A Structures and Properties of Matter
    • SCI.PS1.A.m The fact that matter is composed of atoms and molecules can be used to explain the properties of substances, diversity of materials, states of matter, phase changes, and conservation of matter.
  • SCI.PS1.B Chemical Reactions
    • SCI.PS1.B.m Reacting substances rearrange to form different molecules, but the number of atoms is conserved. Some reactions release energy and others absorb energy.
• SCI.PS2 Students use science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and an understanding of forces, interactions, motion and stability to make sense of phenomena and solve problems.
  • SCI.PS2.A Forces and Motion
    • SCI.PS2.A.m.i Motion and changes in motion can be qualitatively described using concepts of speed, velocity, and acceleration (including speeding up, slowing down, and/or changing direction).
    • SCI.PS2.A.m.ii The role of the mass of an object must be qualitatively accounted for in any change of motion due to the application of a force (Newton’s first and second law).
    • SCI.PS2.A.m.iii For any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first, but in the opposite direction (Newton’s third law).
  • SCI.PS2.B Types of Interactions
    • SCI.PS2.B.m Forces that act at a distance involve fields that can be mapped by their relative strength and effect on an object.
• SCI.PS3 Students use science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and an understanding of energy to make sense of phenomena and solve problems.
  • SCI.PS3.A Definitions of Energy
    • SCI.PS3.A.m Kinetic energy can be distinguished from the various forms of potential energy.
  • SCI.PS3.B Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer
    • SCI.PS3.B.m Energy changes to and from each type can be tracked through physical or chemical interactions. The relationship between the temperature and the total energy of a system depends on the types, states, and amounts of matter.
  • SCI.PS3.C Relationships Between Energy and Forces
  • SCI.PS3.D Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life
    • SCI.PS3.D.m Sunlight is captured by plants and used in a chemical reaction to produce sugar molecules for storing this energy. This stored energy can be released by respiration or combustion, which can be reversed by burning those molecules to release energy.
• SCI.PS4 Students use science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and an understanding of waves and their applications in technologies for information transfer to make sense of phenomena and solve problems.
  • SCI.PS4.A Wave Properties
    • SCI.PS4.A.m A simple wave model has a repeating pattern with a specific wavelength, frequency, and amplitude, and mechanical waves need a medium through which they are transmitted. This model can explain many phenomena including sound and light. Waves can transmit energy.
  • SCI.PS4.B Electromagnetic Radiation
    • SCI.PS4.B.m The construct of a wave is used to model how light interacts with objects.
  • SCI.PS4.C Information Technologies and Instrumentation
    • SCI.PS4.C.m Waves can be used to transmit digital information. Digitized information is comprised of a pattern of 1s and 0s.

SCI.ESS Earth and Space Science

• SCI.ESS1 Students use science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and an understanding of Earth’s place in the universe to make sense of phenomena and solve problems.
  • SCI.ESS1.A The Universe and Its Stars
    • SCI.ESS1.A.m The solar system is part of the Milky Way, which is one of many billions of galaxies.
  • SCI.ESS1.B Earth and the Solar System
    • SCI.ESS1.B.m The solar system contains many varied objects held together by gravity. Solar system models explain and predict eclipses, lunar phases, and seasons.
  • SCI.ESS1.C The History of Planet Earth
    • SCI.ESS1.C.m Rock strata and the fossil record can be used as evidence to organize the relative occurrence of major historical events in Earth’s history.
• SCI.ESS2 Students use science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and an understanding of Earth’s systems to make sense of phenomena and solve problems.
  • SCI.ESS2.A Earth Materials and Systems
    • SCI.ESS2.A.m Energy flows and matter cycles within and among Earth’s systems, including the sun and Earth’s interior as primary energy sources. Plate tectonics is one result of these processes.
  • SCI.ESS2.B Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions
    • SCI.ESS2.B.m Plate tectonics is the unifying theory that explains movements of rocks at Earth’s surface and geological history. Maps are used to display evidence of plate movement.
  • SCI.ESS2.C The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes
    • SCI.ESS2.C.m Water cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere, and is propelled by sunlight and gravity. Density variations of sea water drive interconnected ocean currents. Water movement causes weathering and erosion, changing landscape features.
  • SCI.ESS2.D Weather and Climate
    • SCI.ESS2.D.m Complex interactions determine local weather patterns and influence climate, including the role of the ocean.
  • SCI.ESS2.E Biogeology
    • SCI.ESS2.E.m The fossil record documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms throughout history (linked to content in LS4.A).
• SCI.ESS3 Students use science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and an understanding of the Earth and human activity to make sense of phenomena and solve problems.
  • SCI.ESS3.A Natural Resources
    • SCI.ESS3.A.m Humans depend on Earth’s land, oceans, fresh water, atmosphere, and biosphere for different resources, many of which are limited or not renewable. Resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geologic processes.
  • SCI.ESS3.B Natural Hazards
    • SCI.ESS3.B.m Patterns can be seen through mapping the history of natural hazards in a region and understanding related geological forces.
  • SCI.ESS3.C Human Impacts on Earth Systems
    • SCI.ESS3.C.m Human activities have altered the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere which in turn has altered the biosphere. Changes to the biosphere can have different impacts for different living things. Activities and technologies can be engineered to reduce people’s impacts on Earth.
  • SCI.ESS3.D Global Climate Change
    • SCI.ESS3.D.m Evidence suggests human activities affect global warming. Decisions to reduce the impact of global warming depend on understanding climate science, engineering capabilities, and social dynamics.

SCI.ETS Engineering, Technology, and the Application of Science

• SCI.ETS1 Students use science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and an understanding of engineering design to make sense of phenomena and solve problems.
  • SCI.ETS1.A Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems
    • SCI.ETS1.A.m The more precisely a design task’s criteria and constraints can be defined, the more likely it is that the designed solution will be successful. Specification of constraints includes consideration of scientific principles and other relevant knowledge that are likely to limit possible solutions.
  • SCI.ETS1.B Developing Possible Solutions
    • SCI.ETS1.B.m.i A solution needs to be tested and then modified on the basis of the test results in order to improve it.
    • SCI.ETS1.B.m.ii There are systematic processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how well they meet the criteria and constraints of a problem.
    • SCI.ETS1.B.m.iii Sometimes parts of different solutions can be combined to create a solution that is better than any of its predecessors.
    • SCI.ETS1.B.m.iv Models of all kinds are important for testing solutions.
  • SCI.ETS1.C Optimizing the Design Solution
    • SCI.ETS1.C.m.i Although one design may not perform the best across all tests, identifying the characteristics of the design that performed the best in each test can provide useful information for the redesign process—that is, some of those characteristics may be incorporated into the new design.
    • SCI.ETS1.C.m.ii The iterative process of testing the most promising solutions and modifying what is proposed on the basis of the test results leads to greater refinement and ultimately to an optimal solution.
• SCI.ETS2 Students use science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and an understanding of the links among Engineering, Technology, Science, and Society to make sense of phenomena and solve problems.
  • SCI.ETS2.A Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology
    • SCI.ETS2.A.m.i Engineering advances have led to important discoveries in virtually every field of science, and scientific discoveries have led to the development of entire industries and engineered systems.
    • SCI.ETS2.A.m.ii Science and technology drive each other forward.
  • SCI.ETS2.B Influence of Engineering, Technology, and Science on Society and the Natural World
    • SCI.ETS2.B.m.i All human activity draws on natural resources and has both short and long-term consequences, positive as well as negative, for the health of people and the natural environment.
    • SCI.ETS2.B.m.ii The uses of technologies are driven by people’s needs, desires, and values; by the findings of scientific research; and by differences in such factors as climate, natural resources, and economic conditions.
    • SCI.ETS2.B.m.iii Technology use varies over time and from region to region.
• SCI.ETS3 Students use science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and an understanding of the nature of science and engineering to make sense of phenomena and solve problems.
  • SCI.ETS3.A Science and Engineering Are Human Endeavors
    • SCI.ETS3.A.m.i Individuals and teams from many nations, cultures and backgrounds have contributed to advances in science and engineering.
    • SCI.ETS3.A.m.ii Scientists and engineers are persistent, use creativity, reasoning, and skepticism, and remain open to new ideas.
    • SCI.ETS3.A.m.iii Science and engineering are influenced by what is valued in society.
  • SCI.ETS3.B Science and Engineering Are Unique Ways of Thinking with Different Purposes
    • SCI.ETS3.B.m.i Science asks questions to understand the natural world and assumes that objects and events in natural systems occur in consistent patterns that are understandable through measurement and observation. Science carefully considers and evaluates anomalies in data and evidence.
    • SCI.ETS3.B.m.ii Engineering seeks solutions to human problems, including issues that arise due to human interaction with the environment. It uses some of the same practices as science and often applies scientific principles to solutions.
    • SCI.ETS3.B.m.iii Science and engineering have direct impacts on the quality of life for all people. Therefore, scientists and engineers need to pursue their work in an ethical manner that requires honesty, fairness and dedication to public health, safety and welfare.
  • SCI.ETS3.C Science and Engineering Use Multiple Approaches to Create New Knowledge and Solve Problems
    • SCI.ETS3.C.m.i A theory is an explanation of some aspect of the natural world. Scientists develop theories by using multiple approaches. Validity of these theories and explanations is increased through a peer review process that tests and evaluates the evidence supporting scientific claims.
    • SCI.ETS3.C.m.ii Theories are explanations for observable phenomena based on a body of evidence developed over time. A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested to evaluate a theory. Scientific laws describe cause and effect relationships among observable phenomena.
    • SCI.ETS3.C.m.iii Engineers develop solutions using multiple approaches and evaluate their solutions against criteria such as cost, safety, time and performance. This evaluation often involves trade-offs between constraints to find the optimal solution.