Y8 Science

Cambridge Assessment International Examination’s goals for its lower levels science courses include:

To enable students to:

• develop a positive attitude towards science that encourages enjoyment, confidence and curiosity
• understand how the respiratory system works, including breathing, gas exchange, blood and respiration
• explore dissolving and solubility, and learn how to separate substances using practical methods
• describe forces, speed, motion and pressure, and use particle ideas to explain how substances behave
• understand different ecosystems, how organisms interact, and how human actions can affect habitats
• recognise the structure of the atom and understand ideas linked to purity, weather, climate and atmospheric change
• investigate how light behaves through reflection, refraction and colour, and describe what we see in space
• understand nutrients, healthy diets, growth and how the body moves
• describe common chemical reactions, including exothermic and endothermic changes and reactions of metals
• explore magnetism, magnetic fields and electromagnets, and investigate how magnets can be used
• develop practical skills by planning enquiries, collecting and analysing data, and drawing evidence-based conclusions
• communicate scientific ideas clearly and use models to explain their thinking
• appreciate how scientific knowledge develops through investigation, collaboration and peer review
• recognise how science is used in society and industry and evaluate its impact on people and the environment
• build a strong foundation for further study in science

Topics

Biology

• Respiration
• Ecosystems
• Diet and growth

Chemistry

• Dissolving and solubility
• Chromatography
• Atoms and purity
• Weather, climate and atmosphere
• Chemical reactions

Physics

• Forces and motion
• Pressure
• Light and colour
• Space
• Magnetism