Web page for Mid-year Exam year 8
YEAR 8 CURRICULUM
Science
You will sit 3 formal assessments over the course of the year.
In the 2 weeks before each assessment your focus is to revise to a timetable and to use the 1,2,3 method described below.
The guide below tells you what you will need to know and understand and what you will need to be able to do for each assessment.
AT: this refers to what we would like you to secure to reach National Expectation.
ABOVE: this refers to what we would like you to master to achieve above National Expectation.
1, 2, 3 Resources:
1, 2, 3 Revision:
1. Your exercise book.
1. Rag Rate – I know this –Green, I don’t know this – Red
I have some understanding – Amber.
2. Collins connect.
3. KS3 Science Revision guide.
2. Create revision cards or Mind Maps prioritising Reds
first, then Ambers and finally Greens.
3. Practice answering sample questions to see what you
have actually remembered.
Web page for Mid-year Exam year 8
AT
Science Ideas I need to know and understand
Describe and explain how the movements of the ribs
and diaphragm, with reference to pressure changes,
cause breathing in and out.
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Science Skills I need to be able to do
Describe two ways of measuring lung volume.
Describe and explain gas exchange in the body, with
reference to the alveoli and lung structure
Describe and explain the effects of exercise, asthma
and smoking on the breathing system.
Describe aerobic respiration in cells and explain it
using a word equation
Describe aerobic respiration in plants.
Identify some living things that carry out anaerobic
respiration and identify some applications.
Explain how mitochondria are adapted for
respiration.
Define anaerobic respiration and explain why some
sports rely mainly on aerobic respiration while others
require anaerobic respiration.
Use correct terminology and the particle model to
describe changes of state, including evaporation.
Describe what is meant by the terms ‘concentration’
and ‘pressure’.
Describe how solids, liquids and gases behave when
heat is applied to them.
Describe and explain observations relating to
diffusion in terms of particles.
Identify evidence for aerobic respiration in plants and animals
using experiments
Describe and explain some evidence to show the products of
anaerobic respiration and plan an investigation into
fermentation.
Use observations to develop hypotheses.
Draw circle diagrams to demonstrate the differences between
the arrangement of particles in solids, liquids and gases, and
describe their different properties
Interpret and explain data relating to melting and boiling points.
Describe applications and problems caused by thermal
expansion.
Describe a model that can be used to represent particles and
explain different separation techniques be able to adapt it to
make it more suitable for use
Use the particle model to explain the density differences
between gases and calculate density of solid, make predictions
about floating a sinking using ideas about density
Calculate concentrations of solutions.
Explain the properties of different colloids using the particle
model.
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Web page for Mid-year Exam year 8
Describe different types of colloids.
Recognise that sound energy is transferred by waves
and describe how sound waves are made in different
situations.
Describe what is meant by infrasound and
ultrasound.
Explain how longitudinal waves carry sound. Relate
the terms frequency and amplitude to sounds.
Use the particle model to explain why sound cannot
travel through a vacuum. Explain what is meant by
reflection and absorption of sound.
Explain how parts of the ear are adapted to enable
us to hear. Describe what is meant by the term
hearing range. Describe how different organisms
hear.
Describe a wide range of applications for ultrasound
and infrasound.
Describe the attraction of unlike poles and repulsion
of like poles; show how a magnetic field can be
represented.
Describe how friction between objects may cause
electrostatic charge through the transfer of electrons.
Describe the field around a charged object; describe
some applications of static electricity.
Describe the variation and effects of gravity on Earth
and in space.
Describe the causes and effects of varying pressure
on and by solids.
Describe the variation of pressure in liquids with
depth and the effects of this.
Suggest why some objects float and others sink.
Describe how atmospheric pressure varies with
height; state some implications of variations in
pressure.
Identify magnetic attraction and repulsion as noncontact forces; explain how field lines indicate the
Use particle models to explain how the solubility of solids and
gases changes with temperature.
Describe how to measure the speed of sound, and how the
speed of sound can be used in different applications to
measure distances.
Web page for Mid-year Exam year 8
ABOVE
direction and strength of forces.
Explain various examples of electrostatic charge; use
ideas of election transfer to explain different effects.
Apply the concept of gravitational fields to explain the
variation and effects of gravity on Earth and in space.
Describe and explain the effects of varying pressure
on and by solids; calculate the pressure applied by a
solid from the force applied and the contact surface
area.
Explain the variation of pressure with depth in liquids.
Use the concepts of density, displacement and
upthrust in explaining floating and sinking.
Explain why atmospheric pressure varies with height;
describe how the effects of pressure used and dealt
with.
Compare the pressure in the chest before breathing
in and breathing out with atmospheric pressure.
Evaluate the quality of evidence for aerobic respiration in plants
and animals.
Explain the difference between breathing and
respiration.
Analyse data to compare and explain the numbers of
mitochondria in different cells.
Explain the role of respiration in building up complex
molecules.
Describe and explain the effects on the body of
anaerobic respiration and explain ‘oxygen debt’.
Explain why these waves are suitable for their
applications.
Plan an investigation to test a hypothesis about anaerobic
respiration, analyse the data and evaluate the investigation
Apply and evaluate the concept of magnetic fields in
various contexts.
Explain why some electrostatic charge mechanisms
are more effective than others.
Compare and contrast useful and dangerous
instances of static charge; compare electrostatic and
magnetic fields.
Apply the concept of gravitational fields in explaining
Use particle diagrams to explain the differences in energy and
forces between the particles in different states of matter,
accounting for differences in their properties.
Change hypotheses in the light of new evidence and use this
evidence to develop theories.
Use the particle model to explain latent heat and how impurities
affect melting and boiling points.
Use the particle model to explain expansion in solids, liquids
and gases.
Evaluate the strengths and limitations of particle models.
Web page for Mid-year Exam year 8
gravitational effects on Earth and in space, including
acceleration.
Explain how force and area can be varied to alter the
pressure applied.
Identify the causes and implications of variation of
pressure with depth.
Apply ideas about density and upthrust to predict the
outcomes of various situations.
Identify some implications of pressure variation in
situations such as weather patterns and high-altitude
activities.
Use the particle model to explain factors relating to density.
Use ideas about particles to explain the effects of pressure.
Make predictions, using ideas about particles, about factors
affecting the rate of diffusion.
Apply the particle model to explain physical and chemical
changes, taking conservation of mass into account.
Evaluate the particle model in its ability to explain colloids and
their properties.
Evaluate the effectiveness of the particle model in explaining
physical changes.
Interpret and devise wave diagrams to represent sounds of
different wavelength and amplitude.
Use calculations to measure the speed of sound and the
distance of objects in different applications, applying ideas
about echoes.
Use the particle model to explain why the speed of sound is
different in solids, liquids and gases, and how energy is
transferred in the reflection and absorption of sound.
Compare and contrast the detection of sound by an ear and a
microphone.
Web page for Mid-year Exam year 8