Science 8: Physical Science (Summer Class)

Students will participate in hands-on learning that reinforces core science topics from the Next Generation Science Standardsthrough fun activities designed to make learning enjoyable and memorable. Classes are designed to help students improve and reinforce their science skills while having fun. Each session will have a specific focus as described below.

In this summer session, students will learn about different ways that forces can act on matter in the world, whether through physical contact between objects or invisible forces that can act at a distance. Students will read articles about fundamental concepts in physics, building on their understanding from previous grades and life experience. During lab activities, students will practice scientific thinking, lab skills, data collection, and graphing. Students will construct several devices to simulate real-world forces, and will iterate their designs to achieve a goal. Students will apply scientific and engineering practices through a final design-engineering challenge in which they build a device to solve a problem, then test and refine their prototype.

Week 1
Topic: Introduction of Forces
In this lesson, students will be able to describe the meaning of key vocabulary from the unit in their own words. They will be able to identify situations in which multiple forces are combining to produce a net effect on an object.

Week 2
Topic: Newton's Third Law
In this lesson, students will understand that Newton’s Third Law applies to any interaction between objects with mass. Students will be able to use Newton’s Third Law of Motion to explain the effects of changes to a propulsion system of their own construction.

Week 3
Topic: Forces and Balance
In this lesson, students will describe a force using the concepts of mass and acceleration. Students will use graphing to represent the inverse relationship between mass and acceleration given a constant force.

Week 4
Topic: Electromagnetic Fields
In this lesson, students will be able to construct a simple device to demonstrate the existence of electromagnetic fields. Students will be able to use cardinal directions and a compass to navigate with and without a printed map.

Week 5
Topic: Gravitational Attraction
Students will be able to characterize the properties of gravity based on a series of observations and tests that they perform. Students will be able to make predictions about the behavior of objects and systems on Earth based on their understanding of gravitational attraction.

Week 6
Unit Assessment and Gallery Share
Students will wrap up the unit with an assessment targeting students’ ability to think critically about the material.