Learn about year 8 chemistry
Your child should explore a range of topics in their chemistry studies. In preparation for any year 8 chemistry tests they might face, they should have the ability to connect each topic, noticing how they relate to one another through a strong working knowledge of how chemical elements and the different states of matter work together and interact. Your child will begin to apply their knowledge of chemistry practically through scientific inquiry. In year 8, students will be asked to make predictions, conduct simple experiments to verify their predictions, and accurately record and analyse the results with basic mathematics. They’ll also begin to see how chemistry relates to other areas of scientific studies and other academic subjects. Learners should be encouraged to make their own connections, and see chemistry as a central focus of their learning through our wide range of chemistry worksheets.
Your child will learn about the building blocks of matter and understand a basic atomic model, as well as how elements can combine to make complex compounds, and how those compounds can behave differently to the individual elements they’re composed of. Students will learn how carbon dioxide within the Earth`s atmosphere is used as an energy source by plants, a waste product by animals, and finally, as both an energy source and waste product of factories and vehicles.
The Earth`s structure will be explained to your child as well as the main chemical elements found within each layer. Earth`s atmosphere is composed of many different particles and layers, and your child should be introduced to this throughout their studies. Your child will understand how the atmosphere was formed and how human activity is changing its composition.
The Russian scientist Mendeleev created the periodic table to arrange elements into a pattern based on their physical and chemical properties. Students should understand how the periodic table is arranged and how it’s expanded as we’ve discovered new elements. Metals are most commonly found as part of a compound with oxygen known as a metal oxide, and students will learn how metal is extracted from the compound and how the oxygen then forms a new compound with carbon. Your child should understand how different atoms, elements and compounds can be brought together as mixtures, and the principle of dissolving one chemical into another. They’ll also gain a strong understanding of the different states of matter and utilise words such as viscosity to describe liquids. They’ll also learn how rocks are formed, and the different chemical processes involved in forming igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.
They’ll examine the principle that temperature changes can break down compounds to their parts, as well as learn how metal and non-metal oxides react differently and can be grouped on a pH scale relating to their acidity levels. They’ll also investigate why metal rusts and how different metals react to water and temperature.
