Grade 08 Science - EC: S8.A.2.1.3

Continuum of Activities

The list below represents a continuum of activities: resources categorized by Standard/Eligible Content that teachers may use to move students toward proficiency. Using LEA curriculum and available materials and resources, teachers can customize the activity statements/questions for classroom use.

This continuum of activities offers:

Instructional activities designed to be integrated into planned lessons
Questions/activities that grow in complexity
Opportunities for differentiation for each student’s level of performance

Grade Levels

8th Grade

Course, Subject

Science

Related Academic Standards / Eligible Content

S8.A.2.1.3 S8.A.2.1.3

Design a controlled experiment by specifying how the independent variables will be manipulated, how the dependent variable will be measured, and which variables will be held constant.

Activities

You and your lab partner set-up an experiment to find out which melts faster – white chocolate or dark chocolate. What will your independent variable be?
1. Type of chocolate
2. Temperature
3. Time it takes chocolate to melt
4. Both A & B
This variable must be measurable.
1. Independent variable
2. Controlled variable
3. Dependent variable
4. Constant variable

The amount of time you study science will determine your next test score. What are the independent and dependent variables?
Write a hypothesis using the following variables:
1. Independent variable – amount of light
2. Dependent variable – height of plant
3. Controlled variables – 4 inch flower pots, amount and type of water and soil, two week old sunflower plants

Your friend asks you to come to his house to check out his project for the science fair. His hypothesis is a golf ball will travel faster down a ramp than a ping-pong ball. His experiment is illustrated below. Help your friend by explaining what is wrong with his experiment.

Design a simple demonstration to introduce variables to 3^rd graders. Identify the independent variable, dependent variable, and controlled variables.

Answer Key/Rubric

A
C
The independent variable is amount of time spent studying and the dependent variable is the score on the science test.
Acceptable responses might include, but not be limited to:
- The more sunlight young sunflower plants are exposed to the taller they will grow.
- If young sunflower plants are placed in a sunny window then they will grow taller than sunflowers not grown in a sunny window.

Acceptable responses might include, but not be limited to:
- There should only be one independent variable in an experiment and the classmate has two in his experiment. The types of balls and the angles of the ramps are both independent variables. Since he is testing to see which ball will travel the farthest down a ramp he should pick one of the ramps and use it for his experiment.

Acceptable responses might include, but not be limited to:
- I would introduce variables to 3^rd graders by rolling two different toy cars down a ramp to see which one went the farthest. The two toy cars would be the independent variable and the distance they traveled would be the dependent variable. The ramp would be a controlled variable.
- A simple experiment that would introduce variables to 3^rd graders would be showing the kids that an egg when placed in a glass of water will sink, however when salt is added to the water the egg will float. The independent variable is the water (plain water and salt water) and the dependent variable would be if the egg floats or sinks. The drinking glass, type and amount of water, and size of egg would be the controlled variables.