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Middle School Middle School Physical Science

Suggested Prerequisites

N/A

Description

What makes things different, change, or move? These are some of the concepts you will explore in this interactive course. You will discover the world of physical science through scientific inquiry and gain an understanding of foundational concepts in chemistry and physics, such as properties and structure of matter, changes in matter, motion, forces, energy, and light. Through virtual simulations, hands-on investigations, and other activities you will build an understanding of physical and chemical principles that can be applied to your everyday life.

Module One: Properties of Matter

-The scientific method and natural phenomena

-Common units and prefixes for the systems of measurement

-The density formula and applications 

-Physical properties of matter

-Classifying and comparing substances


Module Two: Microscopic Matter

-Changes to atomic theory over time

-Elements and compounds in living and nonliving things

-Modeling the structure of atoms and their particles

-The organization of the periodic table

-Properties of elements based on the periodic table


Module Three: Chemical Changes

-Physical versus chemical changes

-The law of conservation of mass in chemical and physical changes 

-The influence of temperature on chemical changes

-Acids, bases, and salts

-The comparisons of the properties of compounds

Module Four: Objects in Motion

-Understanding motion, speed, and velocity

-Calculating average speed

-Measuring and graphing motion data

-Identification and classification of the types of forces

-The relationship between distance, mass, and gravitational force

-Forces and their effect on motion


Module Five: Energy Transformations

-The types and forms of energy

-The transformation between potential and kinetic energy

-The law of conservation of energy 

-Temperature and thermal energy

-Heat flow and states of matter


Module Six: Waves

-Parts and measurements of waves

-Characteristics of the electromagnetic spectrum

-Reflection, refraction, and absorption of light waves

-Speed of waves in different media

-Investigation of properties of waves