Grade 8 Science Louisiana standards Standards

Impacts of Computing

Algorithms and Programming

Data and Analysis

Networks and the Internet

Computing Systems

Variables and Algorithms

Evaluate and use naming conventions for variables to accurately communicate the variables’ meaning to other users and programmers.

Evaluate algorithms in terms of efficiency, correctness, and clarity.

Compare and contrast data constants and variables.

Control Structures

Explain the functions of various control structures. Compare and contrast examples of control structure types.

Design and iteratively develop programs that combine control structures into advanced control structures.

Modularity

Decompose problems to facilitate program design, implementation, and review.

Create procedures with parameters to organize code and promote reusability.

Program Development

Seek and incorporate feedback from peers to employ user-centered design solutions.

Use applicable industry practices to test, debug, document, and peer review code.

Develop computational artifacts by working as a team, distributing tasks, and maintaining an iterative project timeline.

Incorporate existing resources into original programs and give the proper attributions.

Systematically test, document outcomes, and refine programs using a range of test cases.

Hardware and Software

Analyze the functions and interactions of core components within a computer system.

Explain how hardware and software components work together to perform specific tasks.

Troubleshooting

Evaluate possible solutions to a hardware or software problem.

Data Representation

Analyze and explain the connection between data sets and graphical representations.

Evaluate the most efficient and effective ways to arrange, collect, and visually represent data to inform others.

Data Collection

Compare and contrast how data is collected using computational and non-computational tools and processes.

Analyze scenarios and computing systems to determine the appropriate data entry format for specific tasks.

Data Storage

Propose methods to back up data safely and the appropriate practices for data risk management.

Describe how different representations of real-world phenomena, such as letters, numbers, and images are encoded as data.

Visualizations and Transformations

Utilize tools and techniques to locate, collect, and create visualizations of large-scale data sets.

Collect and transform data using computational tools to make functional and reliable data for use in hypothesis testing.

Inference and Models

Refine computational models based on data generated by the models.

Describe and evaluate the accuracy of a modeled system by comparing the generated results with observed data from the system the data represents.

Intellectual Achievements

Identify foundational computational advancements through the use of the technology innovation cycle.

Plan and devise new ideas and solutions for problems with inspiration from previous discoveries in computational knowledge.

Social Interaction

Develop and propose norms for informal versus formal online communications.

Analyze communication technologies and then describe how the technology’s use influences individuals and society.

Generate designs that increase the accessibility and usability of technology for various groups of users.

Laws, Safety, and Industry Practices

Identify applicable laws that impact personal, industry, or business computing practices.

Recommend and propose computing-use guidelines to maintain a user’s personal safety, privacy, and well-being.

Describe and categorize factors that affect user’s access to computing resources locally, nationally, and globally.

Hardware and Network Communication

Analyze the various structures and functions of a network.

Identify and differentiate the protocols utilized in data sharing across networks.

Cybersecurity

Analyze threats and vulnerabilities to information security for individuals and organizations.

Explain how physical and digital security practices and measures proactively address threats to users, data, and devices within and across networks.

Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Life Science

Earth and Human Activity

Earth's Systems

Earth's Place in the Universe

Earth and Space Science

Energy

Matter and its Interactions

Physical Science

Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth's geologic history.

Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth's materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.

Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales.

Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and sea floor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions.

Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth's mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.

Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.

Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing human impact on the environment.

Construct and use argument(s) based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of survival and successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.

Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.

Develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.

Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past.

Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.

Analyze displays of pictorial data to compare patterns of similarities in the embryological development across multiple species to identify relationships not evident in the fully formed anatomy.

Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations of species over time.

Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.

Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.

Undertake a design project to construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes.

Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer

Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.