Middle School > Middle School Science Curriculum

Middle School Science Curriculum

Atoms are the main building blocks of matter. A single atom is the smallest particle of a chemical element that still has all the features and properties of that particular element... learn more....

Atoms are the main building blocks of matter, but usually they exist bonded to one or more atoms, called a molecule...

Understanding molecules brings us a long way to understanding how we are born with the characteristics with make us unique...  

Blood Type is Genetic...

The A and B antigen molecules on the surface of red blood cells are produced by two different enzymes. These two enzymes are encoded by different versions, or alleles, of the same gene: A and B. Learn more here...

An element is a substance or chemical whose atoms are all exactly the same, with the same number of electrons, protons, and neutrons, There are about 112 different  elements... learn more...

One of the basic sets of information in all of science is the list of pure chemical substances, called elements. The list can be drawn as a large chart known as the periodic table of chemical elements... learn more...

Matter can change in state, from solid to liquid, or liquid to gas, or back again. This usually happens when heat energy is added to the matter. In this module learn more about melting and boiling points and changes in states of matter...

Water is vital for life on Earth. All animals and plants need water to survive. Like many other substances, water can exist in three different states...

Stir sugar grains into a glass of clear, clean water. They swirl around for a while, then the seem to fade away. Finally they disappear. But if you sip the water, you can still taste the sugar. It has not disappeared-it has dissolved...

Atoms are not fixed into their molecules forever. Molecules can come apart, and their atoms then join together again in new, different combinations. This is called chemical change...

Two special kinds of chemicals are called acids and bases. An acid is a substance that dissolves (usually in water) and forms ions of hydrogen. This means, as the acid dissolves. each hydrogen atom separates from the rest of its acid molecule and floats freely in solution. Learn more about acids and bases here...

There are about 112 known chemical elements. More than three quarters are metals. A typical metal is hard and shiny, tough and strong, and it conducts or carries electricity and heat well... Learn more about metals here...

You can't see energy. You can't touch energy or hold it in your hand. But energy is everywhere. It is the ability to do work, to make things happen, and to cause changes...

Energy cannot be made or destroyed. It can only be converted. When anything moves or alters in any way,energy changes its form. In this module,learn all about the topic of converting energy....

Everything that moves has kinetic energy. But, before a stationary object will move, it has to be given enough energy to start it moving. In this module, examine the concepts of momentum and inertia as you learn about the energy of motion...

Forces push, pull, press, and move things. Forces have size or strength--and also direction. A force always acts on an object in a particular direction... explore much more about forces and motion in this module...

One way of measuring force is by the way it affects an object. You get an idea of force every time you pick up something, by feeling how much lifting effort you put into overcoming its weight. Here's more on measuring force and motion...

When you jump in the air, you quickly drop back to the ground. And however hard you throw a ball into the air, it always comes down again. The invisible force that pulls everything downward on Earth is called gravity...

Materials Science is a fast-growing area of science, especially in engineering. It involves taking various raw or ingredient substances and making them mix, combine, or react together in various ways, to produce a new material with specialized properties...

Solids, Liquids, and Gases... Matter is any physical substance or object that exists in the three dimensions of space. Whatever its size, matter also exists in one of three main forms...

For billions of years on Earth, the only living things were microscopic, single-celled organisms. Then about 700 million years ago... wow!

A sound wave starts with something moving. The something can be any state of matter-solid, liquid, or gas. Usually it is a solid...

Crystals... Some of the world's most valuable items are a special form of solid matter, called crystals...

Describing light is a bit of a challenge. In some ways light travels as waves. However, light is also a stream of time particles or packets of energy, called photons...

Everyone thinks that they understand time. Yet scientists find it hard to pin down exactly what time is...

How are mountains and valleys formed? Is it true that mountain ranges move and that some mountain ranges on Earth are still growing?

Good thing for us the Earth is a very wet planet. In this module learn about rivers and lakes and how water recycles.

The Earth is the "third rock from the Sun". This means we are located third in distance from our Sun after Mercury and Venus....

The sun is a fiery spinning ball of burning gases... three-quarters hydrogen and one quarter helium. Our local star is most necessary for life as we know it!

Electricity and magnetism work together to produce movement. It is this movement that gives us our electric motors...

Many people have trouble understanding the relationship of magnetism to electricity. Hopefully this module will help a bit...

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