NATURAL SCIENCE GRADE 8 TERM ONE

Ecology
What is Ecology?
The study of living organisms and their interactions with their surroundings

Interactions between things

Ecologists study the interactions between living things @ different levels
 Organisms – one impala
 Population – herd of impala
 Communities – impala, zebra, wildebeest
 Ecosystems – community & non-living (water)
 Biosphere – all ecosystems on earth

Ecosystems
Made up of all animals and plants living in area plus the non-living parts: air,
water, soil, sunlight

Every part of an ecosystem is linked and affects one another.

2 parts to an ecosystem - 1. Living 2. Non-living

Living = biotic factors include everything living

Non-living = abiotic factors include all non-living things – soil, water, wind,
temperature, sunlight, slope of land

Biotic vs. Abiotic

Size of an ecosystem
Can be big or small
Big = forest or grassland
Small = rotting log or puddle of water

Habitat
Natural place in an ecosystem where a plant or animal lives
Habitat has biotic & abiotic factors so living things can survive and reproduce
Name habitats:
Savannah desert marine

Feeding relationships
Producers (autotroph – own food)
 Start of food chain
 Make its own food (green plant or algae)
 Photosynthesis

Consumers
 Animals can’t make their own food
 Animals get food by eating plants or animals
 Different types of consumers
1. Herbivore = eat only producers = impala, zebra
2. Carnivore = eat only animals
Predator - hunts - lion /scavenger - eats dead animals (hyenas/vultures)
3. Insectivore = eats insects – ladybird
4. Omnivore = eats animals & plants - pigs, humans, baboons, hornbill
5. Decomposer = break down remains of dead plants & animals – beetles,
earthworms. Vary in size – some tiny. Break down matter so soil can
absorb it. Roots then absorb nutrients. Dung beetles – decomposer
(feed on dung). Decomposers help recycle nutrients. If they didn’t, earth
would run out and there would be no nutrients in the soil.

Food chains
Every living thing needs energy to live
Plants get energy from the sun
Animals eat plants or other animals to get energy

Food chain
Order in which who eats who in an ecosystem
Food chain starts with the sun, then plants that make their own food by
photosynthesis.
Plant – snail – bird
arrow shows direction of energy

Energy is passed from producer to consumer. The insect eats the plant-the energy
is transferred to the insect. The frog eats the insect the energy is passed to the
frog. The snake eats the frog the energy is passed to the snake. The hawk eats the
snake and the energy is passed to the hawk.

Decomposers are the last like in the transfer of energy. They break down plants
and animals in each link of the food chain.
Decomposers and scavengers are important because they ensure nutrients return
to the soil.

Trophic levels (food or feeding) = levels of food chain

Food chain always starts with a plant = producer or AUTOTROPH ends with a top
predator.

Autotroph (producer)
Primary consumer - herbivore – grasshopper
Secondary consumer - frog
Tertiary consumer - snake
Quaternary consumer - hawk
Apex predator = no natural enemy

Food webs
Many food webs in an ecosystem
Most animals don’t only eat one kind of food. A lion eats impala, zebra, kudu, so
food chains can be connected. A group of food chains connected is a food web. It
shows us how animals are connected.

GRADE 8 TERM TWO SCIENCE

Animal Adaptations
 Animals adapt to live in their environment
Adapt: - The way the organism is suited to survive its environment
Environment: - Everything around an organism
Herbivores – Birds
Birds have adapted to eat a variety of plant material
Nectar Eater: Sugar bird and sunbird
- Long curved beak, thin to reach deep into the flower
Seed and Fruit Eater: Loerie, pigeon, weaver, sparrow, parakeet, , mousebird
- Short cone beak to crush seeds

Herbivores – Mammals
Impala, wildebeest, sheep, cattle, horses = eat grass
They are grazers
Kudu, black rhino are leaf eater – they are browsers
All herbivores, mammals have molars – grinder S
Molars are flat with ridges on top – used for grinding when chewing – ruminating –
chewing over

Stomach of Ruminant
  Divided into chambers
 Helps cope with large amounts of food
 After first swallow goes into first chamber
- rumen = first chamber
 From rumen can be brought up and rechewed = chewed the cud

Herbivore - Insects
 Pests – feed on crops
 Locusts can destroy crops
 Plant lice & fruit flies damage fruit & veg
 Some insects are useful
E.G. Bees pollinate flowers/Maggots feed on dead things/Dung beetles
fertilise soil
Grasshopper = no wings
Locust = has wings

Bees body covered in hairs – pollen sticks to them

They also have pollen baskets on back legs to put pollen in

Aphid = sucking mouth part

Sucks plant sap – this contains water & nutrients – plant can die

Carnivores
Birds Mammals Insects
Owl Leopard Ladybug
Vulture Lion Dragonfly
Hawk Dolphin Flea
Falcon Hyena Ant Lion
Bed bug

Birds – flesh eater

 Strong hooked beaks
 Strong talons
 Birds of prey (raptor)
 Can eat insects (Hoopoe/Swallow)
Hoopoe (no talons) long pointed beak to dig for insects
Swallow (small thin beak can open wide to catch insects)
- Scavengers – Vulture & Crow

Carnivores – Birds
1. Flesh Eater – Eagle & Vulture
- Strong hooked beak & talons
- Raptors
2. Insect Eaters – Hoopoe & Swallow
- Hoopoe – long pointed beak to dig for insects
- Swallow – small thin beak can open wide to catch insects
3. Scavenge Birds - Vulture & Crow
Pelican – eats fish
Beak – scoops food whole, does not store food in pouch
Heron – eats fish & frogs, reptiles, birds
Beak – long, strong, pointed, can catch lots of fish at once

Carnivore: Mammals
- strong – overpower prey
- good eyesight, hearing & smell
- cunning
- teeth can tear prey

Incisors: Cut & scrape meat from the bone

Canines: Long & pointed to stab prey
Premolar: Small & saw like for cutting
Carnassial: Sharp edges to cut meat & break bones

Carnivorous: Insects
Praying Mantis – biting mouth parts/ long legs/ head swivels in all directions/ large
eyes
Dragonfly – found near water/ catches prey while flying/ legs covered with hair/
legs held like baskets to scoop insects from water
Ladybird – lives in gardens/ eats aphids/ rose bush – aphids – ladybird
Bedbug – blood sucker/smells bad/ lives in mattress/ active at night/ suck blood
from humans/ wound itch

Omnivores
Omnivores – Birds
Ducks – eat anything – worms, berries, seeds/beak grooved for sifting mud
Woodpecker – straight strong beak/ eats berries, nuts & insects
Flamingo - filter feeder/ stir up water with long legs/ scoops up water uses long
tongue to force water through comb in beak to push water out

Omnivore: Mammals
Pigs, monkeys, humans

Incisors: Sharp to cut food

Canines: Long & pointed to stab prey
Premolars: Small & flat for chewing
Molars: Large & flat for chew & grind
Omnivores: Insects
Found in homes – ants & cockroaches & flies they have biting mouth parts and can
eat anything – hard to get rid of
Flies –
 sucking & licking mouth parts
 only liquid food
 must put saliva on food first
 then suck it up
 proboscis (tongue)
 spread bacteria – food poisoning
 lay eggs – maggots eats decaying stuff

Fly lays 150 eggs. Lives between 15 – 30 days- eggs hatch within a day – maggots.
Maggots – pupae in 5 days – pupae – fly. Fly in 10 – 20 days. In warm conditions can
take cycle 10 days.

Mimicry
Pretending to be another animal – mainly insects that are harmless – Monarch
Butterfly – leaves a bad taste. Other butterflies imitate it so predators won’t eat it.

Adaptions for predator – Great White Shark

 streamline for fast swimming
 rows of teeth – lost teeth replaced
 good eyesight & hearing
 good smell – smell 1 drop of blood in billion parts of seawater
 ampullae of Lorenzini in nose- can pick up electrical fields

Aloe
1. shallow roots 2. leaves covered in wax 3. roots covered in cork
4. leaves store water 5. leaves attached to the stem

Water Lily
1. small roots 2. flexible stem 3. leaves have airspace
4. leaves are large

Adaptations for survival – extreme environments

Camel
Adaptations Reason
Nostrils can close Keep sand out
Sand coloured fur Camouflage
Thick eyelashes Keep sand out
Hair lines ears Trap sand
Fat stored in humps (can store 36kgs of Break down to water and energy
fat)
Thick fur Keeps warm on cold nights
Broad flat pads beneath feet Helps to walk in sand so don’t sink

Can drink 135ℓ in 13 minutes

Can go 6 months without water

Plant: Adaptations
Aloe – dry conditions
 shallow root system to absorb water from surface
 roots covered with corky layer – reduce water loss
 leaves overlap each other to give shade
 leaves attached directly to stem so water can run down stem to roots
 leaves covered in wax – reduce water loss
 leaves fleshy – store water
 leaves are curved & overlap to catch water & dew

Water Lily: Aquatic plant

 small roots – no need to anchor
 flexible stem – will always float
 leaves have airspace – to float
 leave are large – does not have to reduce water loss

Conservation on ecosystem
Poaching is illegal. Illegal hunting of animals
Abalone (parlemoen) – shellfish being poached alongside SA coastline. Sold in
restaurants

2014 – 1215 rhinos poached 1 every 8 hours

Air pollution
Gases – carbon dioxide – greenhouse effect
Sulphur dioxide – acid rain smoke & dust

Water pollution
Oil Pollution – problem in the sea
Oil tankers damaged in storms or run into rocks
Leak oil – kills fish and birds and seals
Birds: feathers stick together – can’t fly, no insulation – die of cold
Fish: clogs gills – can’t breathe
Chemical Substances
Dumped into rivers & sea by factories
Mercury: eaten & stored in bodies – then passed from smaller to bigger fish
through the food chain

Organic waste:
Rotting plant & animal matter
Sewerage – causes cholera
Litter (plastic, paper etc) thrown into resources
It looks ugly and animals can choke on it

NATURAL SCIENCE GRADE 8 TERM 2

MICRO ORGANISMS
Organisms – seen with the naked eye
Micro - Organisms
 living
 cannot be seen with the naked eye
 can only see with a microscope
 They are everywhere
 They make us sick

Micro biology – study of micro- organisms

Types of Micro-Organisms
They can be good and bad
Bad = cause disease Good = yeast to make bread
Four types of Micro-Organisms
1. Viruses
2. Bacteria
3. Protists
4. Fungi

1. Viruses
 attack healthy cells of living organisms
 they are non-living – 7 life processes
 they produce by using material from host cell and destroy the host cell

2. Bacteria
 living things but not plant or animal
 they belong to group Monera
 they can be unicellular or multicellular
 classified according to shape

1. Spheres (cocci)
2. RODS (bacilli)
3. Spiral

3. Protists
 not a plant or animal or fungi
 amoeba slime mould

4. Fungi
 living
 unicellular (yeast) multicellular (mushroom)
 grow on food by farming hyphae

Harmful Micro-Organisms
Robert Koch (German) – discovered micro -organisms cause disease

TB Tuberculosis
 Bacterial infection effects lungs
 Spread through the air when sick person coughs or sneezes. Saliva floats in
the air and inhaled by others
 Cough – cough up blood & fever
 X-ray to confirm
 Antibodies

AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

 virus
 destroys immune system
 no immune system – can’t fight disease
 sex
 touching, infecting blood
 breastfeeding
 no cure
 ARV’S to treat
 Fever, sore throat, sore muscles

Malaria
 caused by a parasite plasmodium
 mosquito carries parasite
 parasite lays eggs in liver
 destroys red blood cells
 high fever headache vomiting
 prevention – anti-malaria – prophylactics
 mosquito spray
Waterborne Diseases
 caused by drinking contaminated water
 causes diarrhea, vomiting – dehydration
 cholera
 eating or drinking contaminated food
 must wash food
 antibiotics

Preventing infection
wash hands with soap wash fruit & veg
cover mouth when caught or sneeze wear gloves before touching blood
boil water refrigerate food

NATURAL SCIENCE TERM 2 MATTER & ATOM

SUB ATOMIC PARTICLE (smallest particles of an atom)
Protons – positive
Neutrons – neutral
Electrons – negative

Atom structure (smallest particle in an element)

arrangement of sub atomic particles

Element (made up of a single atom)

Matter (anything that takes up space and has mass

Volume: amount of space an object takes up

Mass: amount of matter in an object

ATOM

Sub Atomic Particles - Neutrons Protons Electrons

Period table: table of elements arranged by atomic number

Period: horizontal row on periodic table
Atomic Number: how many protons in nucleus of atom
Atomic Mass: total number of protons and neutrons in nucleus

Molecule: 2 or more atoms chemically bonded together water

Diatomic Molecule: Molecule of 2 atoms of the same element bonded together
Compound: 2 or more atoms of different elements bonded together
Chemical Formula: shows the elements in the compound
Pure Substance: Only has one atom or molecule
Mixture: Combination of 2 or more substances not chemically bonded

NATURAL SCIENCE GRADE 8 TERM 3

Expansion & Contraction

Expansion
When a substance is heated – kinetic energy increases – particles move apart -
material expands. Spaces – get bigger

Contraction
When a substance is cooled – kinetic energy decreases – particles move closer –
material contracts – spaces – get smaller

During expansion & contractions the size and number of particles do not change

Bigger spaces but particles stay the same size

Hot (bigger space) and take up more space. Same amount of particles

How it is possible for materials to expand and contract?

Possible because the particles get bigger or smaller when substances are heated or
cooled
Heated: particles get more kinetic energy – move faster – move away from each
other expand
Cooled: particles have less kinetic energy – move slower – move closer together –
contract

Solids
Very important in buildings – especially where summers are very hot and winters
very cold
 materials expand or contract by the same amounts
 all materials expand or contract at set amount
  each material has its own degree of expansion and contraction
 expansion & contraction happens more when the forces between particles
are weaker
 materials that expand the most will contract the most

Ball and ring experiment

Liquids
How a thermometer works
 inside a thermometer is a liquid
 when heated the liquid expands and moves up the tube
 the more heat applied the more it expands, the higher the liquid rises
 the particles don’t change size – only the spaces get bigger or smaller

Same principles as solids

GASES
Expands and contract the MOST – they have the weakest forces of all 3 states
To see gas expand/contract it must be in a jar with a lid or a balloon

Chemistry
Physical change
- form of a substance changes but no chemical change
- Only changes the form. Energy does not change. Molecules do not change.
Chemical bonds are not made or broken
- Physical change = physical state of matter
- crushing a can – still a can – different form
- melting ice – still water
- broken glass – still water

Chemical change
- causes a new substance to form
- Bonds broken & reformed. Molecules changed
- 2 or more molecules interact – chemical reaction
- cooking an egg
- baking a cake
- rotting banana
- burning wood

Chemical change vs. Physical change

chemical lemon
log burning sliced lemon

ash burning (new substance) sliced lemon (same substance)

change will effect physical & chemical change only effects physical properties
properties
produces no energy
produces energy
heat – light – sound produces no new substance

produce new substances changes easy to reverse

changes are not easily reversible

Chemical reaction
 chemical reaction: when elements join together to form compounds
 chemical bonds: forces that hold atoms together
 bonds in the reactants break & new bonds form when products are made
 products have new & different properties

Chemical reaction has taken place when:

1. colour change
2. a gas has formed
3. a solid has formed
4. a smell appears
5. heat is produced or feels cold
6. there is an explosion

Representing chemical reactions

Reactants Products

Coefficient Subscript

ELECTRICITY STATIC AND CURRENT GRADE 8 TERM 4

Static Electricity
Static: electricity that builds up a charge on the surface of an object
- static because it does not move or flow. It stays in one area
- we see it every day and feel it – zapped when we touch something
How does it work?
 - it happens because electrons can move
- electrons = move
- protons = DO NOT MOVE
- electrons move when 2 objects are rubbed together
- when 2 objects touch electrons are transferred from one object to another

Static electricity: imbalance of positive and negative charges

What does charged mean?

Object is positively charged – loses electrons
- atoms have more protons than electrons
Object is negatively charged – gains electrons
- atoms have more electrons than protons

Opposite attract
Positive & negative charges attract
Charged objects will attract neutrals objects

Dangers of lightning
Temperature in lightning can be hotter than the sun
Objects struck by lightning can catch fire
When a tree is struck by lightning
- liquid turns to gas
- causes high pressure
- trunk explodes

How to prevent being struck by lightning

 stay away from trees
 stay away from tall objects
 do not run – running creates friction
 avoid water – conducts
 avoid using electronic devices

See experiments
Terminology
Conductor: Material that allows charges to flow through
Insulator: Material that do not allow charges to flow through
Charges: means electrons
Conductors: silvercopper gold steel water
Insulators: rubber glass oil diamond drywood

Current Electricity
Energy Transfer in Electrical Systems
  energy can be transferred in electrical systems by movement of electrical
charges
 Potential Energy (battery)- transferred energy in a circuit
Converts energy to another form (heat, sound, light)

Circuits
- A system that transfers electrical energy
- A path for electric charges to move from one component to another
- Circuit = path for electricity to flow

Simple circuit
- Energy source (cell)
- Conducting wire (path)
- Bulb

Components of an Electrical Circuit

1. Conducting wire
2. Switches
3. Cell or battery
4. Resistors

1. Conducting wires
- material through which electric wire charge can flow
- made from metal – metal good conductor – copper
- wires covered in plastic – plastic is a insulator – prevents shock

2. Switches
- opens or closes a circuit
- open = circuit broken – no current will flow
- closed = circuit complete – current will flow

3. Cell or battery
- source of energy
- energy is stored as chemical potential energy
- 2 terminals – negative & positive
- battery: 2 or more cells connected together
- circuit with a bulb – chemical potential
energy – electrical energy – heat and light energy
Wire
Resistor
Light bulb
Cell
Battery
Switch
See Circuit Drawing

AMMETER
- Measures current
- Lows resistance
- Measures current in amperes
- Always in series circuit

4. Resistance – inhibits electric current

- materials that resist flow of charges
- all components have some resistances
- copper has little resistance
- inside filament of light bulb has high resistance
- heats up and produces light

Series & Parallel Circuits

How does electric current through a circuit?
 Electrons in a conductor drift in different directions in a metal
 Closed circuit – cell is energy source
- Electrons will move towards positive side of cell
 Speed at which electrons move depends on resistance in the conductor
 All electrons move at the same time in the same direction – reaction is
instant

Series Circuits
 Only one pathway for electric current to follow
 Current strength is the same all over the pathway
 Adding more resistors slows the current everywhere
 All electrons travel through every component & wire in the circuit

A = A4
They are in a series
A1 + A2 + A3
A4 = A2 + A3
In a parallel line the current splits
A2 = A3 If resistance is the same

Parallel Circuits
 more than one pathway for electrons to follow
 current divides between different branches
- each branch get some current
 if both resistors are same – current will be split equally. If resistors not equal
more current will flow through the branch with less resistance.
 adding more resistors – increases current

Difference between series & parallel circuits

Series circuit Parallel circuit
1. Only one pathway for electrons to 1. More than one pathway for electrons to
travel travel
2. Current is the same @ all points in a 2. Current splits between available paths
circuit
3. Resistance increases as more 3. Resistance decreases as more resistors
resistors are added & current decreases are added & current increases.

Resistance increases current decreases Resistance decreases current increases