MS

The first administration of the new NYS middle school grade 8 science exam, which assesses students on the performance expectations below, is planned for this June 2024 (per the NYSED science implementation roadmap).

MS. Structure and Properties of Matter

MS-PS1-1 | Atomic Composition of Simple Molecules
Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on developing models of molecules that vary in complexity. Examples of simple molecules could include ammonia and methanol. Examples of extended structures could include sodium chloride or diamonds. Examples of particulate-level models could include drawings, 3D ball and stick structures, or computer representations showing different substances with different types of atoms.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include valence electrons and bonding energy, discussing the individual ions composing complex structures, or a complete depiction of all individual atoms in a complex molecule or extended structure.

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MS-PS1-3 | Natural Resources
Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on natural resources that undergo a chemical process to form the synthetic material. Examples of new materials could include new medicine, foods, and alternative fuels.

Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to the qualitative interpretation of evidence provided.

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MS-PS1-4 | Thermal energy and phase changes
Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and phase (state) of a substance when thermal energy is added or removed.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on qualitative particulate- level models of solids, liquids, and gases to show that adding or removing thermal energy increases or decreases kinetic energy of the particles until a change of phase occurs. Examples of models could include drawings and diagrams. Examples of particles could include ions, molecules, or atoms. Examples of substances could include sodium chloride, water, carbon dioxide, and helium.

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MS-PS1-7 | Density
Use evidence to illustrate that density is a property that can be used to identify samples of matter.

Clarification statement: Emphasis should be on students measuring the masses and volumes of regular and irregular shaped objects, calculating their densities, and identifying the samples of matter.

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MS-PS1-8 | Natural Resources
Plan and conduct an investigation to demonstrate that mixtures are combinations of substances.

Clarification statement: Emphasis should be on analyzing the physical changes that occur as mixtures are formed and/or separated. Examples of common mixtures could include salt water, oil and vinegar, and air.

Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to separation by evaporation, filtration and magnetism.

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MS. Chemical Reactions

MS-PS1-2 | Chemical Reactions
Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.

Clarification statement: Examples of chemical reactions could include burning of a wooden splint, souring of milk and decomposition of sodium bicarbonate.

Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to analysis of the following properties: density, melting point, boiling point, solubility, flammability, color change, gas production and odor.

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MS-PS1-5 | Conservation of Mass in Chemical Reactions
Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on the law of conservation of matter and on physical models or drawings, including digital forms, that represent atoms.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include the use of atomic masses, balancing symbolic equations, or intermolecular forces.

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MS-PS1-6 | Design for Transfer of Thermal Energy
Undertake a design project to construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy during a chemical and/or physical process.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on the design, controlling the transfer of energy to the environment, and modification of a device using factors such as type and amount of a substance. Examples of designs could include combining vinegar and baking soda, activating glow sticks at various temperatures and dissolving ammonium chloride or calcium chloride.

Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to the criteria of substance amounts, reaction time, and observed temperature changes.

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MS. Forces and Interactions

MS-PS2-1 | Newton's Third Law
Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.

Clarification statement: Examples of practical problems could include the impact of collisions between two cars, between a car and stationary objects, and between a meteor and a space vehicle.

Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to vertical or horizontal interactions in one dimension.

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MS-PS2-2 | Newton's First and Second Law
Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on balanced (Newton’s First Law) and unbalanced forces in a system (including simple machines), qualitative comparisons of forces, mass and changes in motion (Newton’s Second Law), frame of reference, and specification of units.

Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to forces and changes in motion in one-dimension in an inertial reference frame and to change in one variable at a time. Assessment does not include the use of trigonometry.

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MS-PS2-3 | Electric and Magnetic Forces
Ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.

Clarification statement: Examples of devices that use electric and magnetic forces could include electromagnets, electric motors, or generators. Examples of data could include the effect of the number of turns of wire on the strength of an electromagnet, or the effect of increasing the number or strength of magnets on the speed of an electric motor.

Assessment boundary: Assessment about questions that require quantitative answers is limited to proportional reasoning and algebraic thinking.

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MS-PS2-4 | Gravity
Construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects and the distance between them.

Clarification statement: Examples of evidence for arguments could include data generated from simulations or digital tools; and charts displaying mass, strength of interaction, distance from the Sun, and orbital periods of objects within the solar system.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include Newton’s Law of Gravitation or Kepler’s Laws.

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MS-PS2-5 | Electric and Magnetic Fields
Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.

Clarification statement: Examples of this phenomenon could include the interactions of magnets, electrically-charged strips of tape, and electrically-charged pith balls. Examples of investigations could include first-hand experiences or simulations. Emphasis should be on using arrows to represent the directions of forces.

Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to electric and magnetic fields, and is limited to qualitative evidence for the existence of fields.

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MS. Energy

MS-PS3-1 | Kinetic Energy, Mass, and Speed
Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on descriptive relationships between kinetic energy and mass separately from kinetic energy and speed. Examples could include riding a bicycle at different speeds, rolling different sizes of rocks downhill, and getting hit by a wiffle ball versus a tennis ball.

Assessment boundary: Assessment could include both qualitative and quantitative evaluations of kinetic energy.

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MS-PS3-2 | Potential Energy
Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on relative amounts of potential energy, not on calculations of potential energy. Examples of objects within systems interacting at varying distances could include: the Earth and either a roller coaster cart at varying positions on a hill or objects at varying heights on shelves, changing the direction/orientation of a magnet, and a balloon with static electrical charge being brought closer to a classmate’s hair. Examples of models could include representations, diagrams, pictures, and written descriptions of systems.

Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to two objects and electric, magnetic, and gravitational interactions.

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MS-PS3-3 | Thermal Energy Transfer
Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.

Clarification statement: Examples of devices could include an insulated box, a solar cooker, and a Styrofoam cup.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include calculating the total amount of thermal energy transferred.

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MS-PS3-4 | Energy Transfer: type of matter, mass, and temperature change
Plan and conduct an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the temperature of the sample of matter.

Clarification statement: Examples of experiments could include comparing final water temperatures after different masses of ice melted in the same volume of water with the same initial temperature, the temperature change of samples of different materials with the same mass as they cool or heat in the environment, or the same material with different masses when a specific amount of energy is added.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include calculating the total amount of thermal energy transferred.

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MS-PS3-5 | Work done on or by a system
Construct, use, and present an argument to support the claim that when work is done on or by a system, the energy of the system changes as energy is transferred to or from the system.

Clarification statement: Examples of empirical evidence used in arguments could include an inventory or other representation of the energy before and after the transfer in the form of temperature changes or motion of object.

Assessment boundary: Assessment could include calculations of work and energy.

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MS-PS3-6 | Electric currents and circuits
Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred by electric currents.

Clarification statement: Emphasis should be on arrangements of circuit components in series and parallel circuits.

Assessment boundary: Assessment will be limited to qualitative analysis and reasoning.

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MS. Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation

MS-PS4-1 | Mathematical representations of waves
Develop a model and use mathematical representations to describe waves that includes frequency, wavelength, and how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on describing waves with both qualitative and quantitative thinking.

Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to comparing standard repeating waves of only one type (transverse or longitudinal).

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