Science at key stage 3    (Year 8)

• suggest how organisms living in different habitats obtain the essentials for life and reproduction
• identify organisms likely to be found in a habitat

• describe differences between vertebrates and invertebrates
• name some groups of invertebrate and give examples of these

• recognise that plants are subdivided into groups based on characteristics such as vascular tissue and seed- or spore-bearing reproduction
• explain why mosses are found in places that are damp

• decide on questions to be investigated
• suggest data to be collected

• explain why it is sometimes necessary to use sampling methods to get information in biological studies
• use data from quadrat sampling to give information about population size
• explain why one sample might provide misleading results

• observe and record the organisms which comprise the living community in a habitat
• work safely with living things and show sensitivity to them
• make records in an appropriate way, eg using a digital camera

• describe how the communities in two habitats differ
• describe, eg in an OHT/Powerpoint presentation, how they carried out their work and explain how they came to their conclusions

• collect data, eg temperature variation, light intensity within a habitat, using ICT
• use data collected to compare different habitats

• produce a report comparing two environments, incorporating appropriate data and other information

• describe organisms which show adaptations for particular habitats, and explain how these help the organisms to survive
• explain that both plants and animals are adapted to ensure the survival of the species

• collect information about the number and distribution of organisms in a quadrat sample
• use sample data to estimate a population
• record data in appropriate ways

• suggest how environmental factors, eg availability of light, water and nutrients, affect numbers of organisms
• describe how the distribution of organisms depends on environmental factors
• explain how the size of a population depends on resources

• identify the food chains which make up a food web
• use the terms 'producer', 'consumer' and other terms related to feeding
• describe how a food web shows the feeding relationships within an environment
• predict how changing the size of one population will affect the numbers of other species
• present data from simulations as graphs and make predictions from patterns in these
• describe ways in which plants depend on other organisms

• draw pyramids of numbers from data provided
• explain how a pyramid of numbers describes the number of producers, herbivores and carnivores in a habitat
• describe how there is a flow of energy from the producer to the final organisms in the food chain

• produce a report in which consequences of the change are related to specific organisms within a particular habitat and how they might be protected