The middle school physical science course is designed to give students the necessary skills for a smooth transition from elementary physical science standards to high school physical science standards.  The course provides an overview of common strands in physical science including, but not limited to, the nature of matter, laws of energy, matter, motion and forces, and energy transformation.  The eighth-grade physical science students work conceptually to develop an understanding of the concepts of conservation of matter, conservation of energy, physical change, chemical change, motion, forces, and energy transformation.  Eighth-grade students keep records of observations and analyze the data they collect.  They describe observations and show information in graphical form.  When analyzing data eighth-graders can recognize relationships in simple charts and graphs and find more than one way to interpret their findings. Successful completion of the course will earn one high school credit of required Physical Science on their high school transcript.