Cambridge Lower Secondary · Science 0893 · Stage 8
Checkpoint 8 Science — Complete Course
The whole Cambridge Lower Secondary Stage 8 Science curriculum — biology, chemistry, physics, Earth and space, and working scientifically — with clear diagrams, key words in Arabic, an interactive quiz on every page and full Checkpoint-style end-of-year practice tests with printable PDFs.
Start here
- Stage 8 Science: The Tests and How to PrepareHow Cambridge Lower Secondary science tests work — two 45-minute papers, question styles, mark-scheme words and results — and how to use this Stage 8 course to prepare.
- Thinking and Working Scientifically: Models, Investigations and Analysing ResultsEvery Stage 8 science skill — analogies and formulae, hypotheses, planning, risk, keys, accurate measuring, tables, graphs, anomalies, conclusions and evaluation — with one investigation followed from start to finish.
Biology
- Joints and Antagonistic MusclesBall-and-socket and hinge joints, and how antagonistic muscles such as the biceps and triceps move the bones at a hinge joint.
- Blood and Its ComponentsRed blood cells, white blood cells and plasma: what each looks like and what it does — transporting oxygen, protecting against pathogens, and carrying cells, nutrients and carbon dioxide.
- Breathing, Gas Exchange and Diffusion in the LungsHow the lungs, ribs, intercostal muscles and diaphragm move air, how oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse in the alveoli, and why breathing is not the same as respiration — with Checkpoint-style practice.
- A Balanced Diet, Energy Stores and LifestyleThe nutrients in a balanced diet and what each one does, how animals get and store energy, and how diet and smoking affect growth and health — with food-label calculations and Checkpoint-style practice.
- Aerobic RespirationHow every plant and animal cell releases energy from glucose in its mitochondria, the word equation for aerobic respiration, why it is a controlled release, and the classic experiments — with Checkpoint-style practice.
- Ecosystems, Bioaccumulation and Invasive SpeciesEcosystems around the Earth and the habitats inside them, how toxic substances build up along food chains, and how invasive species such as water hyacinth change whole ecosystems — with food-web practice in Checkpoint style.
Chemistry
- The Structure of the AtomThe Rutherford model of the atom, the charges of protons, neutrons and electrons, the gold foil evidence for the nucleus, and the electrostatic attraction that holds every atom together.
- Purity, Concentration and ChromatographyWhat purity means and how to calculate it, how concentration depends on the number of solute particles in a volume, and how to carry out and read paper chromatography.
- Word Equations, Exothermic and Endothermic ReactionsHow to write word equations and name the products, the main reaction patterns, and how to use a temperature change to decide whether a reaction or process is exothermic or endothermic.
- The Reactivity of MetalsThe reactivity series of nine metals, how each reacts with oxygen, water and dilute acids, the word equations and the hydrogen test, and why unreactive (inert) substances such as gold are so useful.
- Impure Products and Solubility of SaltsWhy real reactions give impure mixtures, how to separate and purify a salt, and how to read and use solubility curves — with worked examples, common mistakes and a Checkpoint-style quiz.
Physics
- Speed and Distance–Time GraphsHow to calculate speed, distance and time, find average speeds, and read, draw and interpret distance–time graphs — with worked examples and a Checkpoint-style quiz.
- Balanced and Unbalanced Forces, and MomentsHow balanced and unbalanced forces change motion, the skydiver story, and how to calculate moments and balance seesaws and levers — with worked examples and a Checkpoint-style quiz.
- Pressure, Particles and DiffusionHow to calculate pressure, how particles cause pressure in gases and liquids, and how diffusion mixes gases and liquids — with worked examples, common mistakes and a Checkpoint-style quiz.
- Reflection and RefractionThe law of reflection, images in plane mirrors, and why light bends when it passes between air, water and glass — explained by the change in the speed of light.
- Dispersion and ColourHow a prism shows that white light is a mixture of colours, and how colours of light are added, subtracted by filters, absorbed and reflected to give objects their colour.
- Magnetic Fields and ElectromagnetsWhat a magnetic field is and how to draw it, how magnetic fields push and pull on each other, and how to make, use and investigate the strength of an electromagnet.
Earth and space
- The Earth's Magnetic Field and Earth's ResourcesWhy the Earth is a giant magnet, and how humans use renewable resources (wind, tidal and solar power, bioplastics) and non-renewable fossil fuels — with worked examples and a Checkpoint-style quiz.
- Climate, Weather and Climate ChangeThe difference between weather and climate, the evidence that the Earth's climate cycles between ice ages and warm periods, and how changes in the atmosphere change the climate — with graphs, worked examples and a Checkpoint-style quiz.
- Galaxies and AsteroidsWhat a galaxy is made of — stars, planetary systems, dust and gas — and how asteroids formed from rocks left over when the Solar System formed, with diagrams, worked examples and a Checkpoint-style quiz.
Practice tests
End-of-Stage-8 tests in Checkpoint style: Paper 1 and Paper 2, 45 minutes and 50 marks each.
- Stage 8 Science — Practice Test 1A full, timed end-of-Stage-8 science practice test in Cambridge style: two 45-minute papers of 50 marks each, covering biology, chemistry, physics, Earth and space and investigation skills, with a mark scheme and worked solution for every question.
- Stage 8 Science — Practice Test 2A full two-paper practice test in Cambridge Stage 8 style (2 × 45 minutes, 2 × 50 marks), with automatic marking and a full mark scheme. By Mohamed Abdelkriem.
- Stage 8 Science — Practice Test 3A full two-paper practice test (2 × 45 minutes, 2 × 50 marks) set in a gym, a fertiliser factory, an island, a space mission, a cycling trip, a theatre and a climate project — with automatic marking and full worked solutions.