Florida SC.8.P.8.9

Science8th GradeProperties of Matter

The Standard

Distinguish among mixtures (including solutions) and pure substances.

Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students decide whether a sample has a fixed composition or contains substances physically combined. They recognize that clear, uniform solutions are mixtures. They use evidence such as separability and variable composition.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student correctly classifies examples such as oxygen, distilled water, salt water, and granite. The student explains that mixtures can vary in composition and be separated by physical methods.
Common Misconceptions: Students often call any clear, uniform sample a pure substance. They may treat compounds as mixtures because compounds contain multiple elements. They may also assume all water samples are pure.
How to Assess It: Classify distilled water, salt water, granite, and oxygen as pure substances or mixtures. Explain why salt water remains a mixture even when it looks uniform.

Lesson moves

Mix salt into water and combine sand with iron filings, then use filtration, evaporation, and a magnet to gather classification evidence.
Write a claim for this prompt: Is a clear sports drink pure? Support your answer with composition and separation evidence.
Run a card sort with sample names and property clues, matching each sample to pure substance, solution, or heterogeneous mixture.
Compare labels from distilled water and an electrolyte drink, then decide which product has a fixed composition and which contains multiple substances.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to SC.8.P.8.9, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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