When kids reach the 8th grade, they cross into another stage of their educational journey. Math for 1-8 grades evolves with new difficulty levels as your child grows past each grade. The 8th grade is seen as the final grade before high school, and kids will meet some complex terms that they do not have to understand immediately. However, children need to get all the essential ideas so that when they encounter complicated problems as high school freshmen, they learn easily.
As a parent, you want to understand what your child is learning in school to see if they need help as they go on. So, here are some of the math concepts that your child will encounter in 8th grade:
Exponents
Exponents express large numbers in powers; they show how many times a number can multiply against itself. It means that instead of saying 10x10x10x10x10, you say 10 raised to the power of 5. In 8th grade, teachers will introduce kids to the basics of exponents, the law of exponents, and negative exponents. The concept of exponents is not a very complex one. However, it is a math concept that prepares kids for learning more challenging math concepts as they grow.
Lines, angles, and triangles
Your kids already encountered lines, angles, and triangles in the previous grades when they studied geometry. But now, children will learn them at a more challenging level, solving complicated equations in the process and finding derivatives that have to do with algebraic equations.
They will learn about the angles formed by the intersection of transversals and parallel lines. They will also get acquainted with the exterior angles, equal to the sum of interior opposite angles. There are specific formulas involved in K-8 math, and kids will have to learn all of them to solve related problems easily. They can learn this concept better using math for kids at Brighterly.
Scientific notations
When kids are in primary grades, they learn how to write large numbers in both figures and words. First, kids learn how many zeros there are in hundreds, thousands, and millions, especially when numbers are multiplied by 10. Then, as your child progresses through math for 1-8 grades, they learn different ways of writing out these numbers, and finally, when kids get to grade 8, they learn how to write numbers in standard form.
The large numbers will stop existing in their original forms in high school because they must be integrated into equations and take up so much space. So, besides expressing these numbers in standard forms, kids must also learn to operate with them in their new form.
Geometric transformations
Geometric transformation refers to the four ways you can manipulate a shape into different angles as required. There are different types of transformation in math: translation, rotation, reflection, and enlargement. Kids will learn about geometry in math classes for 1-8 grades, but when they get to grade 8, they begin to learn more complex terms like transformations.
When students get into high school, they will explore this topic more, but for now, they will learn all the basics, including how each shape can be transformed from pre-image to the final image and what this means to the calculation.
The Pythagoras theorem
Kids begin to learn about the Pythagoras theorem in 8th grade. The theorem can be a complex topic to understand because it requires understanding the theory and remembering it whenever you want to solve an equation that requires the theory’s application. Kids need first to learn and understand the theory’s meaning, its application, and how it factors into math. Kids also learn something called the distance formula, which is derived using the Pythagorean theorem.
Data analysis and display
In today’s age and time, data controls just about everything we do, and the data industry is a booming $ 162.6 billion industry growing daily. In grade 8, kids learn the basics of data, and for some of them, this is the period when they grow an actual interest and decide to focus on data analysis as a career for the rest of their lives.
Students will not go deeper into the topic yet because there is specific time for that, but they will get a general idea of the elements involved. These elements include scatter plots, lines of fit, two-way tables, and choosing a data display.
Square roots and cubes
Square roots and cubes is a concept that kids in 8th grade will not find complex because they have been studying it for three years before the 8th grade. However, they now have to understand it in a more profound, challenging manner that corresponds to the level of studies for 8th graders.
If you want your kid to scale through this part of the curriculum seamlessly, you can sign them up for online math classes for kids. Kids will learn how to find square and cube roots again, but they will also discover new ways to do this.
Real numbers
Your child will learn two kinds of numbers in maths class: natural numbers and real numbers. Natural numbers are the numbers we already know, e.g., 1,2,3,4,5,6… And real numbers are numbers that contain rational numbers which look like -2, 0, 1, and irrational numbers which look like π(22/7). So, kids need to learn how to work with real numbers and, more importantly, all the elements involved in real numbers.
Some of these elements include rational numbers, irrational numbers, classification of rational numbers, conversion of recurring decimals to fractions, and the ways to represent a recurring decimal on a number line. If you think your child needs a tutor to help them get better at this concept, search for “maths tutors near me” and you will find suitable tutors to help your kid.
Conclusion
You have a better chance of helping your child with their studies when you understand what they are learning in class. Even when you get a tutor, you want a general idea of what they teach your child. These are not the only math concepts they encounter in 8th grade, but these are some of the important ones.
