North Carolina Standards
North Carolina 8th Grade Math Standards
All 25 North Carolina math standards for 8th grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's document, linked at the end of this page.
25 standards
The Number System
2 standardsNC.8.NS.1
Know every number has a decimal form, and that irrational numbers like pi or the square root of 2 have decimals that never end or repeat.
NC.8.NS.2
Estimate irrational numbers to compare and place them on a number line, finding square and cube roots to the tenths and pi to the hundredths.
Expressions and Equations
6 standardsNC.8.EE.1
Discover and use the rules for integer exponents, including zero and negatives, to rewrite expressions, like 3 squared times 3 to the -5 equaling 1/27.
NC.8.EE.2
Use square and cube root symbols to solve equations like x squared = 25 or x cubed = 8, and find roots of perfect squares and cubes up to 400.
NC.8.EE.3
Estimate very large or tiny amounts in scientific notation and say how many times bigger one is, like 6 x 10^8 being 200 times as large as 3 x 10^6.
NC.8.EE.4
Multiply and divide with scientific notation in real problems, like distances in space, even when some numbers are written as ordinary decimals.
NC.8.EE.7
Solve one-variable linear equations and inequalities, even with the variable on both sides, and tell whether an equation has one, no or infinitely many solutions.
NC.8.EE.8
Solve two linear equations in slope-intercept form together by graphing, since the crossing point fits both, or by inspection in simple cases, for real problems.
Functions
5 standardsNC.8.F.1
Explain that a function pairs every input with just one output, and decide whether a graph, table or set of ordered pairs shows a function.
NC.8.F.2
Compare two linear functions shown in different ways, like an equation and a table, by their rates of change and starting values.
NC.8.F.3
Recognize a linear function from a table with a constant rate, an equation like y = 3x + 1, or a graph that is a straight line.
NC.8.F.4
Write y = mx + b for a linear relationship from two points or a graph, graph it from the equation, and explain the slope and starting value in the situation.
NC.8.F.5
Describe a graph in words, like where it rises or falls and whether it is straight or curved, and sketch a graph that tells the story of a real situation.
Geometry
8 standardsNC.8.G.2
Test rotations, reflections and translations to show they keep shapes the same, define congruent figures by them, and describe moves that map one onto another.
NC.8.G.3
Use coordinates to describe how dilations and quarter-turn rotations about the origin, translations, and reflections over the x- or y-axis move a figure.
NC.8.G.4
Test that dilations make same-shaped figures, define similar figures as ones linked by moves and dilations, and describe a sequence that maps one onto the other.
NC.8.G.5
Reason informally about angles in triangles, at parallel lines cut by a transversal, and in angle-angle similarity, and use those facts to solve angle problems.
NC.8.G.6
Explain why the squares of a right triangle's legs add up to the square of its longest side, and why any triangle with that property must be a right triangle.
NC.8.G.7
Find missing side lengths in right triangles and test for right angles with the Pythagorean Theorem, like how high a 13-foot ladder reaches.
NC.8.G.8
Find the distance between two points on a coordinate grid by treating it as the long side of a right triangle.
NC.8.G.9
See how the volume formulas for cones, cylinders and spheres connect, like a cone holding 1/3 of a matching cylinder, and use them to solve real problems.
Statistics and Probability
4 standardsNC.8.SP.1
Make and read scatter plots of paired measurements, describing patterns like clusters, outliers, and positive, negative, linear or curved association.
NC.8.SP.2
Draw a line of best fit by eye on a scatter plot that looks linear, and judge how well it fits by how close the points sit to it.
NC.8.SP.3
Use the equation of a fitted line to make predictions from paired data, explaining what its slope and y-intercept mean, like each extra hour adding 5 points.
NC.8.SP.4
Build and read two-way tables for two categories asked of the same people, and use row or column relative frequencies to spot possible links.
The official North Carolina documents
- North Carolina K-12 Mathematics Standard Course of Study · adopted June 2017 · since 2018-19, through 2027-28
- North Carolina Standard Course of Study, K-8 Mathematics · adopted June 2017 · since 2018-19, through 2027-28
- 2026 K-12 Mathematics Standard Course of Study · coming next · adopted October 2026 · installation years 2026-27 and 2027-28
The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of North Carolina's standards, not the official wording, which North Carolina Department of Public Instruction publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.