Fifth Grade Science Test Vocabulary

Fifth Grade Science Academic Vocabulary: Common Core State Standards

Fifth Grade Testing Vocabulary 

acids /bases

Acids can be solutions, liquids or solids. Acid solutions have a pH less than 7 and turn blue litmus paper red. They react with bases, taste sour and react with metals.

Example: Vinegar is a weak acid (acetic acid).

Bases can be thought of as the chemical opposite of acids. Bases react violently with acidic substances. They are bitter in taste, have a pH greater than 7, and turn red litmus paper blue.

Example: Many families use two bases at home: bleach for laundry such as Chlorox©, and ammonia for washing windows, floors, etc.

chemical change

In a chemical change, bonds are broken and formed between different atoms, forming a new compound/substance.

Photosynthesis results in a chemical change in which carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) are changed into sugars by plants.

chemical properties

Chemical properties are any of a material's properties that can be seen during a chemical reaction. (Unlike material properties, chemical properties cannot be identified by looking at the material.)

One of the chemical properties of hydrogen is that it can catch fire and explode under the right conditions.

concave lens

A lens with at least one inward-curving (concave) surface. Light going through a concave lens becomes spread out. (See figure below.)

conduction

The movement of heat, electricity through a material.

Aluminum, copper, silver and gold all have very good heat conduction properties.

conductor

A material which freely allows the flow of electricity or heat through it.

Aluminum is a very good conductor of electricity and heat.

contract/expand

To contract is to become smaller in size.

To expand is to become larger in size.

The pupils in your eyes contract when you go into bright light, and expand when you go into a dark room.

convection

The movement of molecules within fluids (i.e. liquids and gases).

Many people have convection ovens at home.

convex lens

A convex lens has one or more surfaces curving out or bulging outward. A convex lens takes a beam of light and focuses it on a point.

My magnifying glass has a convex lens.

ecosystem

An environment consisting of all the organisms living there, as well as the air, soil, water and sunlight conditions.

Tucson is located in a desert ecosystem.

environmental changes (human & nature)

Changes in an area caused by nature (e,g, storms, floods, weathering, etc.) or humans (e.g., building homes, paving the roads, or nearly all human activities).

The Tucson area has experienced many environmental changes caused by nature (mountain uplift) and humans (building thousands of homes).

fossils (relative age)

The relative age of fossils refers to figuring out the age based of the layer of the rock in which the fossil  is found. (Older fossils are found in deeper layers.)

Fossils  are the preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past.

Fossils of dinosaur footprints can be seen at Dinosaur Valley State Park near Glen Rose, Texas. The relative age of these tracks is 115 to 105 millions years old.

inherited traits

Characteristics passed from parents to their offspring (children) through genes. In plants, it's the passing of characteristics from the "parent" plant to new plants through genes in seeds.

In humans, inherited traits you can see are hair and eye color.

insulator

A material which electricity or heat has a hard time moving through.

A pot holder makes a good insulator and can keep you from burning your hand on a hot handle.

kinetic energy

The energy of a moving object.

If you catch a baseball hit by strong player, your hand will sting because the kinetic energy of the ball has been transferred to your hand.

light reflection

The bouncing of light off a surface.

A mirror works because of light reflection.

magnetic field

A magnetic field is a force field that can attract or repel certain materials (e.g., iron) or charged particles like electrons.

1) A permanent magnet produces its own magnetic field. 2) The earth has a magnetic field.

mass

In everyday usage, "mass" is often used to mean weight, but in physics, mass is the ratio of weight to the acceleration of gravity. On the earth, mass is the weight in pounds or kilograms divided by the acceleration of gravity, or weight in pounds / 32.2 ft/sec². 

Wherever you go in the universe, your mass is the same, but your weight will change as the force of gravity changes.

metamorphosis (complete & incomplete)

All insects undergo a visible change in form, texture and physical appearance or metamorphosis, from immature to adult. Some insects undergo an incomplete or partial metamorphosis, and the young of these insects look very much like the adults. Other insects undergo a complete metamorphosis, and the young of these insects look very different from the adults (e.g., caterpillar to butterfly).

The Monarch Butterfly goes through a complete metamorphosis, and changes from a caterpillar to a butterfly. A grasshopper goes through an incomplete metamorphosis, and the young nymphs look very much like the adults.

potential energy

The energy stored in an object or system due to its position in a force field (like gravity).

A back pack has a lot of potential energy if it is placed on a table where it can fall on the floor.

radiation

Particles of energy (e.g., electrons, alpha particles, neutrons, etc.) or waves (e.g. light or radio waves) that travel through a material or space.

Human beings can live on the earth because of the sun's radiation.

revolution

The movement of one body/planet completely around another.

It takes the earth 365 days to make one revolution around the sun.

species

In biology, a species is one of the basic groups in classification organisms (plants, animals, insects, etc.). The commonly used names for plants and animals are sometimes the same as the species' name: for example, "lion," "walrus," and "Camphor tree" each refer to a species. In other cases common names do not: for example, "deer" refers to a family of 34 species.

Human beings (Homo sapiens) are a species in the Mammalia class.

states of matter

The three states of matter  that you normally deal with are: solids, liquids, and gases. A fourth state of matter is plasma (an ionized state of matter similar to a gas) which is used in flat screen, plasma TV sets. A fifth state of matter is a Bose-Einstein condensate, which you need not worry about until you go into advanced college physics.

We commonly see all three states of matter for water every day: ice (solid), water (liquid), and gas