Tackling the 5 th Grade Science Test A Study Guide
Key terms to know and remember: Astronomy 1. Planets revolve around the sun in elliptical orbits. Some of the planets have moons and/or debris that orbit them. Comets, asteroids and meteoroids orbit the sun. 2. Asteroids are metallic, rocky bodies that orbit the sun but are too small to be classified as a planet. 3. A meteor appears when a particle or chunk of metallic or stony matter called a meteoroid enters Earth s atmosphere from outer space. 4. Comets are a mixture of ices (both water and frozen gases) that are not part of a planet. 5. Know differences between planets (inner and outer), dwarf planets, and other celestial bodies. 6. The sun is a medium sizes star and the ONLY star in our solar system. The sun makes its own light(stars you see in constellations are NOT in our solar system.) 7. The moon reflects the light from the sun. It does not make its own light. 8. The moon changes shapes (phases) during the course of about a month. This is because half of the moon is always lit up and when we view the moon from Earth, we see different amounts of its lit side because it is revolving around the Earth. The phases of the moon are NOT a result of Earth s shadow on the moon. Earth s shadow on the moon creates a lunar eclipse, not moon phases! 9. Gravity holds planets and moons in orbits. 10. Inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. 11. Outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. 12. Inner and outer planets are separated by the asteroid belt. 13. Know general characteristics about each planet. For example, Mars is red because there is a lot of iron in the soil. Another example: Saturn has rings. The rings are made up of dust, ice and rocks. 14. Pluto is not considered a planet because it has not cleared its orbit of asteroids and other celestial bodies. It is considered a dwarf planet. 15. The sun is a medium sized star and the closest star to Earth. (Stars are made of burning gas.) It is the only star in our solar system. Seasons and day/night as it relates to the Sun-Earth relationship 1. Earth s revolution around the sun takes 365 days 2. Earth completes one rotation in a 24 hour period, producing day and night. (This rotation makes the sun, stars and moon appear to change position in the sky.)
3. Earth s axis is tilted at an angle of 23.5. (This tilt results in some areas on Earth s surface receiving direct sunlight and some receive indirect sunlight direct light=hotter temps. 4. Seasons are caused by both the Earth s tilt and the Earth s revolution around the sun. As the Earth revolves around the sun, the hemisphere that is tilted towards the sun changes. The hemisphere that is tilted towards the sun receives more direct light, resulting in hotter temperatures. Earth tilted toward the sun=direct sunlight = warmer temperatures (summer) Earth tilted away from sun=indirect sunlight= colder temperatures (winter) PBA Test: Question 2 EOY Test: Questions 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14 and 16
Ecosystems Know key terms: 1. Producers: plants and algae. Producers produce their own food from sunlight. (hint: think of what you would find in the produce department in your grocery store fruits and vegetables which are all plants!) 2. Photosynthesis: a process that producers use to transform energy from the sun and make food. 3. Consumers: animals that eat other organisms 4. Decomposers: organisms like mushrooms, bacteria or fungi that break down dead organisms and return nutrients to the soil. 5. Predator: an animal that hunts and eats an animal (hint: notice the letters e-a-t) 6. Prey: an animal that gets eaten by another animal (hint: think of the animal praying Please don t eat me! ) 7. Endangered species: the species is in danger of dying out completely. There are very few of the species left 8. Threatened species: the species is declining. The species is not rare yet, but it may be in the near future. 9. Native species: organisms that are naturally occurring in an ecosystem. These organisms have been in the balanced and thriving ecosystem for many years. (Hint: Think of Native Americans they are native to North America.) 10. Invasive species: Invaders! They don t belong! Species are considered invasive if they are not naturally occurring in an ecosystem and were brought to the ecosystem by humans. Invasive species can disrupt the natural balance in an ecosystem by preying on native species, or competing with native species for food or habitat. 11. Food chain: shows how the energy flows through the ecosystem. 12. Food webs: interconnected food chains and their relationships 13. Carnivores: eat other animals 14. Herbivores: eat producers (plants or algae) 15. Omnivores: eat both animals and producers 16. Symbiosis: individuals of one species are dependent upon individuals of another species for survival. Mutualism: both species benefit Commensalism: one species benefits and the other is unaffected Parasitism: one species benefits and the other is harmed
**Know energy relationships: **Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction: Sun Producers Consumers Decomposers Plants and algae get energy from sun Animals are consumers get energy from eating other animals or plants. Decomposers get energy from eating dead organisms and return nutrients to the soil *Understand and be able to explain how the introduction or removal of animals affect other organisms in an ecosystem. PBA Test: Question 1,4,5,6 EOY Test: Questions 1,3,6,8,10,
Force and Motion 1. Speed: calculated by d/t 2. Weight: a measure of the gravitational force between and object and the Earth. The greater the mass, the greater the gravitational pull. 3. Gravity: Pulls objects towards each other. 4. Force: pushes and pulls that cause changes in motion --the greater the force, the greater the change in motion --if a force is applied in the same direction of an object s motion, the speed will increase --if a force is applied in the opposite direction of an object, the speed will decrease --the mass of an object affects its movement when a force is applied. The greater the mass, the more force required to move the object. --if no forces act on an object, the object does not change its motion and moves at a constant speed in a given direction. --if an object is not moving and no force acts on it, the object will remain at rest. PBA Test: Questions 3, 7 EOY Test: Questions 4,11
Light 1. Light can travel through empty space. 2. Light travels in a straight line until it interacts with another object or material. Types of material: Opaque: light cannot pass through. Opaque materials create shadows. Transluscent: some light passes through, but not much, scatters and sometimes distorts images. (wax paper is an example) Transparent: let all light through 3. Objects can absorb, refract or reflect light. Refract: bending light. Light can be bent to magnify or reduce the size of an image. Light can also be refracted to separate out the colors in light (ROY G. BIV) Lenses bend light to magnify or reduce the size of the image (magnifying glasses or eye glasses are examples.) Prisms bend light and separate out the colors in light Absorb: absorb means to take in. Objects that absorb colors from light also absorb the energy from the colors they absorb. Black colored items absorb all the colors in light White colored items absorb NO colors in light Reflect: light bouncing off an object. The colors we see are a result of the colors that are reflected off of objects. (For example, an apple appears red because red is reflected off of the apple.) Black colored items reflect NO light White colored items reflect ALL colors light Color object appears Colors reflected Colors absorbed White All colors No colors Black No colors All colors Red Red OY G BIV orange Orange RY G BIV Mirrors reflect light. Light bounces off of mirrors 4. When light is absorbed by objects, the objects also absorb the heat from the light.
Direct light: has the most concentrated light energy. Indirect Light: has less concentrated light energy than direct light **Direct light will heat objects more than indirect light Black colored objects: absorb all of the energy from light. Black colored objects heat quicker and hotter than other colored objects. This is because black objects absorb all the colors in light and all the energy from the colors in light. White colored objects: White colored objects do not absorb very much energy (heat) from light. White colored objects reflect all colors of light, so they stay much cooler than dark colored objects. 5. The longer the object is in light, the hotter the object becomes. 6. The sun emits light (emit means to produce or give off) 7. The moon reflects light. 8. Light travels faster than sound! PBA Test: Question EOY Test: Question 15
Sound 1. Sound is created when objects vibrate. Low pitches: created when objects vibrate slowly High Pitches: created when objects vibrate quickly Palm pipe instruments: The shorter the pipe, the higher the pitch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0zkod5fb9s rubber bands: The thinner the rubber band, the higher the pitch The more the rubber band is stretched (the higher the tension on the rubber band, the higher the pitch.) Glasses filled with water: the less water in the glass, the higher the pitch when tapped. Low pitch high pitch 2. Volume: how loud or how soft a sound is 3. Sound travels at different speeds through different media Solid: speed of sound is the fastest Liquid: speed of sound is medium speed compared to solids and gas Gas: Speed of sound is the slowest **this is because the molecules in a solid are closer together than in a liquid and in a gas, the molecules are the furthest apart. 4. Sound travels outward in all directions 5. Sound can be absorbed by some materials. Materials that absorb sound, muffle the sound or make it quieter. 6. Sound can be reflected by some materials. Reflected sound results in an echo. PBA Test: Question 7 EOY Test: Question 17