GA Milestones Grade 5 Science key terms

Anything that has mass and takes up space. Solids, liquids, and gases are all made of matter, and it can be measured and changed but not created or destroyed in ordinary situations.

The amount of matter in an object, usually measured with a balance in grams or kilograms. Mass stays the same unless matter is added or removed, even if the object changes shape.

The amount of space an object or substance takes up. Volume of a liquid is often read from a graduated cylinder, and volume of a regular solid can be found by multiplying length, width, and height.

How much mass is packed into a given volume. A dense object feels heavy for its size and sinks in water, while a less dense object floats because the same volume holds less matter.

A measure of how strongly gravity pulls on an object, measured with a spring scale in newtons. Weight changes when gravity changes, but the object's mass does not.

A state of matter with a definite shape and a definite volume. The particles in a solid are packed closely and vibrate in place rather than moving freely past one another.

A state of matter with a definite volume but no definite shape. Particles can slide past each other, so a liquid takes the shape of its container and forms a flat surface at rest.

A state of matter with no definite shape and no definite volume. Particles spread far apart to fill any container, and a gas can be compressed more easily than a liquid or solid.

The forms matter can take, most commonly solid, liquid, and gas. Changing state happens when heat energy is added or removed, such as melting, freezing, evaporating, or condensing.

A change in size, shape, or state that does not create a new substance. Tearing paper, melting ice, and dissolving sugar are physical changes because the material stays the same kind of matter.

A change that produces one or more new substances with different properties. Clues include a new color, gas bubbles, a new smell, or heat and light given off, and the change is usually hard to reverse.

Two or more substances combined without forming a new substance. Each ingredient keeps its own properties, and the parts can often be separated by hand, by filtering, or by evaporating a liquid.

A mixture in which one substance spreads evenly through another and cannot be seen as separate pieces. Salt water is a solution, and the salt stays dissolved even after stirring stops.

To break apart and spread evenly through a liquid so the pieces can no longer be seen. Stirring and warming usually speed dissolving, but the dissolved material is still there.

The change from a liquid to a gas at the surface of the liquid. It happens faster with more heat, more surface area, or moving air, and it can be used to separate a dissolved solid from water.

The change from a gas to a liquid when heat energy is removed. Water vapor in warm air forms droplets on a cold glass or on grass at night, which is why condensation is the opposite of evaporation.

The change from a solid to a liquid when heat energy is added. Ice melting to water is a familiar example, and the temperature at which it happens is the melting point of that material.

The change from a liquid to a solid when heat energy is removed. Water freezes at zero degrees Celsius, and freezing is the reverse process of melting for the same material.

A material that lets heat or electricity pass through easily. Metals such as copper and aluminum are good conductors, which is why pots and wires are often made of metal.

A material that slows or blocks the flow of heat or electricity. Rubber, plastic, wood, and air are insulators, used for pot handles, wire coating, and winter clothing.

The total energy of moving particles in a substance, which flows from warmer objects to cooler ones. It is related to temperature, and it always moves in one direction until both objects are the same temperature.

A push or a pull that can start, stop, speed up, slow down, or change the direction of an object's motion. Force is measured with a spring scale, usually in newtons.

A force that resists motion when two surfaces rub together. It always acts opposite the direction of motion, produces heat, and can be reduced with smoother surfaces, wheels, or lubricants.

A force that pulls objects toward each other, and on Earth pulls everything toward the planet's center. It keeps the Moon in orbit and makes dropped objects fall toward the ground.

A change in an object's position compared with a reference point over time. Motion can be described by direction and speed, and an object at rest stays at rest unless a force acts on it.

How fast an object moves, found by dividing the distance traveled by the time it took. Speed is often given in meters per second or kilometers per hour and does not include direction.

A complete, unbroken path that lets electric current flow from an energy source through wires and back. If the path is broken by an open switch, the current stops and devices turn off.

The steady flow of electric charges through a material, usually along a wire. It needs a complete circuit and a source such as a battery, and it carries energy to devices like bulbs and motors.

All the living and nonliving things in an area and the ways they interact. Organisms get food, water, and shelter from the nonliving parts, such as sunlight, soil, water, and air.

An organism that makes its own food using energy from sunlight, usually through photosynthesis. Plants and algae are producers, and they form the base of almost every food chain on land and in water.

An organism that cannot make its own food and must eat other organisms for energy. Animals are consumers, and they can be grouped as herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores depending on what they eat.

An organism such as a fungus or bacterium that breaks down dead plants and animals. Decomposers release nutrients back into the soil so producers can use them again, recycling matter in an ecosystem.

The path energy takes as one organism eats another, beginning with a producer. Arrows show the direction energy moves, and each link is a step where some energy is lost as heat.

A model that shows many connected food chains in an ecosystem. It is more realistic than a single chain because most animals eat more than one kind of food and are eaten by several predators.

The process by which green plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make sugar and release oxygen. It happens mostly in leaves and provides the energy that nearly all food chains depend on.

The place where an organism lives and finds the food, water, shelter, and space it needs. Different habitats, such as forests, ponds, and deserts, support different groups of organisms.

A body part or behavior that helps an organism survive in its environment. Examples include thick fur in cold places, webbed feet for swimming, and migration to find food or warmer weather.

A behavior an animal is born with rather than learned. Examples include a spider spinning a web, baby turtles heading for the sea, and birds building nests without being taught.

A behavior an animal gains through experience or by watching others. Reading, riding a bike, and a dog learning to sit on command are learned, and they can change as conditions change.

The continuous movement of water between Earth's surface and the air through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection. The Sun provides the energy, and the same water is reused again and again.