NYS Grade 5 Science cheat sheet

NYS Grade 5 Science: Core Content and Practices

• Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space; it can be described by properties such as color, hardness, density, and magnetism.

• Physical changes alter form, size, or state but not the identity of the substance (e.g., melting, dissolving); chemical changes produce new substances with different properties (e.g., rusting, burning).

• The water cycle involves evaporation (liquid to gas), condensation (gas to liquid), precipitation (water falling as rain, snow, etc.), and collection; energy from the Sun drives the cycle.

• An ecosystem includes living organisms and their nonliving environment; producers make their own food (plants), consumers eat other organisms, and decomposers break down dead matter.

• Food chains and food webs show the flow of energy from the Sun to producers and then to consumers; arrows point in the direction of energy transfer.

• Fossils provide evidence of past life and environments; sedimentary rock layers and the Law of Superposition help determine relative ages (older layers below younger ones unless disturbed).

• Earth's surface features (mountains, valleys, deltas) result from constructive forces (deposition, uplift) and destructive forces (erosion, weathering); water, wind, and ice are major agents.

• The Sun provides light and heat; Earth's rotation on its axis causes day and night, and its revolution around the Sun causes the seasons (along with the tilt of Earth's axis).