Science (NYS Grades 3–8 Science Resources and Learning Standards)
What this domain covers
The NYS Grades 3–8 Science Resources and Learning Standards domain tests how well you use the New York State P–12 Science Learning Standards (NYSSLS), not isolated facts. For Grade 5, questions target the performance expectations for matter, energy in organisms and ecosystems, Earth's systems and human impact, space systems, and engineering design, plus the Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs), and Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) that support them, such as 5-PS1-2, 5-LS1-1, and 5-ESS2-2. Expect to interpret data tables, diagrams, and models; support claims with evidence; and identify fair-test variables.
Core rules
- Matter is made of particles too small to see; mass is conserved in closed systems, even during mixing or phase change.
- Plants build most of their mass from carbon dioxide and water, using sunlight energy; animals get matter and energy from food.
- Matter cycles and energy flows through ecosystems; decomposers return nutrients to the environment.
- Earth's spheres-geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere-interact. Most water is salt water; only a small fraction is usable fresh water.
- Gravity pulls objects downward; apparent brightness depends on distance and actual brightness.
- Engineering solutions are judged against criteria and constraints, using fair tests with one changed variable.
Worked example
A sealed jar contains 100 g of vinegar and 10 g of baking soda. After mixing, the jar still has a lid and reads 110 g. A student says a new gas was made, so mass should decrease. Is the student right? No: the gas is trapped, so total mass is conserved. The claim "a new substance formed" can be supported by bubbles and temperature change, but the mass evidence must come from the closed system.
Traps that cost marks
Calling a phase change "creating new matter"; ignoring that gas can escape an open system; saying plants get food from soil; confusing weather with climate; treating a model as an exact copy; changing two variables in a fair test.