DC CAPE 2.0 Science Grade 5 study guide
DC CAPE 2.0 Science Grade 5 · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
DC Science is the District of Columbia's statewide science assessment, part of the broader DC CAPE system that also includes English language arts/literacy and mathematics. It is built on the Next Generation Science Standards and was first administered in 2019. The test is given in Grade 5, Grade 8, and high school Biology, so the Grade 5 administration is the elementary checkpoint that gives families and schools information about how students are progressing toward DC's science standards. DC Science is not a fact-recall test. Topics on this exam: Science and Engineering Practices (observing phenomena, generating questions, conducting investigations, creating models, predicting outcomes, analyzing results, argumentation and communication), Engineering Design Challenges, and Next Generation Science Standards disciplinary core ideas. The DC CAPE 2.0 Science Grade 5 study guide has 3 sections and about 1,030 words.
01Science and Engineering Practices
The practices are the verbs of science: what a scientist actually does. For Grade 5, the tested practices include asking questions and defining problems, planning and carrying out investigations, using models, analyzing data, constructing explanations, and arguing from evidence.
353 words, about 2 min02Engineering Design Challenges
Engineering design is a cycle, not a straight line: define the problem, plan a solution, build a prototype, test it, and improve it. Grade 5 questions test whether a student can identify the criteria (what the design must do) and the constraints (limits such as materials, time, cost, or size).
338 words, about 2 min03Disciplinary Core Ideas (NGSS for Grade 5)
Grade 5 core ideas cluster into four areas: matter and its interactions, motion and stability, energy, and Earth and space systems (including ecosystems and Earth's place in the universe). Matter: matter is made of particles too small to see; it is conserved during changes (a closed container of ice melting keeps the same mass).
339 words, about 2 min