PSSA Grade 5 Science study guide
PSSA Grade 5 Science · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment) is Pennsylvania's annual standards-based, criterion-referenced assessment. In its own words, PDE describes it as giving "students, parents, educators and citizens with an understanding of student and school performance related to the attainment of proficiency of the academic standards." In science, every Pennsylvania student in grade 5 is assessed - grade 8 is the other science year - while English Language Arts and math are tested in grades 3 through 8. Because the science test is built on the state's Science and Technology standards, it samples what a fifth grader should know and be able to do at that grade level rather than any single district's textbook. Districts keep the freedom to design their own curriculum and instruction, so review should follow the standards, not one publisher's program. The PSSA Grade 5 Science study guide has 4 sections and about 1,315 words.
01The Nature of Science: Inquiry, Evidence, and Fair Tests
Science is a way of answering questions using evidence, not opinion. Students must distinguish observations (what you see, hear, measure with a tool) from inferences (explanations you reason out from observations).
332 words, about 2 min02Biological Sciences: Ecosystems, Structures, and Inheritance
Living things interact with each other and with their environment. In an ecosystem , producers (plants, algae) capture sunlight and make their own food through photosynthesis ; consumers eat other organisms; decomposers break down dead material and return nutrients to the soil.
335 words, about 2 min03Physical Sciences: Matter, Forces, Energy, and Electricity
Matter has mass and takes up space. It exists as solids, liquids, and gases, and changes state when heat is added or removed (melting, freezing, evaporation, condensation).
321 words, about 2 min04Earth and Space Sciences: Earth Processes, Weather, and the Solar System
Earth has layers - crust, mantle, outer core, inner core - and its surface is reshaped by the rock cycle , weathering (breaking rock down), erosion (moving the pieces), and deposition (dropping them). Soil forms slowly from weathered rock plus decayed plant and animal material.
327 words, about 2 min