USVI NGSS Science Grade 5 key terms

Anything that has mass and takes up space. Matter is made of tiny particles and exists in familiar forms such as solids, liquids, and gases.

A very tiny piece of matter, far too small to see with your eyes. How particles are arranged and how they move helps explain a material's properties and changes.

A measure of how much matter an object contains, often described as how heavy it feels. Mass stays the same even if the object's shape or location changes.

The amount of space an object or substance takes up. Volume can be measured in units such as liters or cubic centimeters, or found by water displacement.

A characteristic of a material that you can observe or measure, such as color, hardness, or the temperature at which it melts, that helps identify it.

Two or more substances combined so each keeps its own properties. Mixtures can often be separated by hand, by filtering, or by evaporating a liquid.

A mixture in which one substance spreads evenly through another, like sugar dissolved in water. The dissolved substance cannot be easily seen or filtered out.

A change in the size, shape, or state of a material without making a new substance. Examples include tearing paper, melting ice, or dissolving salt in water.

A change that makes one or more new substances with different properties. Clues include color change, gas bubbles, heat or light given off, or a new smell.

The idea that matter is not created or destroyed during a change. In a closed container, the total mass before and after a reaction stays the same.

The form a substance takes, such as solid, liquid, or gas. Adding or removing heat can change the state without changing what the substance is.

A push or a pull that can change an object's speed or direction, or change its shape. Forces have both a strength and a direction.

A force that pulls objects toward each other. Earth's gravity pulls objects toward the ground and keeps the Moon and satellites moving around Earth.

A force that pushes against motion when two surfaces rub together. Friction can slow objects down and can produce heat.

Forces on an object that are equal in strength and opposite in direction. They cancel out, so the object's motion does not change.

Forces on an object that do not cancel because one is stronger or they act in different directions. The object speeds up, slows down, or changes direction.

A change in an object's position compared with a reference point. Motion can be described by the direction the object moves and by its speed.

The ability to cause changes or do work, such as moving an object, heating something, or making light. Energy comes in forms like motion, light, heat, sound, and stored chemical energy.

The movement of energy from one object or place to another, or a change from one form to another, such as sunlight becoming food energy in plants.

Energy that travels from the Sun as light and heat. It warms Earth and is the starting energy source for almost all food chains.

The process in which green plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide from the air to make sugar for food and release oxygen.

A living thing, such as a plant, animal, fungus, or bacterium. Organisms need water, food or nutrients, air, and suitable conditions to survive.

A part of a living thing, such as a leaf, root, wing, or shell. Each structure has a shape and form that helps the organism survive in its environment.

A community of living things plus the nonliving parts of their environment, such as soil, water, and air, all interacting together in one place.

An organism, usually a plant or alga, that makes its own food using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. Producers form the base of most food chains.

An organism that cannot make its own food and must eat other organisms to get energy. Animals, fungi, and many microbes are consumers.

An organism such as a fungus or bacterium that breaks down dead plants and animals, releasing nutrients back into the soil and ecosystem.

A model showing how energy and matter move through an ecosystem as many connected food chains. Arrows show which organism eats which.

All the members of one species living in the same area at the same time. Populations can grow, shrink, or move as resources change.

The curved path an object follows as it moves around another object in space, such as Earth traveling around the Sun or the Moon around Earth.

The spinning of an object around its own center. Earth's rotation once about every 24 hours causes day and night.

A huge ball of hot, glowing gas that gives off light and heat. The Sun is the star closest to Earth; other stars look tiny because they are very far away.

How bright a star looks from Earth. It depends on how much light the star gives off and on how far away the star is.

Earth's solid rocky part, including the crust, mantle, and core, plus the soil and landforms found at the surface.

All of Earth's water, including oceans, rivers, lakes, groundwater, ice, and water vapor in the air.

The layer of gases that surrounds Earth. It holds the air we breathe, weather, and clouds, and it helps trap heat.

All the parts of Earth where living things exist, on land, in water, and in the air, together with the organisms themselves.

The continuous movement of water among oceans, air, land, and living things through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection.

Something found in nature that living things use, such as water, air, soil, minerals, forests, and fish. Some resources can be used up.

Using resources carefully so they last, and protecting the environment. Examples include recycling, saving water, and reducing waste.

Harmful substances or forms of energy added to air, water, or land that can damage living things and the environment.

A set of steps engineers use to solve problems: ask questions, imagine ideas, plan, build a model, test it, and then improve it.

A first working model of a design, built so it can be tested and improved. Prototypes help engineers see what works before building the final product.

A limit on a design, such as time, cost, materials, size, or safety rules. A solution must meet the criteria while staying within the constraints.