Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) Grade 5 flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Mass

The amount of matter in an object, measured with a balance. Mass stays the same when an object changes shape or changes state.

Volume

The amount of space an object takes up. It can be measured with a graduated cylinder or by multiplying length by width by height.

Physical change

A change in size, shape, or state in which the material keeps its identity, such as tearing paper or melting ice.

Chemical change

A change in which a new substance with different properties forms, such as burning wood or iron rusting.

Mixture

Two or more materials combined but not chemically joined, so each keeps its properties. Mixtures can be separated by filtering, evaporation, or magnets.

Solution

A mixture in which one material dissolves evenly in another. The dissolved material does not settle out and cannot be removed by filtering.

Speed

How fast an object moves, calculated as distance divided by time. An object moving 20 meters in 4 seconds has a speed of 5 m/s.

Balanced forces

Equal forces pushing or pulling in opposite directions on an object. They do not change the object's speed or direction of motion.

Friction

A force that opposes motion when two surfaces rub together. It can slow objects down and produce heat.

Gravity

A force that pulls objects toward each other. Earth's gravity pulls objects toward Earth's center and keeps us on the ground.

Energy transfer

Energy moving from one place or object to another, as motion, heat, light, sound, or electricity. Energy is not created or destroyed in ordinary events.

Characteristics of living things

Living things grow, need energy and materials, respond to their surroundings, and reproduce. Nonliving things do not do all of these.

Photosynthesis

The process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make sugar for food and release oxygen. Sunlight energy enters food chains this way.

Producer

An organism that makes its own food, usually a plant using sunlight. Producers form the base of most food chains and pass energy to consumers.

Consumer

An organism that gets energy by eating other organisms. Consumers may eat plants, other animals, or both.

Decomposer

An organism such as a fungus or bacteria that breaks down dead plants and animals, returning nutrients to the soil for other organisms to use.

Food chain

A model showing the path of energy from one organism to another. Arrows point from the organism being eaten to the one that eats it.

Ecosystem

A community of living organisms interacting with each other and with nonliving parts of the environment, such as water, air, soil, and sunlight.

Adaptation

A trait or behavior that helps an organism survive in its environment, such as thick fur in cold climates or a beak shaped for certain food.

Inherited trait

A characteristic passed from parents to offspring, such as eye color or flower color. Offspring inherit traits through reproduction.

Learned behavior

A behavior an organism acquires through experience or practice rather than inheriting, such as a dog sitting on command.

Life cycle

The stages an organism passes through during its life, such as seed, seedling, mature plant, flower, and seed again.

Structure and function

The idea that body parts are shaped to do particular jobs. Roots absorb water, leaves capture light, and teeth match an animal's diet.

Earth's rotation

Earth spinning on its axis once about every 24 hours. Rotation causes day and night as different sides face the sun.

Earth's revolution

Earth's yearly orbit around the sun, taking about 365 days. Combined with Earth's tilted axis, it causes the seasons.

Seasons

Patterns caused by Earth's tilted axis as it orbits the sun. Different hemispheres receive more direct sunlight at different times of year.

Moon phases

The changing shapes of the moon's sunlit side as seen from Earth over about a month: new, crescent, quarter, gibbous, and full.

Water cycle

The continuous movement of water through evaporation, condensation into clouds, precipitation, and collection in oceans, lakes, and soil.

Erosion

The movement of weathered rock and soil by water, wind, or ice. It slowly changes Earth's surface features over time.

Weathering

The breaking down of rock into smaller pieces by water, wind, ice, or plant roots. It happens in place, before erosion carries pieces away.

Fossils

Preserved remains or traces of organisms that lived long ago. Fossils give evidence about past life and past environments.

Natural resources

Materials from Earth that living things use, such as water, soil, and minerals. They can be conserved by reducing use, reusing, and recycling.