South Carolina Standards & Learning 5th Grade Science Activities

SC.5.S. SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PRACTICES

5.S.1. The student will use the science and engineering practices, including the processes and skills of scientific inquiry, to develop understandings of science content.

5.S.1A. Conceptual Understanding: The practices of science and engineering support the development of science concepts, develop the habits of mind that are necessary for scientific thinking, and allow students to engage in science in ways that are similar to those used by scientists and engineers.

Students who demonstrate this understanding can:

5.S.1A.1. Ask questions used to (1) generate hypotheses for scientific investigations or (2) refine models, explanations, or designs.

5.S.1A.2. Develop, use, and refine models to (1) understand or represent phenomena, processes, and relationships, (2) test devices or solutions, or (3) communicate ideas to others.

5.S.1A.3. Plan and conduct controlled scientific investigations to answer questions, test hypotheses and predictions, and develop explanations: (1) formulate scientific questions and testable hypotheses, (2) identify materials, procedures, and variables, (3) select and use appropriate tools or instruments to collect qualitative and quantitative data, and (4) record and represent data in an appropriate form. Use appropriate safety procedures.

5.S.1A.4. Analyze and interpret data from informational texts, observations, measurements, or investigations using a range of methods (such as tabulation or graphing) to (1) reveal patterns and construct meaning or (2) support hypotheses, explanations, claims, or designs.

5.S.1A.5. Use mathematical and computational thinking to (1) express quantitative observations using appropriate metric units, (2) collect and analyze data, or (3) understand patterns, trends and relationships between variables.

5.S.1A.6. Construct explanations of phenomena using (1) scientific evidence and models, (2) conclusions from scientific investigations, (3) predictions based on observations and measurements, or (4) data communicated in graphs, tables, or diagrams.

5.S.1A.7. Construct scientific arguments to support claims, explanations, or designs using evidence from observations, data, or informational texts.

5.S.1A.8. Obtain and evaluate informational texts, observations, data collected, or discussions to (1) generate and answer questions, (2) understand phenomena, (3) develop models, or (4) support hypotheses, explanations, claims, or designs. Communicate observations and explanations using the conventions and expectations of oral and written language.

SC.5.P. PHYSICAL SCIENCE: MATTER AND MIXTURES

5.P.2. The student will demonstrate an understanding of the physical properties of matter and mixtures.

5.P.2A. Conceptual Understanding: Matter is made up of particles that are too small to be seen. Even though the particles are very small, the movement and spacing of these particles determines the basic properties of matter.

Students who demonstrate this understanding can:

5.P.2A.1. Analyze and interpret data from observations and measurements of the physical properties of matter (including volume, shape, movement, and spacing of particles) to explain why matter can be classified as a solid, liquid or gas.

5.P.2B. Conceptual Understanding: A mixture is formed when two or more kinds of matter are put together. Sometimes when two or more different substances are mixed together, a new substance with different properties may be formed but the total amount (mass) of the substances is conserved. Solutions are a special type of mixture in which one substance is dissolved evenly into another substance. When the physical properties of the components in a mixture are not changed, they can be separated in different physical ways.

Students who demonstrate this understanding can:

5.P.2B.1. Obtain and communicate information to describe what happens to the properties of substances when two or more substances are mixed together.

5.P.2B.2. Analyze and interpret data to support claims that when two substances are mixed the total amount (mass) of the substances does not change.

5.P.2B.3. Develop models using observations to describe mixtures, including solutions, based on their characteristics.

SC.5.E. EARTH SCIENCE: CHANGES IN LANDFORMS AND OCEANS

5.E.3. The student will demonstrate an understanding of how natural processes and human activities affect the features of Earth’s landforms and oceans.

5.E.3A. Conceptual Understanding: Some of the land on Earth is located above water and some is located below the oceans. The downhill movement of water as it flows to the ocean shapes the appearance of the land. There are patterns in the location and structure of landforms found on the continents and those found on the ocean floor.

Students who demonstrate this understanding can:

5.E.3A.2. Develop and use models to describe and compare the characteristics and locations of the landforms on continents with those on the ocean floor (including the continental shelf and slope, the mid-ocean ridge, the rift zone, the trench, and the abyssal plain).

5.E.3B. Conceptual Understanding: Earth’s oceans and landforms can be affected by natural processes in various ways. Humans cannot eliminate natural hazards caused by these processes but can take steps to reduce their impacts. Human activities can affect the land and oceans in positive and negative ways.

Students who demonstrate this understanding can:

5.E.3B.1. Analyze and interpret data to describe and predict how natural processes (such as weathering, erosion, deposition, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, or storms) affect Earth’s surface.

5.E.3B.3. Construct scientific arguments to support claims that human activities (such as conservation efforts or pollution) affect the land and oceans of Earth.

SC.5.L. LIFE SCIENCE: INTERDEPENDENT RELATIONSHIPS IN ECOSYSTEMS

5.L.4. The student will demonstrate an understanding of relationships among biotic and abiotic factors within terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

5.L.4A. Conceptual Understanding: Ecosystems are complex, interactive systems that include both the living components (biotic factors) and physical components (abiotic factors) of the environment. Ecosystems can be classified as either terrestrial (such as forests, wetlands, and grasslands) or aquatic (such as oceans, estuaries, lakes, and ponds).

Students who demonstrate this understanding can:

5.L.4A.1. Analyze and interpret data to summarize the abiotic factors (including quantity of light and water, range of temperature, salinity, and soil composition) of different terrestrial ecosystems and aquatic ecosystems.

5.L.4A.2. Obtain and communicate information to describe and compare the biotic factors (including individual organisms, populations, and communities) of different terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

5.L.4B. Conceptual Understanding: All organisms need energy to live and grow. Energy is obtained from food. The role an organism serves in an ecosystem can be described by the way in which it gets its energy. Energy is transferred within an ecosystem as organisms produce, consume, or decompose food. A healthy ecosystem is one in which a diversity of life forms are able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life.

Students who demonstrate this understanding can:

5.L.4B.1. Analyze and interpret data to explain how organisms obtain their energy and classify an organisms as producers, consumers (including herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore), or decomposers (such as fungi and bacteria).

5.L.4B.2. Develop and use models of food chains and food webs to describe the flow of energy in an ecosystem.

5.L.4B.3. Construct explanations for how organisms interact with each other in an ecosystem (including predators and prey, and parasites and hosts).

SC.5.P. PHYSICAL SCIENCE: FORCES AND MOTION

5.P.5. The student will demonstrate an understanding of the factors that affect the motion of an object.

5.P.5A. Conceptual Understanding: The motion of an object can be described in terms of its position, direction, and speed. The rate and motion of an object is determined by multiple factors.

Students who demonstrate this understanding can:

5.P.5A.1. Use mathematical and computational thinking to describe and predict the motion of an object (including position, direction, and speed).

5.P.5A.2. Develop and use models to explain how the amount or type of force (contact and non-contact) affects the motion of an object.

5.P.5A.4. Analyze and interpret data to describe how a change of force, a change in mass, or friction affects the motion of an object.

5.P.5A.5. Design and test possible devices or solutions that reduce the effects of friction on the motion of an object.