Download Online Science League A Division of AcademicLeagues.com Fifth

Online Science League
A Division of AcademicLeagues.com
Fifth Grade Sample Contest
Student Name _________________________
Date ___________________
Rules: You have 30 minutes to complete this test. You must work independently,
and no reference tools may be used. Each question has exactly one right answer.
Part 1: Life Science
1. Some people have brown eyes. Others have blue eyes, or green. When a person is
described by the color of her eyes, what part of the eye is being referred to?
A. pupil
C. iris
B. lens
D. cornea
2. An animal that eats both plants and animals is called what?
A. a carnivore
C. a scavenger
B. an herbivore
D. an omnivore
3. What type of trees shed their leaves each year?
A. conifers
C. succulents
B. deciduous
D. spruce
4. What carries oxygen and nutrients to the cells of the human body?
A. blood
C. nerves
B. urine
D. muscles
5. All living things are made up of cells. However, plant cells differ from animal cells in
some ways. Which of the following is a way that plant cells differ from animal cells?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Only animal cells have a nucleus.
Plant cells are always larger than animal cells.
Only plant cells have a thick, firm protective layer called a cell wall.
Only animal cells have chloroplasts for photosynthesis.
Part 2: Physical Science
6. Which of these is a chemical change?
A. water evaporating
C. burning a piece of paper
B. cutting a piece of paper
D. separating oxygen from other gases in air
7. Which of these is the largest?
A. 2 atoms of hydrogen
C. 1 proton
B. 1 molecule of water
D. 1 electron
8. When light passes through a prism, it may bend into a visible spectrum. What is this
bending process called?
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A. reflection
C. translucence
B. refraction
D. radiation
9. Heat can move from one object to another through a process called what?
A. erosion
C. weathering
B. conduction
D. reflection
Part 3: Earth Science
10. How is igneous rock formed?
A. layers of sediment harden over time
B. heat and pressure change the minerals in other rocks
without melting them
C. molten rock cools and hardens
D. large metamorphic rocks are broken up by pressure
11. What layer of the earth is made up of two parts: an inner part that is solid, and an
outer part made of molten rock?
A. crust
C. biosphere
B. mantle
D. core
12. Minerals are identified on a scale of 1 to 10 by hardness, using a scale called the
Mohs scale. The higher the number, the harder the mineral. If an unknown mineral can
scratch quartz, which of the following statements must be true?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The unknown mineral is harder than quartz.
The unknown mineral is softer than quartz.
The unknown mineral must be a 10 on the Mohs scale.
The unknown mineral must be a lower number on the Mohs
scale than quartz.
Part 4: Astronomy
13. What is the closest star to Earth?
A. Polaris
C. Proxima Centauri
B. The Sun
D. Mars
14. Which star color typically indicates the highest surface temperature?
A. red
C. blue
B. yellow
D. white
15. Which planets have rings around them?
A.
B.
C.
D.
only Saturn
only Saturn & Jupiter
only Saturn, Jupiter, & Neptune
Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, & Uranus
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Online Science League
A Division of AcademicLeagues.com
Answer Key – Fifth Grade Sample Contest
1. C (The colored portion of the eye is the iris. The lens is located behind the iris. The pupil is
the black center of the eye. The cornea is the clear, outside layer.)
2. D (Carnivores, such as wolves and falcons, kill and eat other animals. Herbivores, like moose
and squirrels, only eat plants. Scavengers, such as some birds and insects, eat dead animals.
Omnivores, such as raccoons and (most) people, eat both meat and plants.)
3. B (Deciduous trees, like an oak tree, lose their leaves every year. Conifers, such as a spruce,
have needles that stay on the tree all year around. Succulents, such as cacti, have thick leaves or
stems for storing water.)
4. A
5. C (Plant and animal cells are very similar. However, plant cells contain some items that
animal cells do not. One of these is a thick cell wall which helps protect the cell. To see some
illustrations of plant and animal cells, check out www.cellsalive.com/cells/3dcell.htm.)
6. C (A chemical change is a change that a substance goes through when it becomes a new,
different substance. Observable signs include the presence of heat, color change, smoke, light
production, bubbling, and fizzing.)
7. B (A molecule of water consists of 3 atoms: 2 hydrogen and 1 oxygen. An atom is made up of
protons, neutrons, and electrons.)
8. B
9. B (Even if your students don’t know what conduction is, hopefully they can use the process of
elimination with this question. Reflection deals with light, not heat. Erosion and weathering both
deal with changes in the earth due to nature. A student with a good general science background
should only be left with conduction as a possible answer.)
10. C (Igneous rock is formed when molten rock cools and hardens. This may occur above or
below ground. For more about rocks, visit www.rocksforkids.com.)
11. D (The crust is a thin layer of rock. The mantle is made up of very hot, sometimes molten
rock. Biosphere refers to the part of the earth and its atmosphere where living organisms exist or
that is capable of supporting life.)
12. A (The Mohs scale was developed in 1812 by a German mineralogist named Friedrich Mohs.
It assigns a number between 1 and 10 to a mineral based on hardness. Each mineral can scratch a
mineral softer than itself, but not a mineral harder than itself. On the Mohs scale, a diamond has a
rating of 10 and talc has a rating of 1. For more information, including the complete scale, visit
www.amfed.org/t_mohs.htm.)
13. B (The sun is the closest star to the earth. It is about 93 million miles away. The next closest
star is Proxima Centauri, which is about 25 trillion miles away. Mars is a planet, not a star.
Polaris is the brightest star in the constellation known as “the little dipper.” It is estimated to be
about 430 light years from the earth.)
14. C (Red stars are typically between 5,400º and 6,300º Fahrenheit; yellow stars, such as the
sun, range from 9,000º to 10,800º F; white stars generally range from 10,800 to 13,500º F, and
blue stars burn between 20,000º up to an incredible 72,000º F.) (Zeman, Anne, and Kate Kelly.
Everything You Need to Know About Science Homework. New York: Scholastic, 2005)
15. D (All of the outer planets except Pluto have rings around them. Saturn’s rings are easy to
see with just a telescope. The rings of the other three planets are much more difficult to see, and
are only known to exist due to photographs from spacecraft.)
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