Download 5th Grade Science Vocabulary ~ Student List

5th Grade Science Vocabulary ~ Student List
Words
carnivore
omnivore
herbivore
decomposer
producer
photosynthe
sis
consumer
biome
organism
abiotic
biotic
terrestrial
aquatic
oxygen
carbon
dioxide
adaptation
algae
ecosystem
environment
food web
Definitions
Ecosystems
A consumer which gets energy from eating animals
(meat)
A consumer which gets energy from eating plants and
animals
A consumer which gets energy from eating plants or
vegetation
An organism that gets energy from recycling nutrients
by breaking down decaying material.
An organism that makes its own food by the process
of photosynthesis.
A chemical process by which plants use sunlight to
create their own food.
An organism that gets its energy by eating other
organisms.
Areas that have similar climate and land features with
specific types of plant and animal life.
A living thing
Non living things such as light, air, and soil
Living things in an ecosystem, such as animals and
plants.
Having to do with land (such as forest and grassland)
Having to do with water
Gas produced by plants that is needed for respiration
by animals
Gas produced by animals that is needed for
respiration by plants
A change in order to be successful in a new
environment
An aquatic producer that is responsible for 70% of the
earth’s oxygen
All living and non-living things found together in an
environment
Everything that surrounds an organism and influences
it
A model that shows how several food chains connect
together.
5th Grade Science Vocabulary ~ Student List
food chain
A simple path that shows how energy moves from one
organism to the next.
transfer of
energy
How energy moves from one source to another
estuary
An aquatic ecosystem where salt water and fresh
water mix
fertile
Rich in nutrients (ex. Grasslands, Estuary)
niche
Specific role based on traits that allow for competing
organisms to live in an ecosystem.
pollutant
Harmful substance that has negative effects on an
ecosystem
population
A group of the same type of organisms living in one
area
Living Organisms
traits
Quality or characteristic of a living thing
acquired
A trait that a living thing gets during its lifetime
Traits
instinct
An inherited behavioral trait such as walking for
people and hibernating for bears
heredity
The process by which traits are transferred from
parent to offspring
DNA
The material that carries all the information about
how a living thing will look and function
inherited trait A characteristic that a living thing gets from its
parents
offspring
The young of a person, animal, or plant
cells
The basic unit of life
unicellular
A living organism composed on one cell (amoeba,
paramecium)
multi-cellular
A living organism composed of many specialized cells
(hydra, insect, animal, human)
Picture
pictures
5th Grade Science Vocabulary ~ Student List
tissue
organ
nervous
system
circulatory
system
respiratory
system
digestive
system
skeletal
system
muscular
system
skeletal
muscle
smooth
muscle
A group of similar cells that work together (muscle
cells, skin cells)
Part of a system that consists of cells and tissue that
is specialized to perform a specific task (heart, brain)
sends and receives messages through the body
(brain, nerves, and spinal cord)
moves oxygen, food, and waste throughout the body
(heart, blood vessels) also called cardiovascular
system
Brings oxygen in and takes carbon dioxide out (lungs)
Breaks down food to be used as energy (stomach,
intestines)
Provides support and structure (bones)
Works with bones to allow movement (muscles)
Muscles attached to bone
Muscles of the internal organs (stomach)
cardiac
muscle
Muscles of the heart
involuntary
muscle
voluntary
muscle
Muscles that work automatically (cardiac muscle,
stomach muscle)
Muscle movement that you can control (lifting your
arm)
Weather
Condition of the atmosphere at a specific place and
time
Transfer of heat energy through liquids and gases
Transfer of energy through the sun’s rays
Average weather of an area over a period of time
A scientist that studies weather
Transfer of heat from direct contact
A change from a liquid to a gas
The movement of water between earth’s surface and
the atmosphere
A plant’s release of water vapor into the air
The change from a gas to a liquid
Rain, snow, sleet, hail
weather
convection
radiation
climate
meteorologist
conduction
evaporation
water cycle
transpiration
condensation
precipitation
5th Grade Science Vocabulary ~ Student List
run-off
altitude
humidity
low pressure
high pressure
weather
instruments
stratus
cumulus
nimbus
cirrus
alto
land breeze
Excess water that the ground cannot absorb and
flows over the land
A large body of air with similar temperature and
humidity
The boundary between two different air masses (cold
or warm)
A wind pattern that blows consistently in the same
direction (In the United States it is from West to East)
Air current in the upper atmosphere that goes from
West to East
A mass of water or air that moves in a specific
direction (example: gulf stream)
The distance North or South of the equator
The imaginary line that divides Northern and
Southern Hemispheres ( 0° latitude)
Height above sea level
The amount of water vapor in the air
A mass of warm moist air
A mass of cool dry air
Tools that help measure weather conditions
(barometer, anemometer, thermometer, etc.)
Layers clouds
Puffy clouds
Storm clouds
Wispy clouds
Pre-fix to describe medium height clouds
A breeze from land towards water during at night
sea breeze
A breeze from sea towards land during the day
air mass
front
prevailing
wind
jet stream
current
latitude
equator
simple
machine
force
position
distance
motion
speed
acceleration
inertia
mass
Force and Motion
a tool to make work easier with few or no moving
parts
push or pull on an object
a location
how far an object travels
changing a position over time
how far an object moves in a certain amount of time
(distance/time)
a change in speed
a tendency of an object to resist a change in motion
the amount of matter in an object
5th Grade Science Vocabulary ~ Student List
momentum
newtons
gravity
friction
air resistance
hypothesis
control
volume
matter
density
physical
change
chemical
change
temperature
kinetic energy
potential
energy
thermal
energy
the strength of movement
a unit to measure force
a force that pulls objects towards each other
the force that resists motion between two touching
surfaces, slows things down
the force of air pushing against the motion of an
object
an idea that can be tested by an experiment or
observation
an unchanging part of an experiment
the amount of that an object or substance takes up
(Length x Width x Height)
the material or stuff that everything is made of
how heavy something is for its size
change in size, shape, or state of matter (can be
reversed)
change the forms a new substance (can’t be
reversed)
a measure of how warm something is
the energy of motion
stored energy
heat energy
Academic
Significance
Compare
Contrast
Main Idea
Similar
Graphic
Organizer
Summarize
Effect
Imply
Relationship
Referred
Cause
Chronological
Explicit
Outcome
Solution
Symbolize
Develop
Independently
importance
how things are similar
how things are different
what the selection is mostly about
alike
visual way of organizing information
brief statement of the main points
the result of
suggest
how things are related
to mention
what happens
time order
to state clearly
what happens, the result
the end of a problem
to represent or stand for
to create
on one’s own
5th Grade Science Vocabulary ~ Student List
Evidence
Determine
Key Detail
Explain
Concepts
Problem
Reason
Support (ed)
Integrate
Proficient
Complexity
Theme
Event
Infer
Include
Quote
Specific
Conclude
Relevant
Interpret
Organize
Clarify
Classify /
Categorize
Expand
Combine
Aspect
Strategy
Situation
Predict
Context Clues
Based on
According to
Identify
Misconception
Logical
Sequence
Appropriate
Fact
Opinion
Contribute
(contributed)
Facts or information given in the text to support an
answer
figure out
specific information that supports the main idea
to tell how
an idea
situation needing to be solved
a statement expressed to explain a belief or opinion
backed up with evidence
combine one thing with another
skilled in doing something
how difficult something is
the lesson or major idea in the text
an occurrence
to determine the answer by using Background
Knowledge + Text Clues
made up of
an exact statement from the text
Exact or precise
to end
closely connected to
explain the meaning of
to categorize in a logical way
make something very clear
arrange into categories or groups
to make larger
to put together
a particular feature
a plan of action
a set of circumstances
what will happen next
Clues from the text that define the meaning of a
word
using the information given
referring back to
to indicate something
an idea that is not true
very clear and sensible
the order of something
proper
something that can be documented
what someone believes
to give in order to help achieve something
5th Grade Science Vocabulary ~ Student List