Download science vocabulary for 5th grade

5th Grade Science Content and Vocabulary
The following is a list of content areas for each unit per quarter and the projected timeframe for each unit.
The vocabulary is the framework for the learning activities students will engage in during each unit.
1st Nine
Weeks

Matter, Properties, and Change
o 15 days
o 1st Unit
Chemical change--A change in the chemical make up of a substance
Collection--body of water within the water cycle
Condensation--The process of changing a gas into a liquid.
Evaporation--The process of changing a liquid into a gas.
Gases-- flow and do not have their own shape at a given temperature, gases can take the shape of
their containers
Matter-- is anything made of atoms and molecules. Matter is anything that has a mass.
Physical change--A change in the size, shape, or color, of a substance that does not change it into a
different substance
Precipitation--The process of water particles that fall from the atmosphere and reach the ground.
Substance-- A particular kind of material
Runoff--Precipitation that flow across the land’s surface and fall into a body of water.
Sun’s energy-- released as shortwave light and ultraviolet energy. When it reaches the Earth, some is
reflected back to space by clouds, some is absorbed by the atmosphere, and some is absorbed at the
Earth's surface.
Water cycle-- the recycling of water between the earth and the atmosphere

Earth Systems, Structure and Processes
o 20 days
o 2nd Unit
Air masses--Large body of air that has the same temperature and level of humidity.
Air pressure--Is a measure of the force the atmosphere is exerting on an area of a surface.
Anemometer –-used to measure wind speed.
Barometer—used to measure air pressure.
Cirrus clouds --are the most common of the high clouds. They are composed of ice and are thin, wispy
clouds blown in high winds into long streamers.
Climate--Defined as the study of weather patterns in a region over a series of years.
Cold front--Cold front forms when cold air mass moves under a warm air mass
Cumulus clouds-- are white, puffy clouds that look like pieces of floating cotton; the base of each
cloud is flat and the top of each cloud has rounded towers.
Clouds-- large collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals
El Nino--The unusual warming of the surface waters of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean
Fronts--Created by two air masses meeting
Gulf Stream--Warm water surface current, in the Atlantic ocean, moves from south of Florida up the
eastern seaboard and then across the Atlantic
Humidity--Is a measure of the amount of water vapor in the air
Hurricane--Intense storms, whirling winds up to 150 miles per hour, usually around 300 miles across
Jet stream--Air current in the upper atmosphere, located over North America, flows from the west to
the east
La Niña--A widespread cooling of the surface waters of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean
Land breeze--Cool air over the land forms an area of high pressure and moves toward the ocean
Meteorologist --describe weather (conditions in the atmosphere).
Polar Climate Zone-- Found at Earth’s North and South Poles
Precipitation--Water that falls from the sky---rain, snow, sleet, or hail
Rain gauge-- measures the amount of precipitation.
2nd
Nine
Weeks
Sea breezes--Cool, high-pressure air over the ocean flows toward the land creating sea breeze
Stationary front-When a warm or cold front stops moving, it becomes a stationary front.
Stratus clouds-- are uniform grayish clouds that often cover the entire sky.
Temperate Climate Zone-- Found between polar and tropical zones
Temperature--Is a measure of the average rate of movement of the particles of matter
Thermometer—used to measure temperature
Tropical Climate Zone-- Found near the equator (sun/tropical)
Valley breezes--Sun warms the air rises it and flows up the mountain/mountain cools at night faster
than valley (elevation)
Mountain breezes--Cool air sinks and flows down the mountain which causes a mountain breeze
Warm front--occur when a particularly warm air mass meets a cooler air mass.
Weather --The state of the atmosphere at a particular time and place. Weather is described in terms
of variable conditions such as temperature, humidity, wind velocity, precipitation, and barometric
pressure.
Wind-- Is the movement of air
 Forces and Motion
o 20 days
o 1st Unit
Direction-- The line along which anything lies, faces, moves, etc., with reference to the point or region
toward which it is directed.
Force-- a push or a pull exerted on an object
Friction-- Force from rubbing
Gravity-- The natural force that attracts any two objects with mass toward each other
Motion-- (straight, zigzag, round and round, back and forth, fast and slow)
moving or changing position
Pull-- Move with force
Push-- apply force so as to cause motion towards the source of the motion
Speed-- How fast an object’s position changes with time at any given moment.
Velocity-- The speed and direction of a moving object.
Deceleration-- The act of decreasing speed.
Acceleration-- The act of increasing speed.
Work --The use of force to move an object a certain distance.

3rd
Nine
Weeks
Energy Conservation and Transfer
o 10 days
o 2nd Unit
Conduction-- is the transfer of thermal energy between things that are touching.
Convection-- is the movement of thermal energy by the movement of liquids or gases.
Energy-- is the ability to do work and comes in different forms.
Materials--(clay, wood, cloth, paper) The substance of which a thing is made or composed of
Radiation-- is the transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves.
 Structures and Functions of Living Organisms
o 22 days
o 1st Unit
Blood-- A liquid that contains red blood cells, white blood cells carry oxygen and nutrients to cells.
Bones-- One of the hard parts of the skeleton of a vertebrate
Brain--The part of the central nervous system enclosed in the cranium of humans, serving to control
and coordinate the mental and physical actions.
Circulatory-- The circulation of blood through heart and blood vessels
Digestive-- Breaking down food into smaller substances and the transport of nutrients to every part
of the body.
Esophagus --a muscular passage connecting the mouth with the stomach
Fitness-- Capability of the body of distributing inhaled oxygen to muscle tissue during increased
physical effort.
Function-- To have purpose for which something exist
Health-- The general condition of the body or mind free of sickness.
Heart-- Muscular organ the size of a fist that beats about 70 to 90 times a minute, pumping blood
through the blood vessels.
Interdependence-- the dependence of every form of life on other living things and on the
natural resources in its environment, such as air, soil, and water
Intestines-- Small- serves to digest and absorb nutrients/Large- absorbs water from and eliminates
the residues of digestion
Lungs-- two saclike respiratory organs in the chest of vertebrates; serves to remove carbon dioxide
and provide oxygen to the blood
Mouth-- The opening through which an animal or human takes in food.
Multicellular organism-- Organisms that consist of more than one cell and have differentiated cells
that perform specialized functions in the organism.
Muscles-- A body tissue consisting of long cells that contract when stimulated and produce motion.
Muscular-- Three types of muscles (skeletal, cardiac, smooth) work with bones and organs to keep
the body moving (skeletal), heart pumping (cardiac), and control organs (smooth).
Nerve-- a system of fibers that conveys impulses of sensation or motion between the brain or spinal
cord and other parts of the body.
Non living-- anything that is not now nor has ever been alive (also known as abiotic)
Nose-- Part of the respiratory system used to inhale get air into the body.
Nervous-- Interaction between the brain and the spinal cord.
Nutrients—substances required by organisms in order to grow and survive such as nitrogen and
phosphorus.
Organism-- a living thing, such as animal, plant or micro-organism, that is capable of reproduction,
growth and maintenance.
Respiratory-- The process of oxygen getting in and being used in the body
Single celled (unicellular organism)--Consist of single cell and perform all life processes within a
single cell.
Skeletal-- The supporting frame that gives the body shape, protect the organs, and works with
muscles to move the body.
Specialized-- To be adapted to a special function or environment
Spinal Cord-- the cord of nerve tissue extending through the spinal canal
Stomach-- A saclike enlargement of the alimentary canal forming an organ for storing, diluting, and
digesting food.
Systems-- A group of interdependent elements forming a complex whole
Trachea-- The principal passage for conveying air to and from the lungs.
Transport-- To carry from one place to another
Vessel-- A tube or duct, as an artery or vein, containing or conveying blood or some other body fluid.

Evolution and Genetics
o 10 days
o 2nd Unit
Acquired Trait- A physical characteristic that is not inherited but may be effect of the environment or
of a somatic mutation
Alike --having close resemblance
Behavior-- The actions displayed by an organism in response to its environment.
Characteristics-- (structure, growth, changes, movement, basic needs) A distinguishing feature or
attribute of an item, person, phenomenon, etc./ A trait or attribute; the frame work of human, plant,
animal
Community-- All the people living in a particular area or place
Culture-- The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively.
Differences-- unlike in form, quality, amount, or nature/ A point or way in which people or things are
4Th
Nine
Weeks
not the same.
Environment-- All of the biotic and abiotic factors that act on an organism, population, or ecological
community and influence its survival and development.
Genetic Information-- The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the exact specification of
its atomic composition and the chemical bonds connections
Heredity-- The genes and the genetic traits whose expression they control that are passed on from
one’s parent
Inherit(ance)--The process by which traits or characteristics pass from parents to offspring through
the genes.
Inherited Trait-- A trait or character that is genetically inherited or passed down from generation to
generation.
Likenesses— The fact or quality of being alike; resemblance
Population-- A group of organisms of the same species that are in close enough proximity to allow
them to interbreed.
Offspring-- The young of a person, animal, or plant
 Ecosystems
o 14 days
o Only Unit
Adapt-- The adjustment or changes in behavior, physiology, and structure of an organism to become
more suited to an environment.
Aquatic-- water-based ecosystem (Examples: freshwater or saltwater)
Carnivores—animals that eat only other animals
Competition—the struggle between organism of the same or different species for limited resources,
such as food, light, or territory
Consumers-- an organism that eats other organisms to obtain energy rather than producing its food
through photosynthesis.
Decomposers-- an organism that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter, thus making
organic nutrients available to the ecosystem.
Ecosystems-- the biotic community and its abiotic environment/ a community of living and non-living
things that work together.
Food chain—groups of plants and animals that all have a relationship with each other through what
they eat
Food web—the interconnected feeding relationships within an ecosystem
Herbivore—animals that eat only plants
Omnivore—animals that eat both plants and animals
Predators—animals that hunt and eat other animals for survival
Prey—animals that are hunted and eaten by a predator
Producer—organisms in a food chain that are able to make their own food
Population-- A group of organisms of the same species that are in close enough proximity to allow
them to interbreed.
Scavengers-animals that eat animals that are already dead
Terrestrial-- land-based ecosystem (Examples: Forests and Grassland)

Review for EOG
o 20 days (5 days for each quarter)