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Quest: 5th Grade Science Assessment

Back to the SSA page.

Here are some science questions from the Standards for Grades 2-5 to help you test your knowledge of the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards.

The questions are chosen randomly, so this quest will be different each time you reload the page.

* Click here to see only the most recently added questions.



What is the function of the fluffy, white part of the milkweed seed?

  1. It protects the seed from insects.

    No. Insects could easily eat the seed, even with the fluffy top.
  2. It helps hide the seeds from birds.

    No. The white fluff actually makes it easier for birds to find the seeds, but the moving air from their wings also helps spread the seeds.
  3. It gathers pollen.

    No. The seed has already been pollinated before the fluff develops.
  4. It causes the wind to spread the seeds.

    Yes! The fluffy part of the seed acts like a parachute to let the seeds blow long distances with the wind. This spreads the plant's seeds over a large area.



Click to see which state standards this question tests, and which of my videos, experiments, and other resources support that topic.

Florida


SC.5.L.17.1 Compare and contrast adaptations displayed by animals and plants that enable them to survive in different environments such as life cycles variations, animal behaviors and physical characteristics.
Flowers video, ClosedCaptions
Onion Crystals video
A Walk in the Park video, checked
Nature Watching video, checked
Calling a Woodpecker video, checked
Selective Smelling video, checked
Seed Search video, ClosedCaptions, checked
Review Adaptation-5 practice
Review Adaptation-6 practice
Review Plants-1 practice
Review Adaptation-2 practice
Review Adaptation-3 practice
Review Adaptation-4 practice

Utah


UT.6.V.1.b Compare characteristics common in observed organisms (e.g., color, movement, appendages, shape) and infer their function (e.g., green color found in organisms that are producers, appendages help movement).

NGSS


3-LS4-2 Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.
Flowers video, ClosedCaptions
Who Evolved on First? text page, free, checked
Review Adaptation-1 practice
Review Adaptation-3 practice
Review Adaptation-4 practice
Review Adaptation-5 practice
Review Adaptation-6 practice

MS-LS1-4 Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.
Seed Search video, ClosedCaptions, checked
Orange Slices video, ClosedCaptions
Bacteria and Antibiotics video, ClosedCaptions
Flowers video, ClosedCaptions
Onion Crystals video
A Walk in the Park video, checked
Nature Watching video, checked
Calling a Woodpecker video, checked
Selective Smelling video, checked
Pumpkin Guts video, free, ClosedCaptions, checked
How Does a Butterfly Fly? text page, free
Thoughts on an Exoskeleton text page, free
Review Adaptation-3 practice
Review Plants-2 practice
Review Plants-4 practice
Review Adaptation-4 practice
Review Adaptation-5 practice
Review Adaptation-6 practice
Review Plants-8 practice

I wanted to test a new fertilizer, to find the best concentration for my garden. I divided my garden into four sections and put a different amount of fertilizer in each section.

My test results showed that using 10 grams of fertilizer per gallon made the plants grow faster and bigger. To follow proper scientific guidelines, what should I do next?

  1. Apply 10 grams of fertilizer per gallon to all the plants in my garden.

    No. While that might make my garden grow well, it would not provide more evidence that this was the best mixture of fertilizer
  2. Do the same experiment over again.

    Yes! Repetition is an important part of the scientific process. If my hypothesis is correct, I should get the same results every time I repeat the experiment.
  3. Do the same experiment, but use a different fertilizer.

    No. Using a different fertilizer would be testing a different variable. I wanted to find the best concentration of the original fertilizer, so testing a different fertilizer would not help with that.
  4. Publish my results, so that other scientists could replicate my experiment.

    No. Replication is an important step, but I should repeat my experiment several times to be sure that I get consistent results before I ask other scientists to try replicating it.



Click to see which state standards this question tests, and which of my videos, experiments, and other resources support that topic.

Florida


SC.2.N.1.4 Explain how particular scientific investigations should yield similar conclusions when repeated.

SC.5.N.1.3: Recognize and explain the need for repeated experimental trials.

>>> Teacher Page: Nature of Science and Dissolving


SC.8.N.1.2 Design and conduct a study using repeated trials and replication.

Utah

NGSS


3-5-ETS1-3 Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.

This is called Quartzite. It was once sandstone, but heat and pressure changed it by fusing the grains of sand to each other, making it much harder. What kind of rock is it?.

  1. Igneous

    No. Igneous rocks formed from magma or lava. That would have melted the sand grains. This is not an igneous rock.
  2. Sedimentary

    No. Sedimentary rocks are deposited by wind, water, ice, or gravity, and they often contain fossils. When it was sandstone it was a sedimentary rock.
  3. Metamorphic

    Yes!. This quartzite been changed by heat and pressure from a different kind of rock. It is metamorphic.
  4. Quartzite is not a rock.

    No. Quartzite is a naturally occurring solid that forms large layers in the Earth. Quartzite is a rock.



Click to see which state standards this question tests, and which of my videos, experiments, and other resources support that topic.

Florida


SC.4.E.6.1 Identify the three categories of rocks: igneous, (formed from molten rock); sedimentary (pieces of other rocks and fossilized organisms); and metamorphic (formed from heat and pressure).
Evaporites video, learnalong, checked
Igneous Rocks and Bubbles video, free, learnalong, Updated
Sedimentary Rocks video, learnalong
What is a Rock? video, learnalong, checked
Bioclastics: Rocks With No Minerals video
Intrusive and Extrusive Igneous Rocks text page, learnalong
Light and Dark Minerals text page, learnalong
Homemade Fossil Dig text page
Foliated and Unfoliated Rocks text page, learnalong
Identifying Igneous Rocks text page, learnalong
Review Rocks-2 practice
Review Rocks-3 practice
Review Rocks-4 practice
Review Rocks-5 practice
Review Rocks-6 practice
Review Rocks-8 practice
Review Rocks-9 practice
Review Rocks-7 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-1 practice

SC.7.E.6.2 Identify the patterns within the rock cycle and relate them to surface events (weathering and erosion) and sub-surface events (plate tectonics and mountain building).
Evaporites video, learnalong, checked
What is a Rock? video, learnalong, checked
The Rock Cycle video, learnalong
Change: Fast and Slow video
Erosion video, checked
Continuous Change video, checked
Bioclastics: Rocks With No Minerals video
Weathering and Erosion video, learnalong, checked
Review Erosion-2 practice
Review Erosion-3 practice
Review Erosion-4 practice
Review Erosion-5 practice
Review Rocks-4 practice
Review Rocks-5 practice
Review Rocks-6 practice
Review Rocks-8 practice
Review Rocks-9 practice
Review Rocks-7 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-1 practice
Review Erosion-1 practice

Utah


UT.4.III.1.a Describe the differences between minerals and rocks.
What is a Mineral? video, checked
Identifying Minerals video, learnalong
What is a Rock? video, learnalong, checked
Bioclastics: Rocks With No Minerals video
Definition of a Mineral video, checked
Review Rocks-1 practice
Review Rocks-4 practice
Review Rocks-5 practice
Review Rocks-6 practice
Review Rocks-8 practice
Review Rocks-9 practice
Review Rocks-7 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice

NGSS


4-ESS1-1 Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.
Paleo Cookies video
Evaporites video, learnalong, checked
Igneous Rocks and Bubbles video, free, learnalong, Updated
Sedimentary Rocks video, learnalong
Reading the Rocks: Law of Superposition video
Reading the Rocks: Law of Crosscutting video
What is a Rock? video, learnalong, checked
Reading the Rocks: The Present is the Key to the Past video, ClosedCaptions
Homemade Fossil Dig text page
Review Rocks-4 practice
Review Geologic Time-2 practice
Review Rocks-5 practice
Review Rocks-6 practice
Review Rocks-8 practice
Review Rocks-9 practice
Review Rocks-7 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Geologic Time-3 practice
Review Rocks-1 practice
Review Geologic Time-1 practice

MS-ESS2-1 Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.
Bioclastics: Rocks With No Minerals video
Evaporites video, learnalong, checked
Definition of a Mineral video, checked
Igneous Rocks and Bubbles video, free, learnalong, Updated
What is a Mineral? video, checked
Identifying Minerals video, learnalong
Sedimentary Rocks video, learnalong
What is a Rock? video, learnalong, checked
The Rock Cycle video, learnalong
Light and Dark Minerals text page, learnalong
Review Rocks-2 practice
Review Rocks-3 practice
Review Rocks-4 practice
Review Rocks-5 practice
Review Rocks-6 practice
Review Rocks-8 practice
Review Rocks-9 practice
Review Rocks-7 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-1 practice

From our new home in Utah, the stars are so bright that we can even see the Milky Way Galaxy. How far is the Milky Way Galaxy from Earth?

  1. 923 light years.

  2. 92.3 light years.

  3. 9.23 light years.

  4. We are in the Milky Way Galaxy.

Think about it, and when you think you know the answer, then continue.

The Sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see are in the galaxy we call the Milky Way.



Click to see which state standards this question tests, and which of my videos, experiments, and other resources support that topic.

Florida


SC.5.E.5.1 Recognize that a galaxy consists of gas, dust, and many stars, including any objects orbiting the stars. Identify our home galaxy as the Milky Way.
Review Space-2 practice
Review Space-1 practice
Review Space-10 practice

SC.8.E.5.1 Recognize that there are enormous distances between objects in space and apply our knowledge of light and space travel to understand this distance.
Sunprints video
Making a Scale Model of the Solar System video, ClosedCaptions
Global Science video, ClosedCaptions
Sunglass Science: Birefringence video, free, Updated
Sunglass Science: Polarized Light video, free, Updated
A Color You Can't See video, free, checked
How Far is That Planet? text page
CD Spectrum text page
Review Space-1 practice
Review Light-3 practice

Utah


UT.6.IV.1.d Compare the size of the Milky Way galaxy to the size of the known universe.
Review Space-1 practice

NGSS


2-LS2-1 Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow.
Measuring Photosynthesis video, checked
Testing a Leaf for Starch video, ClosedCaptions
Review Plants-1 practice

This baby praying mantis looks very much like its mother, but not exactly. What does that tell us about its life cycle?

  1. It does not undergo metamorphosis.

    No. While it does look similar to its parents, it lacks wings and other features which it will have as an adult.
  2. It has incomplete metamorphosis.

    Yes! It has most of the features of an adult, and will gain the final adult features later in its life.
  3. It has complete metamorphosis.

    No. For complete metamorphosis, the larva looks very different from the parent.
  4. It skipped metamorphosis.

    No. While it does look similar to its parents, it lacks wings and other features which it will have as an adult.



Click to see which state standards this question tests, and which of my videos, experiments, and other resources support that topic.

Florida


SC.2.L.16.1 Observe and describe major stages in the life cycles of plants and animals, including beans and butterflies.
Seed Search video, ClosedCaptions, checked
Review Life Cycle-1 practice
Review Life Cycle-2 practice
Review Life Cycle-3 practice
Review Life Cycle-4 practice

SC.4.L.16.4 Compare and contrast the major stages in the life cycles of Florida plants and animals, such as those that undergo incomplete and complete metamorphosis, and flowering and nonflowering seedbearing
plants.
Orange Slices video, ClosedCaptions
Creating a Sprout Guide text page, photography, free
Review Life Cycle-1 practice
Review Life Cycle-2 practice
Review Plants-4 practice
Review Life Cycle-3 practice
Review Life Cycle-4 practice

Utah


UT.5.V.1.c Compare various examples of offspring that do not initially resemble the parent organism but mature to become similar to the parent organism (e.g., mealworms and darkling beetles, tadpoles and frogs, seedlings and vegetables, caterpillars and butterflies).

NGSS


1-LS3-1 Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.

3-LS1-1 Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

The questions are chosen randomly, so this quest will be different each time you reload the page.