Science

Science — Grade 5

American Curriculum · Ages 10-11

Fifth grade science works with models and systems. Students model matter as made of particles too small to see, investigate conservation of matter in physical and chemical changes, test the properties of materials, and separate mixtures.

Life science traces energy and matter through ecosystems — food webs, decomposers, photosynthesis — and establishes that plants get most of their material from air and water, not soil. Earth and space science covers Earth's spheres and their interactions, the water cycle, gravity, and why the sun appears brighter than other stars.

Key topics covered

• Structure of Matter — Modeling matter as particles too small to see, and measuring its properties.
• Chemical & Physical Change — Conservation of matter, mixtures, dissolving and separating.
• Ecosystems & Energy Flow — Food webs, decomposers, and how matter cycles through an ecosystem.
• Photosynthesis — How plants build material from air and water using energy from light.
• Earth's Systems — Interactions between the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere.
• Space Systems — Gravity, daily and seasonal patterns, and the apparent brightness of stars.