California State Standards for Science: Grade 5

CA.1. Physical Sciences: Elements and their combinations account for all the varied types of matter in the world. As a basis for understanding this concept:

1.a. Students know that during chemical reactions the atoms in the reactants rearrange to form products with different properties. 4
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 1.a.

1.b. Students know all matter is made of atoms, which may combine to form molecules. 8
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 1.b.

1.c. Students know metals have properties in common, such as high electrical and thermal conductivity. Some metals, such as aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), silver (Ag), and gold (Au), are pure elements; others, such as steel and brass, are composed of a combination of elemental metals. 2
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 1.c.

1.d. Students know that each element is made of one kind of atom and that the elements are organized in the periodic table by their chemical properties. 2
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 1.d.

1.e. Students know scientists have developed instruments that can create discrete images of atoms and molecules that show that the atoms and molecules often occur in well-ordered arrays. 7
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 1.e.

1.f. Students know differences in chemical and physical properties of substances are used to separate mixtures and identify compounds. 6
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 1.f.

1.g. Students know properties of solid, liquid, and gaseous substances, such as sugar, water, helium, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. 1
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 1.g.

1.h. Students know living organisms and most materials are composed of just a few elements. 13
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 1.h.

1.i. Students know the common properties of salts, such as sodium chloride (NaCl). 7
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 1.i.

CA.2. Life Sciences: Plants and animals have structures for respiration, digestion, waste disposal, and transport of materials. As a basis for understanding this concept:

2.a. Students know many multicellular organisms have specialized structures to sup-port the transport of materials. 3
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 2.a.

2.b. Students know how blood circulates through the heart chambers, lungs, and body and how carbon dioxide and oxygen are exchanged in the lungs and tissues. 16
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 2.b.

2.c. Students know the sequential steps of digestion and the roles of teeth and the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and colon in the function of the digestive system. 6
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 2.c.

2.d. Students know the role of the kidney in removing cellular waste from blood and converting it into urine, which is stored in the bladder. 6
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 2.d.

2.e. Students know how sugar, water, and minerals are transported in a vascular plant. 6
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 2.e.

2.f. Students know plants use carbon dioxide and energy from sunlight to build molecules of sugar and release oxygen. 5
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 2.f.

2.g. Students know plant and animal cells break down sugar to obtain energy, a process resulting in carbon dioxide and water (respiration). 18
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 2.g.

CA.3. Earth Sciences: Water on Earth moves between the oceans and land through the processes of evaporation and condensation. As a basis for understanding this concept:

3.a. Students know most of Earth's water is present as salt water in the oceans, which cover most of Earth's surface. 8
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 3.a.

3.b. Students know when liquid water evaporates, it turns into water vapor in the air and can reappear as a liquid when cooled or as a solid if cooled below the freezing point of water. 6
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 3.b.

3.c. Students know water vapor in the air moves from one place to another and can form fog or clouds, which are tiny droplets of water or ice, and can fall to Earth as rain, hail, sleet, or snow. 8
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 3.c.

3.d. Students know that the amount of fresh water located in rivers, lakes, under-ground sources, and glaciers is limited and that its availability can be extended by recycling and decreasing the use of water. 21
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 3.d.

3.e. Students know the origin of the water used by their local communities. 7
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 3.e.

CA.4. Earth Sciences: Energy from the Sun heats Earth unevenly, causing air movements that result in changing weather patterns. As a basis for understanding this concept:

4.a. Students know uneven heating of Earth causes air movements (convection cur-rents). 7
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 4.a.

4.b. Students know the influence that the ocean has on the weather and the role that the water cycle plays in weather patterns. 2
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 4.b.

4.c. Students know the causes and effects of different types of severe weather. 19
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 4.c.

4.d. Students know how to use weather maps and data to predict local weather and know that weather forecasts depend on many variables. 15
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 4.d.

4.e. Students know that the Earth's atmosphere exerts a pressure that decreases with distance above Earth's surface and that at any point it exerts this pressure equally in all directions. 2
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 4.e.

CA.5. Earth Sciences: The solar system consists of planets and other bodies that orbit the Sun in predict-able paths. As a basis for understanding this concept:

5.a. Students know the Sun, an average star, is the central and largest body in the solar system and is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. 5
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 5.a.

5.b. Students know the solar system includes the planet Earth, the Moon, the Sun, eight other planets and their satellites, and smaller objects, such as asteroids and comets. 26
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 5.b.

5.c. Students know the path of a planet around the Sun is due to the gravitational attraction between the Sun and the planet. 24
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 5.c.

CA.6. Investigation and Experimentation: Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

6.a. Classify objects (e.g., rocks, plants, leaves) in accordance with appropriate criteria. 22
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 6.a.

6.b. Develop a testable question. 21
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 6.b.

6.c. Plan and conduct a simple investigation based on a student-developed question and write instructions others can follow to carry out the procedure. 26
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 6.c.

6.d. Identify the dependent and controlled variables in an investigation. 21
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 6.d.

6.e. Identify a single independent variable in a scientific investigation and explain how this variable can be used to collect information to answer a question about the results of the experiment. 21
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 6.e.

6.f. Select appropriate tools (e.g., thermometers, meter sticks, balances, and graduated cylinders) and make quantitative observations. 22
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 6.f.

6.g. Record data by using appropriate graphic representations (including charts, graphs, and labeled diagrams) and make inferences based on those data. 34
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 6.g.

6.h. Draw conclusions from scientific evidence and indicate whether further information is needed to support a specific conclusion. 33
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 6.h.

6.i. Write a report of an investigation that includes conducting tests, collecting data or examining evidence, and drawing conclusions. 36
Suggested Titles for California Science State Standard 6.i.