CAASPP Grade 5 Science

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Students observe two hills, Hill A and Hill B. After a heavy rainstorm, the students observe that Hill A has more loose soil at the bottom than Hill B.

Which sentence best describes what most likely caused the loose soil?

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Students study the best way to grow bean seedlings. The students measure and record the mass of 12 seedlings. Then they divide the seedlings into four groups. All of the groups of seedlings are placed on paper towels. Some of the paper towels are wet. Each paper towel is placed in a bag and sealed. Students press the air out of some bags.

The students measure and record the mass of each seedling after five days. Which of these describes the group of seedlings that most likely gained the greatest mass?

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Students mix an unknown white powder with an unknown clear solution. Select three observations that might indicate that a new substance is produced.

The figure shows a ramp with four labeled positions. A student releases a marble from the four positions. The marble rolls down the incline onto a horizontal surface where it collides with a stopper and sticks to it.

The student tests how far the stopper moves as the marble is released from the different positions on the ramp. The results are shown in the figures.

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Part A

When released from which position was the marble moving the fastest upon colliding with the stopper?

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Part B

Based on the evidence provided, choose the phrase from the menu that best explains what happened.

The faster the marble is going, __________.

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A tiltmeter is an instrument that is used to measure changes in the tilt of the ground. The ground near volcanoes moves before a volcano erupts, so scientists use tiltmeters to try to predict when a volcano may erupt. The map shows a city near a volcano.

Scientists want to place a tiltmeter in a location where people can be quickly alerted when the volcano is going to erupt.

Which location for the tiltmeter is best, and why?

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A student is learning about how forces act on a bridge.

The task is to design a paper bridge as shown in the picture that can support the greatest number of pennies. The student must use these materials:
one piece of copy paper
four books (two on each side, 20 centimeters apart)
up to 25 pennies

The student places 10 pennies on the bridge, and it collapses. Select which parts of the design most likely need to be changed to improve the design of the bridge and which need to stay the same.

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Students are studying ecosystems. Their teacher assigned groups to make posters that show how matter and energy flow through a food chain. One group drew this model.

Which would be the best choice to fill the empty box and complete the model?

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An upright stick casts a shadow over flat ground. A student records the direction and length of the shadow hourly, starting at 5 a.m. This table shows the data collected by the student.

Which statement best describes what the student will find at 10 a.m.?

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2

Arctic hares live in the northernmost parts of North America where the ground is covered in snow during the coldest months. Arctic hares change fur color by molting and growing new fur twice a year. The diagram shows a hare in July and a hare in January.

Explain how the change from a brown fur coat to a white fur coat helps arctic hares to survive in the winter.

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When a whale comes to the surface, it exhales warm air through its spout. Scientists want to collect samples from whale spouts to learn more about the health of whales.

Scientists are considering two methods for collecting samples:
Drone: A silent remote-controlled drone robot that flies over a whale and collects a sample quickly. The cost is $5,000.
Boat: A gasoline-powered speedboat that is already owned by the scientists. It drives up to a whale and a passenger collects a sample quickly. The cost is $0.
The table shows three different requirements for deciding which method to use. Select the requirements that best fit each method.

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Glaciers are large sheets of ice found in areas where the air temperature remains cold most of the year. Students use a computer model to study how glaciers can affect land and living things. The students also study data that show that glaciers are melting rapidly.

Which changes to the computer model should the students make to show the most likely effect of melting glaciers?

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This is a picture of an electric circuit containing a wire, a battery, a switch, and a lightbulb. A student wants to use the circuit to find the battery that lasts the longest.

Which test should the student perform? Complete the sentence by selecting the correct word from the menu.

The student should change the type of __________ and measure how long the circuit works.

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The pie charts show where the water on Earth is. Most of the water is in the oceans. Most of the water that is not in the oceans is frozen in ice caps and glaciers.

Select the words from the menus to best complete the sentence.

Most of Earth’s freshwater is __________, and most of Earth’s surface freshwater is found in __________.

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A student is making two models to show different patterns of erosion. The first model will show how running water affects soil and rocks. The second model will show how glaciers affect soil and rocks. The materials available for making the models are listed.

Select the check boxes to mark which materials should be used for each model.

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Students observe a girl being pushed on a swing by her father in a park. The students want to describe the pattern of this motion.

Which two measurements can the students use to describe the pattern?

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2

Two plants of the same type are planted on the same day under similar conditions, but they receive different amounts of water. The table shows how often each plant was watered and the observed traits of each plant.

Using the information in the table, explain how the traits of each plant are influenced by its environment.

Students are studying weather conditions in different regions of the world. The average monthly temperatures in Sydney, Australia, are shown in degrees Celsius (°C) in Figure 1. The average monthly rainfall is shown in millimeters (mm) in Figure 2.

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Part A

Complete this sentence by selecting words from the menus. 

Based on the data in the graph, one of the colder winter months in Sydney is __________ and one of the warmer summer months is __________.

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Part B

Based on the information presented in the graphs, which prediction about the weather in Sydney, Australia, is correct?

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Scientists did a study to find out why the number of frogs in a certain area decreased. The scientists found that it was because of chemicals used by local farmers. The farmers argue that they need the chemicals to protect their crops.

The residents propose solutions they hope will be good for both the farmers and the frogs.

Which proposal is the most reasonable?

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Long-eared hedgehogs are small mammals that are kept as pets. Adults can have body lengths that range from 120 to 270 millimeters (mm). This table shows the body lengths of a family of hedgehogs.

Based on this data, select the word or phrase that best completes the statement.

The offspring of these two parent hedgehogs have body lengths that are __________ their parents because variation __________ for this trait among members of the same family.

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Students set up three glass cups with water as described in the table and record their observations. The students develop a model to explain why water droplets form on the outer surface of the cup when it has water and ice.

Based on the observations, how should the formation of water droplets be described in the model?

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Students are learning about butterfly habitats and want to design a garden at their school to attract butterflies.

What do the students need to know now, and what might they need to know later?

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The picture shows a tortoise that is native to the Galápagos Islands. Over the years, there has been a large drop in the number of these tortoises in the Galápagos Islands.

This list shows the possible dangers to the tortoises.
Animals and plants that were brought in from other countries
Increased pollution
Increased traffic and roadways
Tortoise pathways to food and habitat blocked
Which step would most likely help increase the number of tortoises on the Galápagos Islands?

A food web for a forest ecosystem is shown. The arrows indicate the flow of energy.

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1

Part A

What statement best describes the role of the grass plants in the food web?

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Part B

Complete the statement by selecting the correct word from the menu.
One of the limitations of this food web is that __________ are not included.

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A teacher hits a drum and makes a sound. Students decide to model the sound wave by using a rope, as shown in the figure.

To make the wave, Student A lifts her hand to the height of her shoulder, pulls one end of the rope down to her waist, and then pulls it back up to her shoulder. The teacher hits the drum again with more force and the sound is louder than before. Students are asked to model the louder sound wave.

What should Student A do to create the best model for the louder wave? Select phrases from the menus to complete the sentence.

Student A should lift her arm to a height __________ and then down to a height __________ before returning the rope to its original location.

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A student holds a ball with two hands. The student removes his hands from the ball, and the ball falls directly down. Which claim best explains why the ball falls down?

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A student observed that a cactus has long, sharp spines that are painful to touch.

Which claim is best supported by the observation?

In this performance task, you will answer five questions.

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During recess, Kristen and Pablo want to play a game of tug-of-war against Maria and John. Kristen and Pablo will stand on the left side of the rope and Maria and John will stand on the right side. The team who can move the hanging flag outside of the game zone will win. Before the game, the four children split up and practice pulling the rope.

Kristen and Maria practice first as shown in the picture. The overall force on the rope is greater in the direction Kristen is pulling than in the direction Maria is pulling. Kristen and Maria continue to practice pulling the rope.

In which direction will the flag move and why? Select the best word or phrase from each menu to complete the sentence.

The flag will __________ because the overall force acting on the rope is __________.

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In a second practice pull, the flag does not move. This occurs if the forces applied to the rope are

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Kristen and Maria rest so that Pablo and John can practice. Pablo and John pull on the rope as hard as they can but cannot get the flag to move. After a while, John tells Pablo that his hands are tired. Pablo tells John that his hands are also tired.

What is the best explanation of why John’s and Pablo’s hands are tired after practicing?

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Maria wants to know if she can pull the rope with more force than Pablo. Pablo stands on the left side of the rope and Maria stands on the right side of the rope, and they both begin pulling on the rope as shown in the figure.

What will happen to the speed and direction of motion of the flag if Maria can exert more force on the rope than Pablo? Select the best terms from the menus to complete the sentence.

The speed of the flag will ____________________.

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2

The table summarizes the results of each practice session that has already taken place.

The children prepare to play the game. Kristen and Pablo stand on the left side of the rope while Maria and John stand on the right side of the rope as shown in the figure. Each person will pull as hard as they can.

Based on the table, the students determined there would be an unbalanced force on the rope, and predicted that Kristen and Pablo would be the winners. Use the practice session information to describe how each person contributes to the unbalanced force.

In this performance task, you will answer five questions.

Required

1

A family goes camping on a mountain. The family returns to a spot that the family has visited before. They are surprised to see that the area looks different now.

Heavy rains have washed away some soil and exposed a large fossil embedded in rock.

What two systems contributed most to exposing the fossil? Select the correct systems from the menus to complete this statement.

The fossil was exposed by an interaction between the __________ and the __________.

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Two of the family members are scientists. They examine the large fossil embedded in rock and see that it is a fossilized whale. They also see smaller marine fossils. The children are surprised to find marine fossils near the top of a mountain.

Select the phrase from the menu that best completes this sentence.

The scientists agree that finding a whale fossil near the top of a mountain means that this landscape has __________.

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Which statement best completes this sentence?

The fossil formed when

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The two scientists think that even though they found the rock near the top of a mountain, the rock formed from sediment deposited on the ocean floor. They want evidence to support this claim about where the rock formed.

Select the observation that supports the scientists’ claim.

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2

The scientists want to find another fossil that formed at a similar place and time as the whale fossil. The scientists eventually find a rock with more fossils. The rock has two distinct layers. This diagram shows the layers and their fossils. Assume the rock layers are nearly horizontal.

Identify which one of the two rock layers is older, and explain what change in the landscape must have occurred between the formation of the two layers.

	Needs to be changed	Needs to stay the same
The number of sheets of paper
The way the paper is folded
The number of books

	Quiet	Low cost	Least harmful to the environment
Drone
Boat

	Model of erosion by running water	Model of erosion by glaciers
A long tray that can be tilted
A pitcher of water
Sand and small pebbles
A large block of ice

	Need to Know Now	Might Need to Know Later
Amount of money in the budget
Types of plants that attract butterflies in the region
How to expand the layout of the butterfly garden

Students observe two hills, Hill A and Hill B. After a heavy rainstorm, the students observe that Hill A has more loose soil at the bottom than Hill B.

Which sentence best describes what most likely caused the loose soil?

Students mix an unknown white powder with an unknown clear solution. Select three observations that might indicate that a new substance is produced.

Part A

When released from which position was the marble moving the fastest upon colliding with the stopper?

Students are studying ecosystems. Their teacher assigned groups to make posters that show how matter and energy flow through a food chain. One group drew this model.

Which would be the best choice to fill the empty box and complete the model?

An upright stick casts a shadow over flat ground. A student records the direction and length of the shadow hourly, starting at 5 a.m. This table shows the data collected by the student.

Which statement best describes what the student will find at 10 a.m.?

Students observe a girl being pushed on a swing by her father in a park. The students want to describe the pattern of this motion.

Which two measurements can the students use to describe the pattern?

Part B

Based on the information presented in the graphs, which prediction about the weather in Sydney, Australia, is correct?

Students are learning about butterfly habitats and want to design a garden at their school to attract butterflies.

What do the students need to know now, and what might they need to know later?

Part A

What statement best describes the role of the grass plants in the food web?

A student holds a ball with two hands. The student removes his hands from the ball, and the ball falls directly down. Which claim best explains why the ball falls down?

A student observed that a cactus has long, sharp spines that are painful to touch.

Which claim is best supported by the observation?

These data tables show how much milk each of the six cows made in March and April.

Describe the patterns of change in milk production from March to April for the following two sets of cows.
Cows A, B, and C at the McCoy Farm
Cows D, E, and F at the Kim Farm

This table compares the Kim and McCoy Dairy Farms.

Which difference between the McCoy and Kim Dairy Farms is most likely responsible for the difference in milk production in April?

In a second practice pull, the flag does not move. This occurs if the forces applied to the rope are

Which statement best completes this sentence?

The fossil formed when

The two scientists think that even though they found the rock near the top of a mountain, the rock formed from sediment deposited on the ocean floor. They want evidence to support this claim about where the rock formed.

Select the observation that supports the scientists’ claim.

CAASPP Grade 5 Science

Students observe two hills, Hill A and Hill B. After a heavy rainstorm, the students observe that Hill A has more loose soil at the bottom than Hill B.Which sentence best describes what most likely caused the loose soil?

Students mix an unknown white powder with an unknown clear solution. Select three observations that might indicate that a new substance is produced.

Part AWhen released from which position was the marble moving the fastest upon colliding with the stopper?

Students are studying ecosystems. Their teacher assigned groups to make posters that show how matter and energy flow through a food chain. One group drew this model.Which would be the best choice to fill the empty box and complete the model?

An upright stick casts a shadow over flat ground. A student records the direction and length of the shadow hourly, starting at 5 a.m. This table shows the data collected by the student.Which statement best describes what the student will find at 10 a.m.?

Students observe a girl being pushed on a swing by her father in a park. The students want to describe the pattern of this motion.Which two measurements can the students use to describe the pattern?

Part BBased on the information presented in the graphs, which prediction about the weather in Sydney, Australia, is correct?

Students are learning about butterfly habitats and want to design a garden at their school to attract butterflies.What do the students need to know now, and what might they need to know later?

Part AWhat statement best describes the role of the grass plants in the food web?

A student holds a ball with two hands. The student removes his hands from the ball, and the ball falls directly down. Which claim best explains why the ball falls down?

A student observed that a cactus has long, sharp spines that are painful to touch. Which claim is best supported by the observation?

These data tables show how much milk each of the six cows made in March and April.Describe the patterns of change in milk production from March to April for the following two sets of cows.Cows A, B, and C at the McCoy FarmCows D, E, and F at the Kim Farm

This table compares the Kim and McCoy Dairy Farms.Which difference between the McCoy and Kim Dairy Farms is most likely responsible for the difference in milk production in April?

In a second practice pull, the flag does not move. This occurs if the forces applied to the rope are

Which statement best completes this sentence?The fossil formed when

The two scientists think that even though they found the rock near the top of a mountain, the rock formed from sediment deposited on the ocean floor. They want evidence to support this claim about where the rock formed.Select the observation that supports the scientists’ claim.

Students observe two hills, Hill A and Hill B. After a heavy rainstorm, the students observe that Hill A has more loose soil at the bottom than Hill B.

Which sentence best describes what most likely caused the loose soil?

Part A

When released from which position was the marble moving the fastest upon colliding with the stopper?

Students are studying ecosystems. Their teacher assigned groups to make posters that show how matter and energy flow through a food chain. One group drew this model.

Which would be the best choice to fill the empty box and complete the model?

An upright stick casts a shadow over flat ground. A student records the direction and length of the shadow hourly, starting at 5 a.m. This table shows the data collected by the student.

Which statement best describes what the student will find at 10 a.m.?

Students observe a girl being pushed on a swing by her father in a park. The students want to describe the pattern of this motion.

Which two measurements can the students use to describe the pattern?

Part B

Based on the information presented in the graphs, which prediction about the weather in Sydney, Australia, is correct?

Students are learning about butterfly habitats and want to design a garden at their school to attract butterflies.

What do the students need to know now, and what might they need to know later?

Part A

What statement best describes the role of the grass plants in the food web?

A student observed that a cactus has long, sharp spines that are painful to touch.

Which claim is best supported by the observation?

These data tables show how much milk each of the six cows made in March and April.

Describe the patterns of change in milk production from March to April for the following two sets of cows.
Cows A, B, and C at the McCoy Farm
Cows D, E, and F at the Kim Farm

This table compares the Kim and McCoy Dairy Farms.

Which difference between the McCoy and Kim Dairy Farms is most likely responsible for the difference in milk production in April?

Which statement best completes this sentence?

The fossil formed when

The two scientists think that even though they found the rock near the top of a mountain, the rock formed from sediment deposited on the ocean floor. They want evidence to support this claim about where the rock formed.

Select the observation that supports the scientists’ claim.