Word Bank · Grade 5
Science Words to Know
Key science words for Grade 5 — in plain words, with an example. Keep this open while you play!
🌍 Earth & Space
- rotate
- To spin on an axis. Earth rotates once about every 24 hours.Like: Earth's spin makes day and night.
- shadow
- A dark shape made when an object blocks light.Like: long in the morning, short at midday.
- sedimentary rock
- Rock made from pressed and cemented layers of sediment.Like: the oldest layers are on the bottom.
- fossil fuels
- Coal, oil, and gas made from ancient buried living things.Like: they took millions of years to form.
- landform
- A shape of the land made by wind, water, or ice.Like: a canyon, delta, or dune.
🧪 Matter
- particles
- The tiny bits that all matter is made of, too small to see.Like: air is made of particles.
- mixture
- Two or more things mixed but not joined; the parts keep their properties.Like: iron filings in sand.
⚡ Force & Energy
- force
- A push or pull that can change how something moves.Like: an unequal force wins a tug-of-war.
- energy transformation
- When energy changes from one form to another.Like: chemical → electrical → light in a flashlight.
- reflection
- When light bounces off a surface.Like: light off a mirror.
- refraction
- When light bends passing into water or a lens.Like: a straw looks bent in water.
🌱 Living Things
- ecosystem
- A web of living and nonliving things that are all connected.Like: a change ripples through the whole web.
- pollution
- Trash or dirty water and air that harm an ecosystem.Like: littering in a stream.
- instinct
- A behavior an animal is born knowing.Like: baby turtles heading to the sea.
- learned behavior
- A behavior an animal gains from experience.Like: orcas learning to hunt in packs.