5th Grade Science Study Guide
Chap. 7-9
Test Date: ________________
Chap. 7 “Wonders of the Sky”:
1. Mercury – slightly larger than our moon; closest planet to the sun
2. Venus – Earth’s twin; brightest planet in the sky; surrounded by highly reflective clouds of
sulfuric acid
3. Earth – only planet with a bountiful supply of water; only planet suitable for living things
4. Mars – the red planet; Viking space craft landed here
5. Jupiter – largest planet; huge, powerful thunderstorms occur in its atmosphere; great red spots
swirl in its atmosphere
6. Saturn – has a moon larger than Mercury; has seven bands made up of ice particles and rocks;
2nd largest planet
7. Uranus – first planet discovered in modern times; discovered by Sir William Hersche; tilted on
its side
8. Neptune – appears royal blue; has the strongest winds measured anywhere in the solar system
9. Be able to label the parts of the sun
Chap. 8 “Watching the Weather”:
 The sun is the basic cause of all weather
 A hailstone is a small piece of stone that is tossed up and down inside a cloud until it becomes
coated with several layers of ice until it finally falls to earth.
 Dew and frost are caused by condensation
 There are three major wind systems
 Relative humidity is the amount of water vapor that the air can hold at a given temperature
 Different seasons are caused by the tilt of the earth’s axis
 Be able to identify the following cloud families: cirrus, stratus and cumulus
Chap. 9 “A Variety of Vertebrates”:
Birds:
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The ostrich is the largest bird in the world
The rhea is a South American relative of the ostrich
The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backwards
The hornbill has the ability to enclose itself in its nest with a mud wall
The peregrine falcon can dive through the air at the speed of 220 mph or more
Fish:
 All fish are cold-blooded
 The flounder has both of its eyes on one side of its head
 Most of the fish in the world are bony fish
 Gills are the breathing organs of the fish
 A shark has a tough flexible skeleton made of cartilage
 Most fish have a coat of hard, rounded disks called scales
 The lamprey is a jawless fish
 The swim bladder helps the fish to stay at one level in the water without sinking
Reptiles:
 The African black mamba is the fastest snake
 The carapace is the upper section of the turtle’s shell
5th grade Science Test Study Guide
Mrs. Deborah E Horne
 The marine iguana is the lizard that is more at home in water than on land
 Venom is the poison produced by some snakes
 The Jacobson’s organ helps the snakes sense of smell
 The blind snake is the tiniest snake in the world
 Both the Gila monster and the beaded lizard use poison to stun their prey
 The king cobra is the largest poisonous snake in the world
 A horned lizard can squirt blood from its eyes
 Most lizards escape danger by shedding their tails
 Molting is the process in which a snake loses its outer skin
 Scutes are the tough, round layers of skin covering a turtle’s shell
 Most turtles are freshwater turtles
 Alligators live only in the southeastern United States and also along China’s Yangtze River
 A crocodile guards its eggs until they hatch
Amphibians:
 Protects themselves by secreting a mildly poisonous slime
 Baby frogs and toads are called tadpoles
 Young amphibians breathe with gills until they develop lungs
 The Japanese giant salamander is the largest salamander and is very rare
 Metamorphosis is the process in which an animal changes forma s it grows older
Be able to answer the following:
You observe a lizard like animal sunning itself on a rock. Is this animal a lizard or a
salamander? How do you know, even without touching the animal or observing it closely?
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5th grade Science Test Study Guide
Mrs. Deborah E Horne