5th Grade Science
End-of Grade Vocabulary
Lynn Blanks 2010-11
Goal II:
 fault – a crack in the Earth’s crust whose sides show evidence of motion
 plate—one of the moving pieces of the Earth’s crust that has been broken
by upward pressure from the mantle
 plate tectonics—scientific theory that Earth’s crust is made of moving
plates
 compression—a movement of plates that presses together or squeezes
Earth’s crust
 tension—movement of plates that stretches or pulls apart Earth’s crust
 shear—movement of plates that twists, or pushes one part of Earth’s
crust past another
 geologist—a scientist who studies rocks to tell how they formed and to
predict when an earthquake may occur
 crust—the rocky surface that makes up the top of the lithosphere and
includes the continents and the ocean floor
 mantel- magma—hot, molten rock deep below Earth’s surface
 lava—magma that reaches the Earth’s surface
 weathering—breaking down rocks into smaller pieces
 physical weathering –weathering that happens when the Earth’s crust is
exposed to water, air, and changes in temperature
 chemical weathering—weathering that happens when one substance
(object) reacts chemically with another substance to form new substances
 erosion—the picking up and carrying away of pieces of rock, sand, and silt
whether by wind, ice or water
 deposition—the dropping off of bits of eroded rock, sand, and silt
 meteorite—a chunk of rock from space that strikes the surface of the
Earth or the moon
 meteor—a chunk of rock from space that burns up as it travels through
Earth’s atmosphere
 run-off—precipitation that flows across the land’s surface or falls into
rivers and streams
 watershed—area from which water is drained; region that contributes
water to a river or river system
 sediment—pieces if material carried and deposited by water or wind
 meander—bends or S-shaped curves in a river
 flood plain—land that is likely to be underwater during a flood
 delta—fan-shaped region formed by deposits of sediments found at the
mouth of a river
 lithosphere—the hard outer layer of Earth, about 100km thick
 hydrosphere—Earth’s water, found in continents and oceans, including the
fresh water in ice, lakes, rivers, and underground water
 atmosphere—the blanket of gases that surrounds Earth
 elevation—the height of a place above sea level
 topographic map—
Goal IV:
 force-- a push or pull exerted by one object on another, causing a change
in motion
 inertia-- the tendency of a moving object to keep moving in a straight line
or of any object to resist a change in motion
 friction—a force that opposes the motion of one object moving past
another
 mass—a measure of the amount of matter in an object
 speed—how fast an object’s position changes with time at any given
moment (Speed=distance/time)
 velocity—the speed and direction of a moving object (Velocity=
distance/time + direction)
 acceleration—change in velocity with respect to time
 deceleration—decrease in velocity
 balanced force—forces that cancel each other when acting together on a
single object
 unbalanced force—forces that do not cancel each other when acting
together on a single object
 action—the force one object applies to a second, as in Newton’s third law
of motion, which states, “ For every action, there is an equal but
opposite reaction.”
 reaction—the force with which an object responds to an action, as in
Newton’s third law of motion
 work—the use of force to move an object a certain distance
 simple machine—a machine with few moving parts, making it easier to do
work
 lever—a simple machine made if a rigid bar and a fixed pivot point, called
the fulcrum
 fulcrum—the pivot point of a lever
 effort arm—the part of the lever that applies force to the resistance arm
 resistance arm—the part the lever that applies force to the load the
machine acts against
 pulleys—
 inclined plane- wedge
 screw
 gravity—the force of attraction between any two objects due to their
mass
 weight—the force of gravity between Earth and an object
Goal III:
 insolation- “incoming solar radiation”—the amount of the Sun’s energy that
reaches Earth at a given time an place
 atmosphere—the blanket of gases that surrounds the Earth
 troposphere—the layer of the atmosphere closest to Earth’s surface
 air pressure—the force out on a given area by the weight of the air above
it
 weather—what the lower atmosphere is like at any given place and time
 barometer—a device for measuring air pressure
 water vapor—water in the form of gas
 humidity—the amount if water vapor in the air
 evaporation—the slow changing of a liquid into a gas
 condensation—the changing of a gas into a liquid
 precipitation—any form of water particles that falls from the atmosphere
and reaches the ground
 transpiration—the loss of water through a plant’s leaves
 relative humidity—a comparison between how much water vapor is in the
air and how much the air could hold at a given temperature if it were full,
or saturated
 stratus cloud—a cloud that forms in a blanket-like layer
 cumulus cloud—a puffy cloud that appears to rise up from a flat bottom
 cirrus cloud—a high-altitude cloud with featherlike shape, made of ice
crystals
 fog—a cloud at ground level
 wind—air that moves horizontally
 anemometer—a device that measures wind speed
 convection cell—a circular pattern of air rising, air sinking, and wind
 sea breeze—wind that blows from sea to land
 land breeze—wind that blows from land to sea
 valley breeze—a cool wind that blows up a mountain slope and replaces the
slope’s rising Sun-warmed air
 mountain breeze—a cool night wind that blows down a mountain slope to
replace the warmer air in the valley
 Coriolis Effect—the curving of the path of a moving object caused by
Earth’s rotation
 isobar—a line on a weather map connecting places with equal air pressure
 air mass—a large region of atmosphere where the air has similar
properties throughout
 front—a boundary between air masses with different temperatures
 cold front—a front where cold air moves in under a warm air mass
 warm front—a front where warm air moves in over a cold air mass
 thunderstorm—the most common severe storm, formed in cumulonimbus
clouds
 downdraft—a downward rush of air caused by the falling of rain during a
thunderstorm
 updraft- tornado—a violent, whirling wind that moves across the ground in a narrow
path
 hurricane—a very, large, swirling storm with very low pressure at the
center
 storm surge—a great rise of the sea along a shore caused by low air
pressure
 climate—the average weather pattern of a region
Goal I:
 ecosystem—all the living and nonliving things in an environment, including
their interactions with each other
 abiotic factor—a nonliving part of an ecosystem
 biotic factor—a living part of an ecosystem
 population—all the members of one species in an area
 community—all the living things in an ecosystem
 ecology—the study of how living and nonliving things interact
 habitat—the place where a plant or animal naturally lives and grows
 niche—the role of an organism in a community
 food chain—the path of energy in food from one organism to another
 food web—the overlapping food chains in an ecosystem
 consumer--any animal that eats plants or eats plant-eating animals
 producer—any of the plants and algae that produce oxygen and food that
animals need
 photosynthesis—the food making process in green plants that uses
sunlight
 decomposer—any of the fungi or bacteria that break down dead plants and
animals into useful things like minerals and rich soil
 herbivore—an animal that eats plants, algae, and other producers
 carnivore—an animal that eats another animal
 omnivore-an animal that eats both plants and animals
 predator—an animal that hunts other animals for food
 prey—a living thing that is hunted for food
 scavenger—a meat-eating animal that feeds in the remains of dead animals
 omnivore—an animal that eats both plants and animals
 symbiosis—a relationship between two kinds of organisms that lasts over
time
 mutualism—a relationship between two kinds of organisms that benefits
both
 parasitism—a relationship in which one organism lives in or on another
organism and benefits from that relationship while the other
organism may be harmed by it
 host—the organism a parasite lives in or on and is harmed by
 commensalism—a relationship between two kinds of organisms that
benefits one without harming the other
 limiting factor—anything that controls the growth or the survival of a
population
 carrying capacity—the maximum population size that an area can support
 endangered species—a species that is in danger of becoming extinct
 extinct—a species that has died out completely
 threatened species—a species that is in danger of becoming endangered
 biome—one of Earth’s large ecosystems, with its own kind of climate, soil,
plants, and animals
 grasslands—a biome where grasses, not trees, are the main plant life
(prairies are one kind of grassland region)
 taiga—a cool forest biome of conifers in the upper Northern Hemisphere
 tundra—large, treeless plain in the artic regions, where the ground is
frozen all year
 desert—a sandy or rocky biome, with little precipitation and little plant
life
 deciduous forest—a forest biome with many kinds of trees that lose their
leaves each autumn
 tropical rainforest—a hot biome near the equator, with much rainfall and a
wide variety of life
 ecological succession—the gradual replacement if one community by
another
 pioneer species—the first species living in a otherwise lifeless area
 pioneer community—the first community thriving in a once lifeless area
 climax community—the final stage of succession in an area, unless a major
change happens