Bean Plant Growth Pot Plant Food Each Week (mL) Height After 4 Weeks (cm) 1 0 12 2 5 15 3 10 18 4 15 17 A student on a vegetable farm grew four bean plants in identical pots. Each pot got 100 mL of water every day and the same sunlight. Each week the student added liquid plant food to the pots as shown. Which variable did the student test?

the amount of plant food each pot got

the height of each plant after four weeks

the amount of sunlight each pot received

the amount of water given to each pot

Large mines in central Florida dig up phosphate rock. Trucks and trains carry most of it to factories, and the finished product is shipped to farms across the country. What is the main way people use this Florida resource?

To make fertilizer that helps crops grow

To burn as fuel in power plants that make electricity

To make cement and crushed stone for roads

To make glass for windows and phone screens

Constellation High in the South at 9:00 PM Season Constellation seen Winter Orion Spring Leo Summer Scorpius Fall Pegasus A family in Gainesville looks at the night sky at 9:00 PM on four different nights during the year. The table shows which constellation they saw high in the southern sky. What is the best explanation for this pattern?

As Earth revolves around the Sun, its night side faces different stars.

Some constellations stop shining during the hot months of the year.

Constellations move through space and travel all the way around Earth once a year.

Earth spins on its axis, so different stars appear each hour of the night.

During a fireworks show over a Florida beach, families on the sand first see bright bursts of color in the sky. A moment later, they hear loud booms. Which two forms of energy from the fireworks do the families detect with their eyes and their ears?

Chemical energy and heat energy

Chemical energy and electrical energy

Mechanical energy and electrical energy

A family in Lake City kept a sweet potato from their farm in a dark kitchen cabinet. After a few weeks, small shoots grew out of it, even though it had no light. Which statement best explains how the sweet potato could grow shoots in the dark?

It is a root that stored food the plant made earlier.

It is a leaf that can make food without any sunlight.

It is a stem that takes in water from the cabinet air.

It is a flower that makes new shoots instead of seeds.

Toy Car Ramp Test Trial Ramp Height (cm) Car Distance Rolled (cm) 1 10 Plastic car 80 2 20 Metal car 150 3 30 Wooden car 210 A student rolls toy cars down a ramp onto a wood floor. She records the ramp height and how far each car rolls. She concludes, "A higher ramp makes a car roll farther." Why do her results NOT clearly support this conclusion?

She changed the kind of car as well as the ramp height.

She measured the distances in centimeters, not in meters.

She let every car roll on the same kind of wood floor.

She tested three ramp heights instead of testing only two.

Position of the Big Dipper Time Height above horizon Direction 8:00 PM low northeast 10:00 PM higher north-northeast 12:00 midnight highest north Students at a school in Fort Myers recorded where the Big Dipper appeared on one night. Which statement best explains the change they observed?

Earth rotates, so stars appear to move across the sky.

Clouds pushed the stars to a different part of the sky.

Earth revolves around the Sun once every few hours.

The stars of the Big Dipper are moving quickly through space.

A park ranger turns on a battery-powered flashlight during a night walk on a nature trail. Which list shows the order in which energy changes form in the flashlight?

Chemical energy to electrical energy to light and heat

Electrical energy to chemical energy to light and sound

Mechanical energy to chemical energy to light and sound

Light energy to electrical energy to chemical and heat

Root Hairs and Water Taken In Seedling Root hairs Water taken in (mL per day) 1 Few 4 2 Some 9 3 Many 15 A student grew three seedlings of the same kind and counted the tiny root hairs on each. She then measured how much water each seedling took in during one day. Which human body organ has a structure that works most like the root hairs?

Small intestine, whose many tiny folds take in more nutrients

Heart, whose thick walls help it pump blood harder

Brain, whose many nerves send more messages at once

Bladder, whose stretchy walls let it hold more and more liquid waste

Florida Statewide Science Assessment (SSA) Grade 5

Free Florida Statewide Science Practice Questions

10 sample questions for the Florida Statewide Science Assessment (SSA) Grade 5, with the correct answer and an explanation for each. No account needed. Try each one before you open the answer.

Sections covered on the exam: Nature of Science, Earth and Space Science.

Question 1 · Nature of Science
Bean Plant Growth
Pot Plant Food Each Week (mL) Height After 4 Weeks (cm)
1 0 12
2 5 15
3 10 18
4 15 17
A student on a vegetable farm grew four bean plants in identical pots. Each pot got 100 mL of water every day and the same sunlight. Each week the student added liquid plant food to the pots as shown. Which variable did the student test?
- A.the height of each plant after four weeks
- B.the amount of sunlight each pot received
- C.the amount of plant food each pot got
- D.the amount of water given to each pot
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. the amount of plant food each pot got
The student changed the amount of plant food on purpose, so that is the variable being tested. The plant height is what the student measured to see the effect, not the variable that was changed. The water and sunlight were kept the same for every pot so the test would be fair.
Question 2 · Earth and Space Science
Large mines in central Florida dig up phosphate rock. Trucks and trains carry most of it to factories, and the finished product is shipped to farms across the country. What is the main way people use this Florida resource?
- A.To burn as fuel in power plants that make electricity
- B.To make cement and crushed stone for roads
- C.To make fertilizer that helps crops grow
- D.To make glass for windows and phone screens
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. To make fertilizer that helps crops grow
Most phosphate mined in Florida is turned into fertilizer, which is why it is shipped to farms. Glass is made from silicon in sand, and cement and road stone come from limestone. Phosphate is not burned as a fuel the way coal or natural gas are.
Question 3 · Earth and Space Science
Constellation High in the South at 9:00 PM
Season Constellation seen
Winter Orion
Spring Leo
Summer Scorpius
Fall Pegasus
A family in Gainesville looks at the night sky at 9:00 PM on four different nights during the year. The table shows which constellation they saw high in the southern sky. What is the best explanation for this pattern?
- A.Some constellations stop shining during the hot months of the year.
- B.As Earth revolves around the Sun, its night side faces different stars.
- C.Constellations move through space and travel all the way around Earth once a year.
- D.Earth spins on its axis, so different stars appear each hour of the night.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. As Earth revolves around the Sun, its night side faces different stars.
Earth's yearly trip around the Sun changes which direction the night side faces, so different constellations are overhead in different seasons. Earth's rotation causes stars to move across the sky during one night, but it does not explain a change that happens from season to season at the same clock time. Stars do not stop shining in summer; they are simply in the daytime sky, hidden by sunlight.
Question 4 · Nature of Science
During a fireworks show over a Florida beach, families on the sand first see bright bursts of color in the sky. A moment later, they hear loud booms. Which two forms of energy from the fireworks do the families detect with their eyes and their ears?
- A.Chemical energy and heat energy
- B.Chemical energy and electrical energy
- C.Mechanical energy and electrical energy
- D.Light energy and sound energy
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Light energy and sound energy
The eyes detect light energy and the ears detect sound energy, so light and sound are the forms that reach the families' senses. Chemical energy is stored in the fireworks before they explode; it changes into light, sound and heat, but people cannot see or hear chemical energy itself. No electrical energy is involved in what the families sense.
Question 5 · Nature of Science
A family in Lake City kept a sweet potato from their farm in a dark kitchen cabinet. After a few weeks, small shoots grew out of it, even though it had no light. Which statement best explains how the sweet potato could grow shoots in the dark?
- A.It is a leaf that can make food without any sunlight.
- B.It is a root that stored food the plant made earlier.
- C.It is a stem that takes in water from the cabinet air.
- D.It is a flower that makes new shoots instead of seeds.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. It is a root that stored food the plant made earlier.
A sweet potato is a storage root; the food it holds was made earlier by the plant's leaves in sunlight, and the shoots used that stored food. Leaves need light to make food, so a leaf could not make food in a dark cabinet. A flower's job is to make seeds, not to store food for new shoots.
Question 6 · Nature of Science
Toy Car Ramp Test
Trial Ramp Height (cm) Car Distance Rolled (cm)
1 10 Plastic car 80
2 20 Metal car 150
3 30 Wooden car 210
A student rolls toy cars down a ramp onto a wood floor. She records the ramp height and how far each car rolls. She concludes, "A higher ramp makes a car roll farther." Why do her results NOT clearly support this conclusion?
- A.She measured the distances in centimeters, not in meters.
- B.She changed the kind of car as well as the ramp height.
- C.She let every car roll on the same kind of wood floor.
- D.She tested three ramp heights instead of testing only two.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. She changed the kind of car as well as the ramp height.
Both the ramp height and the car changed in every trial, so the student cannot tell which one caused the change in distance. A fair test changes only one variable at a time. Using the same floor and testing three heights are good choices, not problems.

Bean Plant Growth
Pot	Plant Food Each Week (mL)	Height After 4 Weeks (cm)
1	0	12
2	5	15
3	10	18
4	15	17

Constellation High in the South at 9:00 PM
Season	Constellation seen
Winter	Orion
Spring	Leo
Summer	Scorpius
Fall	Pegasus

Toy Car Ramp Test
Trial	Ramp Height (cm)	Car	Distance Rolled (cm)
1	10	Plastic car	80
2	20	Metal car	150
3	30	Wooden car	210

Question 7 · Earth and Space Science

How Long Resources Take to Be Replaced
Resource	Time to be replaced
Sunlight	Replaced constantly
Wind	Replaced constantly
Trees on a managed farm	About 20 to 50 years
Coal	Millions of years
Natural gas	Millions of years
Oil	Millions of years

A county plans to build a new school that relies mainly on renewable resources. Which plan best meets this goal?

A.Coal-fired power and lumber from a managed tree farm
B.Solar panels for power and lumber from a managed tree farm
C.Solar panels for power and heating from natural gas
D.Wind turbines for power and backup generators that burn oil

Show answer and explanation

Answer: B. Solar panels for power and lumber from a managed tree farm

Sunlight is replaced constantly and trees can be replanted and regrow within decades, so both are renewable. Coal, natural gas, and oil take millions of years to form, which makes them nonrenewable. Each wrong plan pairs one renewable resource with one nonrenewable resource, so it does not rely mainly on renewable resources.

Question 8 · Earth and Space Science
Position of the Big Dipper
Time Height above horizon Direction
8:00 PM low northeast
10:00 PM higher north-northeast
12:00 midnight highest north
Students at a school in Fort Myers recorded where the Big Dipper appeared on one night. Which statement best explains the change they observed?
- A.Clouds pushed the stars to a different part of the sky.
- B.Earth rotates, so stars appear to move across the sky.
- C.Earth revolves around the Sun once every few hours.
- D.The stars of the Big Dipper are moving quickly through space.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Earth rotates, so stars appear to move across the sky.
Earth spins on its axis once about every 24 hours, so stars appear to circle across the sky during a single night, just as the Sun appears to move during the day. Earth's revolution takes about one year, not hours, so it cannot cause changes this fast. Stars are so far away that their real motion through space is far too small to notice in one night.
Question 9 · Nature of Science
A park ranger turns on a battery-powered flashlight during a night walk on a nature trail. Which list shows the order in which energy changes form in the flashlight?
- A.Chemical energy to electrical energy to light and heat
- B.Electrical energy to chemical energy to light and sound
- C.Mechanical energy to chemical energy to light and sound
- D.Light energy to electrical energy to chemical and heat
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Chemical energy to electrical energy to light and heat
A battery stores chemical energy, which changes into electrical energy that flows through the circuit. The bulb then changes electrical energy into light and some heat. Starting with electrical energy reverses the first step, and a flashlight bulb gives off light, not sound.
Question 10 · Nature of Science
Root Hairs and Water Taken In
Seedling Root hairs Water taken in (mL per day)
1 Few 4
2 Some 9
3 Many 15
A student grew three seedlings of the same kind and counted the tiny root hairs on each. She then measured how much water each seedling took in during one day. Which human body organ has a structure that works most like the root hairs?
- A.Heart, whose thick walls help it pump blood harder
- B.Brain, whose many nerves send more messages at once
- C.Bladder, whose stretchy walls let it hold more and more liquid waste
- D.Small intestine, whose many tiny folds take in more nutrients
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Small intestine, whose many tiny folds take in more nutrients
The data show that more root hairs let a seedling take in more water because they add surface area. The small intestine's many tiny folds work the same way, adding surface area to take in more nutrients. The bladder stretches to store liquid, but storing is different from taking in materials.

Position of the Big Dipper
Time	Height above horizon	Direction
8:00 PM	low	northeast
10:00 PM	higher	north-northeast
12:00 midnight	highest	north

Root Hairs and Water Taken In
Seedling	Root hairs	Water taken in (mL per day)
1	Few	4
2	Some	9
3	Many	15

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