STAAR Grade 5 Science

1. Question 1 · Matter and Energy

   A student places five objects, one at a time, in a tub of water. She uses a balance to find the mass of each object and records whether it sinks or floats.

   Sink or Float Investigation

   Object	Mass (g)	Result in water
   Wooden block	40	Floats
   Wax candle	30	Floats
   Steel bolt	25	Sinks
   Glass marble	5	Sinks
   Copper penny	3	Sinks

   Which conclusion is supported by the data?
   • A.Mass alone does not decide if an object sinks or floats.
   • B.Objects with more mass always sink in water.
   • C.Objects made of metal always float in water.
   • D.Objects with less mass always float in water.
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: A. Mass alone does not decide if an object sinks or floats.

   The wooden block has the most mass and floats, while the marble and penny have very little mass and sink, so mass alone cannot predict sinking or floating. What matters is whether the material is more or less dense than water. Many students think heavier objects always sink, but the 40 g block shows that is not true.

2. Question 2 · Force, Motion, and Energy

   Which device is designed to change electrical energy mainly into thermal energy?
   • A.A flashlight
   • B.A toaster
   • C.A doorbell
   • D.A ceiling fan
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: B. A toaster

   A toaster changes electrical energy into thermal energy that browns the bread. A flashlight also gets a little warm, but its main job is to change electrical energy into light.

3. Question 3 · Earth and Space

   When it is noon in Texas, it is nighttime in parts of Asia. Which statement best explains this?
   • A.The Moon blocks sunlight from reaching Asia at that time.
   • B.Earth's path around the Sun carries Asia away from it each night.
   • C.Only the half of Earth facing the Sun is lit at one time.
   • D.The Sun shines on Asia only during the summer months.
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: C. Only the half of Earth facing the Sun is lit at one time.

   The Sun can light only the side of Earth that faces it, so while Texas faces the Sun, the other side of Earth is in darkness. The Moon does not cause night; Earth's own rotation does.

4. Question 4 · Earth and Space

   Mia builds a model of rock formation in a clear jar. She pours in a layer of gravel, then a layer of sand, then a layer of mud. She lets each layer settle before adding the next.

   • Step 1: Pour in gravel, then sand, then mud.
   • Step 2: Place a heavy book on top of the layers for one week.
   • Step 3: Add a little glue water that soaks between the grains.
   • Step 4: Let the jar dry until the layers are hard.

   Which statement describes a limitation of Mia's model?
   • A.Real sediment is never found in separate layers.
   • B.Real sedimentary rock takes millions of years to form, not one week.
   • C.Real sedimentary rock forms without any pressure from layers above it.
   • D.Real sedimentary rock forms from melted rock that cools quickly.
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: B. Real sedimentary rock takes millions of years to form, not one week.

   The model shows the right steps, but it speeds them up; in nature, compaction and cementation take a very long time. Sedimentary rock does not form from melted rock, which is a common mix-up with igneous rock.

5. Question 5 · Organisms and Environments

   Students visited a pond near Houston. They recorded some of the things they observed.

   Pond Observations

   Part of the Pond	Observation
   Sunlight	Shines on the pond most of the day
   Water	Fresh water, about 1 meter deep
   Duckweed	Tiny green plants floating on the surface
   Tadpoles	Swim near the bottom and eat algae
   Heron	Wades in shallow water, hunting fish

   Which list contains only abiotic (nonliving) factors from the pond?
   • A.Duckweed and sunlight
   • B.Heron and duckweed
   • C.Tadpoles and water
   • D.Sunlight and water
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: D. Sunlight and water

   Sunlight and water are nonliving parts of the pond, so they are abiotic factors. Duckweed is a plant, so it is living (biotic) even though it floats quietly and does not move like an animal.

6. Question 6 · Matter and Energy

   A student adds one spoonful of each substance to its own cup of water. Each cup holds 100 mL of room-temperature water. She stirs each cup for 1 minute and records what she sees.

   Stirring Results

   Substance	What the student saw after stirring
   Salt	Could not be seen; water was clear
   Sugar	Could not be seen; water was clear
   Sand	Settled on the bottom of the cup
   Pebbles	Settled on the bottom of the cup

   Which question was the student most likely trying to answer?
   • A.Which substances dissolve in water?
   • B.Which substances melt when they are heated?
   • C.Which substances have the greatest mass?
   • D.Which substances are attracted to a magnet?
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: A. Which substances dissolve in water?

   The student added each substance to water and recorded whether it could still be seen, which tests solubility in water. Salt and sugar dissolved, but sand and pebbles did not. She did not use a magnet, a balance, or a heat source, so the other questions do not match the investigation.

7. Question 7 · Force, Motion, and Energy

   A hair dryer is plugged in and turned on. Its fan spins and blows warm air out of the front, and it makes a loud humming noise.

   Electrical energy is changed into which forms of energy in the hair dryer?
   • A.Thermal energy only, because the air is warm
   • B.Energy of motion and light energy only
   • C.Light energy, chemical energy, and sound
   • D.Thermal energy, energy of motion, and sound
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: D. Thermal energy, energy of motion, and sound

   The warm air shows thermal energy, the spinning fan and moving air show energy of motion, and the hum is sound. Choosing thermal energy only misses the other changes the observations describe.

8. Question 8 · Earth and Space

   A student uses a desk lamp as the Sun and a basketball as Earth. He turns the ball slowly so that each side faces the lamp and then faces away.

   Which is a limitation of this model?
   • A.The lamp gives off light that shines on the ball, just like the real Sun.
   • B.Only the side of the ball that faces the lamp is lit, just like on Earth.
   • C.Turning the ball shows how each place on Earth moves from day into night.
   • D.The lamp is about the size of the ball, but the Sun is huge next to Earth.
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: D. The lamp is about the size of the ball, but the Sun is huge next to Earth.

   A limitation is a way the model is not like the real thing; the real Sun is about 100 times wider than Earth, much bigger than the lamp compared with the ball. The other choices describe ways the model correctly matches Earth and the Sun.

9. Question 9 · Earth and Space

   A geologist studies the rock layers exposed in a road cut in Central Texas. The layers have not been flipped or tilted.

   Rock Layers (top to bottom)

   Layer	Rock	What Is Inside
   W (top)	Sandstone	Rounded sand grains
   X	Coal	Imprints of ferns and leaves
   Y	Shale	Thin layers of hardened mud
   Z (bottom)	Limestone	Seashell fossils

   The imprints in Layer X are evidence that the coal formed from which material?
   • A.Mud from a fast-moving river
   • B.Sand blown in by desert winds
   • C.Plants from an ancient swamp
   • D.Tiny animals from the deep ocean
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: C. Plants from an ancient swamp

   Coal forms from the remains of plants that lived in swamps long ago, and the fern and leaf imprints show that plants were buried there. Oil and natural gas, not coal, formed mostly from tiny ocean organisms.

10. Question 10 · Organisms and Environments

    Students put 10 pill bugs in the middle of a box. One side of the box had damp soil, and the other side had dry soil. Both sides had the same type of soil, the same light, and the same temperature. After 10 minutes, the students counted the pill bugs on each side. They did this three times.

    Where the Pill Bugs Went

    Trial	Damp Side	Dry Side
    1	8	2
    2	9	1
    3	7	3

    Based on the data, which conclusion about pill bugs is best?
    • A.Pill bugs choose a side based on the amount of light.
    • B.Pill bugs move to both sides in equal numbers every time.
    • C.Pill bugs move to dry places more often than to damp places.
    • D.Pill bugs move to damp places more often than to dry places.
    Show answer and explanation

    Answer: D. Pill bugs move to damp places more often than to dry places.

    In every trial, most of the pill bugs went to the damp side, so the data show they prefer moisture. Light was kept the same on both sides, so it could not explain where they went.

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