Next Generation Science Standards - Grade 5

In fifth grade, students should develop an understanding of the nature of matter; how the properties of matter can be used to identify it and determine how it will behave when mixed with other substances; the fact that energy from the Sun moves through food webs, starting with producers, and supplies the energy used by animals for survival and growth; the systems, or spheres that interact and determine Earth's features and characteristics; the distribution of water on Earth and how people can conserve water and protect Earth's other natural resources; the force of gravity and how it pulls objects downward; the relationship between the brightness of stars and their distance from Earth; and the fact that the movement of Earth on its axis and around the Sun results in day and night, changes in the appearance of shadows throughout the day, and the seasonal appearance of stars at night.