In fifth grade, students learn about the physical properties of matter, including magnetism, physical states of matter, relative density, solubility in water, and the ability to conduct or insulate electrical and heat energy. Students explore the uses of light, thermal, electrical, and sound energies.
Students also begin to develop an advanced understanding of how certain types of questions can be answered by investigations, and they learn that methods, models, and conclusions built from these investigations change as new observations are made.
At this point in elementary school, students engage in more sophisticated investigations of different materials. They become familiar with concepts related to mass, magnetism, physical state (solid, liquid, and gas), relative density (sinking and floating), solubility in water, and the ability to conduct or insulate thermal energy or electric energy. They use a variety of tools, such as thermometers, calculators, metric rulers and stop watches, to collect data.
Students explore uses of energy, including mechanical, light, thermal, electrical, and sound energy, in every day life. They experiment with electrical circuits, and observe how electric current can produce light, heat or sound. Students also conduct detailed investigations about light, and discover that light travels in straight lines, and can be reflected and refracted. Building upon their explorations of force and motion in fourth grade, fifth grade students design an experiment that tests the effect of force on an object.