SCIENCE UNIT ASSESSMENT: TUESDAY OCTOBER 20, 2009
The study guide has been placed in the 5th grade documents section.
Important Concepts learned thus far: FORCE (push/pull), MOTION (3 types),
POSITION, REFERENCE POINT, UNIFORM MOTION, VARIABLE MOTION, PERIODIC MOTION,
SPEED, FRICTION, GRAVITY, NONRENEWABLE RESOURCE, RENEWABLE RESOURCE.
Week 1: Students completed a review of governemnt from the 4th grade. They
explained the roles the 3 branches play, and looked at government from a
federal, state, and local level. Students also looked at the political
process to change laws.
Week 2: Students completed the Social Studies review, and switched gears to
Science. Students learned about Push/Pull Forces, and how a force is
necessary to put an object in motion. Students designed toys that used both
of these forces in order to function.
Week 3: Students defined and explored reference points. A reference point
is what we use to explain how we know an object is in motion. Students
completed a homework assignment where they observed objects in motion in
relation to their reference point. Students began studying the 3 types of
motion. By the middle of next week students will be expected to demonstrate
and explain uniform, variable, and periodic motions.
Week 4: Students demonstrated the three types of motion using different
materials in the classroom. They had to explain how they knew their object
was demonstrating each motion with a written explanation. The students
concluded the week working on speed. Students discovered the formula for
speed (Speed = Distance/Time), and then calculated the speed of different
objects in motion.
Week 5: Students learned about gravity and friction. They completed a
series of labs to show how gravity affects the motion of an object. To end
the week students looked at three different types of surfaces and measured
the force needed to move the object across that surface. In order to
increase the force, students increased the friction.
Week 6: Students learned what happened when you increased the mass of an
object on the same surface. They were able to determine that the object with
more mass would move slower, and not nearly as far.
Week 7: Students explained and looked at renewable and nonrenewable
resources. They were able to classify different sources of energy into these
two categories. We have transitioned back into Social Studies to close out
the marking period. Students will look at the events that lead up to the
Revolutionary War.