5th grade released STAAR Science questions (2022)

Which statement best explains why the sun appears to move across the sky during the day?

• F The Earth is closest to the sun in the winter.

• G The Earth is revolving around the sun.

• H The Earth is tilted at 23.5 degrees.

• J The Earth is rotating on its axis

Students make a solar system model on the playground. The school building represents the sun. They label round objects for each planet. Which planet should they place at the greatest distance from the school building?

• A Jupiter

• B Neptune

• C Mercury

• D Saturn

A student plans to make a chart that describes each process in the water cycle. Which sentence should the student use to describe the process of condensation?

• A Water flows downhill.

• B Liquid water turns into water vapor

• C Polar ice turns into liquid water.

• D Water vapor collects to form droplets.

A student is classifying objects. Answering which question will provide the best evidence that an object is a metal?

• F What is its mass?

• G What is its physical state?

• H Does it conduct thermal energy?

• J How quickly does it dissolve in water?

Two box turtles live in an area in a zoo’s reptile house. Zoo visitors made a list of observations of the turtles. The list is shown.

1. Sliding into a small pond

2. Eating a strawberry

3. Digging a hole in the sandy soil

4. Climbing onto a flat rock

5. Holding an earthworm in its mouth

6. Walking across the area Which observations best describe how box turtles interact with living parts of their environment?

• A Observation 4 and observation 6

• B Observation 2 and observation 5

• C Observation 1 and observation 5

• D Observation 3 and observation 4

A student pours 14 grams of sugar into a jar filled with 500 milliliters of water. The student thoroughly stirs the sugar and water to make a solution. Which change most likely occurs to the sugar when it is added to the water?

• F The sugar breaks down to form a new substance in the solution.

• G The sugar changes water into a new substance in the solution.

• H The sugar floats on the surface of the water in the solution.

• J The sugar completely dissolves in the solution.

A student lists resources that can be used to produce electricity. The list is shown.

• Wind

• Coal

• Natural gas

• Water power

• Petroleum

Which of the resources are renewable resources?

• F Wind, water power

• G Wind, coal, and natural gas

• H Coal, water power, and petroleum

• J Coal, natural gas, water power, and petroleum

Students conduct an investigation with breakfast cereal. The first four steps of the students’ investigation are in the table shown. Breakfast Cereal Investigation

1. Grind 50 grams of cereal into a fine powder.

2. Stir the cereal powder into 500 milliliters of warm water.

3. Hold a magnet against the side of the beaker at the 250-milliliter mark.

4. Stir the mixture for three minutes.

The students are trying to determine the presence of which substance in the cereal?

• A Sugar

• B Iron

• C Salt

• D Wheat

Which Texas land formation is correctly paired with the force that made the land formation?

• F A canyon at Palo Duro Canyon State Park was formed by a river

• G A sand dune at Monahans Sandhills State Park was formed by an earthquake.

• H A delta at the end of the Guadalupe River was formed by wind.

• J A rock formation with layers on Mustang Island was formed by ice.

A group of students at a park used a collecting net to capture several insects. The teacher transferred the insects to small terrariums that allowed the students to observe the insects before releasing them outside. Each of the following characteristics is likely an inherited trait EXCEPT —

• A a fly’s missing antenna

• B a butterfly’s black-and-yellow stripes

• C a dragonfly’s two sets of wings

• D a beetle’s green spots