A class rolls the same toy car down the same ramp onto three floors. It rolls 150 cm on tile, 120 cm on wood and 60 cm on carpet. Which statement do the data support?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.N.1.1
Ana says a plant grew taller because "plants just like windows." Ben says it grew taller because it got more sunlight, and he shows the heights and hours of light he recorded each week. Why is Ben's explanation the scientific one?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.N.2.1 (also assesses SC.4.N.1.7)
Kai drops a ball from one meter and measures how high it bounces. Why should he repeat the drop several times before he reports the bounce height?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.N.2.2 (also assesses SC.5.N.1.3)
Leo writes four notes about a puddle on the playground. Which note is an observation?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.N.1.1 (also assesses SC.4.N.1.6)
Show all 48 questions (44 more)
Nature of Science, continued
Maya tests whether plant food helps bean plants grow. Five plants get plant food and five get none. All ten get the same water and light. What are the five plants with no plant food?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.N.1.1 (also assesses SC.5.N.1.4)
Two groups measure the same desk. Group A uses a meter stick and records 122 cm. Group B uses hand spans and records "about 7 hands." What best explains why their results differ?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.N.2.2 (also assesses SC.4.N.1.2)
Which of these investigations is an experiment?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.N.1.1 (also assesses SC.5.N.1.2)
Which statement about ladybugs is an observation that other people could check?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.N.2.1 (also assesses SC.5.N.1.6)
Earth and Space Science 14
A student rubs a mineral across an unglazed tile and looks at the color of the powder left behind. Which property of the mineral is being tested?National Park Service, "Minerals"; Florida benchmark SC.4.E.6.2
A town has daylight, then darkness, then daylight again. Which motion causes this daily pattern?NASA Science, "Earth: Facts"; Florida benchmark SC.4.E.5.4 (also assesses SC.4.E.5.3)
At night the stars look like tiny points of light, but the Sun looks like a bright disk. What is the main reason for the difference?NASA Space Place, "How Does Our Sun Compare With Other Stars?"; Florida benchmark SC.5.E.5.1 (also assesses SC.3.E.5.3)
Dana draws the Moon every clear night. The lit shape she sees slowly changes, and then the pattern starts over. About how long does one full cycle take?NASA Science, "Moon Phases"; Florida benchmark SC.4.E.5.4 (also assesses SC.4.E.5.2)
How do metamorphic rocks form?U.S. Geological Survey, "What are metamorphic rocks?"; Florida benchmark SC.4.E.6.2 (also assesses SC.4.E.6.1)
Water freezes in a crack in a boulder, and the ice widens the crack until a piece breaks off. Later, a stream carries the piece away. Which part of this story is erosion?National Park Service, "Weathering"; Florida benchmark SC.4.E.6.4
What happens during evaporation in the water cycle?U.S. Geological Survey, "The Water Cycle"; Florida benchmark SC.5.E.7.1
What is a galaxy?NASA Space Place, "What Is a Galaxy?"; Florida benchmark SC.5.E.5.1
Where is Earth in the Solar System?NASA Space Place, "All About Earth"; Florida benchmark SC.5.E.5.3
Which form of precipitation is made of balls of ice that form inside thunderstorms?NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, "Severe Weather 101: Hail"; Florida benchmark SC.5.E.7.3 (also assesses SC.5.E.7.4)
Which four planets are the inner planets, the ones with solid, rocky surfaces?NASA Science, "Solar System: Facts"; Florida benchmark SC.5.E.5.3 (also assesses SC.5.E.5.2)
Which object in the Solar System is a ball of frozen gases, rock and dust that orbits the Sun?NASA Science, "Comets"; Florida benchmark SC.5.E.5.3
Which of these is a renewable resource?U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Sources of energy"; Florida benchmark SC.4.E.6.3
Which resource is mined in Florida and used mainly to make fertilizer?Florida Department of Environmental Protection, "Phosphate"; Florida benchmark SC.4.E.6.3 (also assesses SC.4.E.6.6)
Physical Science 14
A book rests on a table. Gravity pulls the book down, but the book does not move. Why?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.P.13.2 (also assesses SC.5.P.13.4)
A bulb is wired to a battery, but one wire has come loose and the bulb stays dark. Why does the bulb not light?U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Batteries, circuits, and transformers"; Florida benchmark SC.5.P.10.4 (also assesses SC.5.P.11.1)
A cup holds a mixture of sand and small nails. The nails stick to a magnet and the sand does not. Which is the best way to separate them?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.P.8.3
A guitar string is tightened so that it vibrates faster when it is plucked. What happens to the sound?National Park Service, "Understanding Sound"; Florida benchmark SC.5.P.10.1 (also assesses SC.4.P.10.3)
A metal spoon is left in a cup of hot cocoa, and soon its handle feels warm. Which way did the heat flow?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.P.10.4 (also assesses SC.4.P.11.1)
A toaster is switched on. Its wires glow red and the bread turns brown. Into which forms of energy is the electrical energy mainly being changed?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.P.10.4
Air is pumped into an empty basketball until the ball is round and firm. Which property of a gas does this show?NASA Glenn Research Center, "Phases of Matter"; Florida benchmark SC.5.P.8.1
Jada slides the south pole of a bar magnet toward the south pole of a second magnet that rests on a desk. What will the magnet on the desk do?U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Magnets and electricity"; Florida benchmark SC.5.P.13.1 (also assesses SC.4.P.8.4)
Juice is poured from a tall glass into a wide bowl. What happens to the juice?NASA Glenn Research Center, "Phases of Matter"; Florida benchmark SC.5.P.8.1
Rosa gives the same push to a small toy car and to a toy truck that has much more mass. Which toy's motion changes less?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.P.13.2 (also assesses SC.5.P.13.3)
Two identical carts sit on a smooth floor. One gets a gentle push and the other gets a hard push. What happens?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.P.13.2
Water vapor in warm air touches a cold glass and turns into drops of liquid water. What is this change called?U.S. Geological Survey, "Condensation and the Water Cycle"; Florida benchmark SC.5.P.9.1 (also assesses SC.3.P.9.1)
Which change produces a new material with different characteristics?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.P.9.1 (also assesses SC.4.P.9.1)
Which is an example of moving air being used as a source of energy?U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Forms of energy"; Florida benchmark SC.5.P.10.2 (also assesses SC.4.P.10.4)
Life Science 12
A bean seedling sits beside a sunny window. After a few days its stem is bent. Which way is the stem most likely growing?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.3.L.14.1 (also assesses SC.3.L.14.2)
A crab has a hard exoskeleton. A pine tree has a woody stem. What job do these two structures share?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.L.14.2
A monarch caterpillar forms a chrysalis. Which stage of the monarch's life cycle is the chrysalis?USDA Forest Service, "Monarch Butterfly Biology"; Florida benchmark SC.4.L.16.4
Ferns and mosses never make flowers or seeds. How do they reproduce?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.L.14.2 (also assesses SC.3.L.15.2)
Florida manatees cannot tolerate cold water for long. What do they do when water temperatures drop in the fall?U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "Manatee (Trichechus manatus)"; Florida benchmark SC.5.L.17.1 (also assesses SC.3.L.17.1)
In the food chain grass → grasshopper → frog → snake, which living thing is a producer?NOAA, "Aquatic food webs"; Florida benchmark SC.4.L.17.3
Some insects go through incomplete metamorphosis: egg, nymph, adult. Which two stages belong only to complete metamorphosis?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.4.L.16.4
What do plants use to make their own food?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.4.L.17.3 (also assesses SC.3.L.17.2)
What happens during pollination?USDA Forest Service, "What is Pollination?"; Florida benchmark SC.3.L.14.1 (also assesses SC.4.L.16.1)
What is the main job of the heart?National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, "How the Heart Works"; Florida benchmark SC.5.L.14.1
Which characteristic of a dog is learned and not inherited?Florida Department of Education, Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, benchmark SC.5.L.17.1 (also assesses SC.4.L.16.2 and SC.4.L.16.3)
Which organs filter wastes and extra water out of the blood to make urine?National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, "Your Kidneys & How They Work"; Florida benchmark SC.5.L.14.1
How this list was compiled: Outline: the Florida Department of Education's Test Design Summary and Blueprint: State Academic Standards for Science (updated August 11, 2023), https://flfast.org/content/contentresources/en/Science%20Test%20Design%20Summary.pdf, its Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment Test Item Specifications, https://flfast.org/content/contentresources/en/Grade%205%20Statewide%20Science%20Test%20Item%20Specifications.pdf, and its 2026-27 Florida Statewide Science Assessments Fact Sheet (August 2026), https://flfast.org/content/contentresources/en/2026-2027%20Grades%205%20%26%208%20Science%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf, all on the Florida Statewide Assessments Portal and read 2026-10-07. Facts: where a question's fact is stated in the benchmark itself, the benchmark is named; every other fact rests on the federal or state page named on the question (NASA, NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the USDA Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Institutes of Health, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection), each read 2026-10-07. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the state's public benchmarks and the public pages named on each question. Nothing is copied or reworded from a Statewide Science Assessment, a released test, a sample item of the state or another practice test.
How it works
Unofficial practice for Florida's grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment, the test many families still call FSA science. The questions are ours, written from the state's benchmarks; none comes from a real test. Not affiliated with the Florida Department of Education.
Read the full guide
What the grade 5 science test covers
The blueprint reaches back to grades 3 and 4, so rocks and minerals, the Moon's changing shape, magnets, life cycles and food chains sit beside the grade 5 benchmarks on galaxies, the water cycle, weather, forces and the organs of the body.
How the answers are checked
Each question names the Florida benchmark it practices. Where the benchmark states the fact, it is the source. Every other fact rests on a public page named under the answer: NASA for space, the U.S. Geological Survey and NOAA for water and weather, the National Institutes of Health for the organs.
In an experiment question, find the one thing that was changed on purpose. Everything else should have stayed the same.
Questions and answers
Is there an FSA science test in 5th grade?
The test is the Statewide Science Assessment. The FSA name belonged to Florida's reading and mathematics tests, which FAST replaced. The older science test was FCAT Science, first given in 2003. This page follows the current blueprint.
How many questions are on the 5th grade science test in Florida?
The state's 2026-27 fact sheet gives 48 to 54 items. In spring about 8 to 10 of them are field test items that do not count toward the score. This page has 48 questions.
How long is the Florida 5th grade science test?
One session of 160 minutes, and a short break follows the first 80 minutes. A student who is still working may continue as long as a typical school day lasts.
What is a passing score on the 5th grade science test?
Scores run from 140 to 260 in five achievement levels. The state's fact sheet calls the lowest score in Level 3, which is 200 in grade 5, the passing score. A percent on this page is not a scale score.
Is there an FSA science 5th grade practice test PDF?
This one prints. The paper test lays out the questions with an answer sheet and a key, and a browser's print window can save it as a PDF.