Four questions on each of the twelve science topics in Michigan's grade 5 descriptors.
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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Michigan Department of Education. Bank checked October 13, 2026.
The real test: M-STEP science, grade 5
Form
A fixed form, online or on paper, of seven clusters. Six count and one is a field test.
Cluster
A phenomenon with 5 to 9 related questions on one topic bundle, a group of related standards. Each form has two physical, two life and two Earth science cluster
Standards
The Michigan K-12 Science Standards. The grade 5 descriptors list twelve targets that draw on grades 3, 4 and 5.
Time
Untimed. The state's estimate is 1 hour 30 minutes, and it recommends two sessions for grade 5.
Calculator
A basic calculator is allowed on every question; online testers use the one built into the test.
Scores
Not pass or fail. Four performance levels: Not Proficient, Partially Proficient, Proficient and Advanced.
A book rests on a desk. Gravity pulls the book down, and the desk pushes up on it just as hard. What is true of the two forces?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-PS2-1
A buzzer is wired to a battery on one side of a room. A student on the other side hears it. How does energy get from the battery to the student's ear?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-PS3-2
A cork floats on a pond. A student drops a stone nearby and waves spread across the water. What does the cork do as the waves pass?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-PS4-1
A marble dropped from knee height makes a shallow dent in soft clay. Dropped from shoulder height, it hits the clay faster and makes a deeper dent. Which explanation fits the evidence?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-PS3-1
A pendulum swings from the far left to the far right and back in 2 seconds, every time, for ten swings. It is at the far left now. Where will it be 2 seconds from now?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-PS2-2
Show all 48 questions (43 more)
Physical Science, continued
A rolling ball hits a ball that is sitting still. The second ball rolls away and the first ball slows down. What is the best prediction for a faster first ball?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-PS3-3
A screen door will not stay closed in the wind. Which sentence defines the design problem so that it can be solved with magnets?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-PS2-4
A sealed jar holds 120 grams of crushed ice and 200 grams of juice. The jar sits on a counter until all the ice has melted. What is the mass of what is in the jar now?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-PS1-2
A steel washer hangs on a string. A student holds a magnet 6 centimeters away and the washer barely moves. At 3 centimeters it swings a little. At 1 centimeter it swings hard toward the magnet. What cause and effect do the observations show?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-PS2-3
A student blows up an empty plastic bag and ties it shut. The bag feels firm when she squeezes it, though nothing can be seen inside. Which model explains this?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-PS1-1
A student builds a small device: a solar panel wired to a motor that spins a fan. In the first test under a lamp the fan turns slowly. Which change is a way to refine the device?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-PS3-4
A student draws a wave. From the top of one crest to the top of the next crest is 4 centimeters. What is this distance called?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-PS4-1; the term as defined by NASA Science, Anatomy of an Electromagnetic Wave
A student mixes baking soda with vinegar, and bubbles of gas form. She mixes sand with water, and the sand settles to the bottom unchanged. Which mixing gives evidence of a new substance?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-PS1-4
A student reads two articles. One says burning coal for electricity gives off smoke and gases. The other says wind turbines give off no smoke but can harm birds. Which statement combines the information correctly?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-ESS3-1
A student tests two white powders. Powder A dissolves in water. Powder B does not. A third, unknown white powder dissolves in water. What can the student conclude?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-PS1-3
Two friends on opposite sides of a field want to send each other messages at night. Which solution uses a pattern to transfer information?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-PS4-3
Life Science 16
A deer hears a twig snap, lifts its head and runs. Which sequence does a model of this show?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-LS1-2
A model of a meadow has arrows drawn from grass to a grasshopper and from the grasshopper to a frog. What do the arrows show?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-LS2-1
A new road cuts through a wetland, and many turtles are killed crossing it. Which solution has the most merit for the turtles?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-LS4-4
A sled dog eats a meal before a run. In a model of energy, where did the energy in the dog's food come from first, and what does the dog use it for?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-PS3-1
A student argues that a rose's thorns help it survive. Which observation is the best evidence for the argument?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-LS1-1
A student counts 14 bees visiting a plant with bright petals. On a plant of the same kind with its petals removed, she counts 2. Which function of petals does this evidence point to?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-LS1-1
A student's model of a robin's life shows an egg, a chick, an adult and the adult laying eggs. Which part of the model shows reproduction?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-LS1-1
A tree falls in a forest. Over many years mushrooms and bacteria grow on the log and it crumbles away. In a model of the forest, where does the matter of the log go?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-LS2-1
An air plant hangs on a wire with its roots in no soil at all. It is misted with water each week, and it grows. Which claim does this support?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-LS1-1
The floor of a thick forest is cool and shaded all day. Which plant would survive less well there than the others?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-LS4-3
In a herd of one kind of deer, some run a little faster than others. Wolves catch the slower deer more often. What advantage does the variation give the faster deer?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-LS4-2
Small fish swim in a tight school. A student sees a large fish rush at the school and catch nothing. Later it easily catches a small fish swimming alone. Which argument does this evidence support?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-LS2-1
Two cuttings are taken from the same plant. One is grown in rich soil and reaches 40 centimeters. The other is grown in poor soil and reaches 15 centimeters. What best explains the difference?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-LS3-2
Two parent finches have beaks 10 and 11 millimeters long. Their four chicks grow beaks of 10, 11, 10 and 12 millimeters. What do the data show?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-LS3-1
Which model explains how a student sees a book lying on a desk in a lighted room?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-PS4-2
Workers digging in a dry, sandy desert find a layer of rock full of fossil tree stumps and leaves. What does this suggest about the place long ago?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-LS4-1
Earth and Space Science 16
A beaver cuts trees and builds a dam across a stream. A pond forms behind the dam. Which two Earth systems interact in this example?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-ESS2-1
A book gives city A an average July temperature of 85 degrees Fahrenheit and 60 inches of rain a year. A website gives city B an average July temperature of 60 degrees and 12 inches of rain a year. Which statement combines the information correctly?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-ESS2-2
A class in a northern Michigan town records snowfall for one winter: 20 inches in December, 28 in January, 22 in February and 9 in March. If the pattern holds, which month should they expect to be the snowiest next winter?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-ESS2-1
A class wants to describe the typical weather of spring in its town. Which data would be best?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-ESS2-1
A graph of Earth's fresh water has three bars: ice and glaciers, more than 68 percent; groundwater, about 30 percent; lakes, rivers and everything else, the small remainder. Where is most of Earth's fresh water?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-ESS2-2; figures from U.S. Geological Survey, Where is Earth's Water?
A map marks 50 volcanoes. Of these, 44 lie in one long band along the edge of an ocean, and 6 are scattered elsewhere. What pattern does the map show?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-ESS2-2
A quarry wall shows two rock layers. The lower layer holds fossil shells and coral. The upper layer holds fossil leaves and roots of land plants. What change in the landscape does this pattern support?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-ESS1-1
A student graphs the time of sunset in her town on the 21st day of each month for two years. Both years, sunset comes earliest in December and latest in June. What pattern does the graph reveal?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-ESS1-2
A student in Michigan drops a ball. On the other side of Earth, a student in Australia drops a ball too. Which way does each ball fall?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-PS2-1
A student marks the tip of a stick's shadow each hour on a sunny day. In the morning the shadow points west. In the afternoon it points east. If tomorrow is sunny, where will the shadow point in the morning?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-ESS1-2
The Great Lakes hold about 21 percent of the world's supply of surface fresh water. On a graph, about what fraction of the world's surface fresh water is that?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-ESS2-2 MI; figure from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes Facts and Figures
In a storm test, 9 of 10 windows without shutters break. Only 1 of 10 windows with storm shutters breaks. Which claim do the results support?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 3-ESS3-1
In late fall, cold air moves across the open water of a Great Lake, takes up warmth and moisture, and drops heavy snow on the Michigan shore. Which two Earth systems does a model of this show interacting?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-ESS2-1 MI; lake effect snow as described by the National Weather Service, What is a Lake Effect Snow?
On a shake table, a model building with cross braces stands for 30 seconds. The same model without braces falls after 8 seconds. Which solution would best reduce the harm an earthquake does to people?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-ESS3-2
Students pour the same amount of water down two trays of sand. The steep tray loses 300 grams of sand. The gently sloped tray loses 80 grams. What do the measurements give evidence of?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 4-ESS2-1
Two street lamps of the same kind are lit. The one across the street looks bright. The one far down the road looks dim. What does this model about the sun and other stars?Michigan K-12 Science Standards, 5-ESS1-1
Unofficial practice for Michigan's grade 5 M-STEP science test. Every question was written for this page from the Michigan K-12 Science Standards; none is a released or sample question. Not affiliated with the Michigan Department of Education.
Read the full guide
What the grade 5 science M-STEP covers
The grade 5 test reaches back two years. The state's descriptors list twelve targets, four in each claim, built from the standards of grades 3, 4 and 5: forces, energy, waves and matter in physical science; ecosystems, life cycles and traits, structures and senses, and matter and energy in living things in life science; weather and climate, processes that shape the Earth, Earth's systems and space systems in Earth science. Each has four questions here, and every explanation names its topic.
Michigan in the standards
Michigan adds its own versions of some standards. Two are practiced here: how Earth's systems interact in the Great Lakes basin, and how much of the world's fresh water the Great Lakes hold.
On the real test a cluster asks 5 to 9 questions about one event, so read the data in a question before the choices.
Questions and answers
Is there an M-STEP science test in 5th grade?
Yes. Michigan gives the M-STEP science test in grades 5, 8 and 11. Grades 3, 4, 6 and 7 take M-STEP in English language arts and mathematics only.
How many questions are on the 5th grade science M-STEP?
The state gives no total. Each form has seven clusters, and a cluster is a phenomenon with 5 to 9 related questions. Six clusters count: two physical, two life and two Earth science. The seventh is a field test.
How long is the 5th grade science M-STEP?
It is untimed. The state's Spring 2026 manual estimates 1 hour 30 minutes for science and recommends giving it to grade 5 in two sessions.
Can students use a calculator on the 5th grade science M-STEP?
Yes. Grade 5 students may use a basic calculator on every science question. Online testers use the one built into the test.
How is the M-STEP science test scored?
It is not pass or fail. Results fall into one of four performance levels: Not Proficient, Partially Proficient, Proficient and Advanced.