• 44 questions

Science and Technology MCAS Practice Test Grade 5

Grade 5 science and technology/engineering in the four equal categories of the MCAS test design.

In a model, a lamp stands for the Sun and a spinning globe stands for Earth. A city on the globe turns away from the lamp. What is it in that city?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Bank checked October 9, 2026.

The real test: MCAS science, grade 5

Questions
41
Points
54: 32 one-point and 3 two-point selected-response questions, and 2 two-point and 4 three-point constructed-response questions.
Sessions
Two. Seven more matrix questions on each form are field test or equating questions and do not count.
Reporting categories
Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Physical Science and Technology/Engineering: 25% of the points each, within 5 points.
Standards
The grades 3 to 5 standards of the 2016 Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework.
Modules
Two groups of questions on one scenario, each worth 6 points: three one-point questions and one three-point constructed response.
Results
Four achievement levels: Exceeding, Meeting, Partially Meeting and Not Meeting Expectations.

Checked October 9, 2026 against MCAS Grades 5 & 8 Science and Technology/Engineering Test Information and the Grade 5 STE Achievement Level Descriptors, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Rules change, so confirm with the agency itself before your test.

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All 44 questions

Earth and Space Science 11

  • A city builds a wetland along its river to hold extra water after heavy rain. Which natural event is this solution meant to make less harmful? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 4-ESS3-2
  • A cliff has a rock layer full of shell fossils. Under it lies a layer with fossils of land plants and no shells. What does this evidence suggest? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 4-ESS1-1
  • A student wants to describe where on Earth earthquakes happen most often. Which map helps most? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 4-ESS2-2
  • A table shows a town's average rainfall by month: March 10 centimeters, April 12, July 4 and August 3. Which prediction do the data best support? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3-ESS2-1
  • Earth's fresh water is stored in several places. Which one holds the most? U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School, "Where is Earth's Water?"; Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 5-ESS2-2
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Earth and Space Science, continued

  • In a model, a lamp stands for the Sun and a spinning globe stands for Earth. A city on the globe turns away from the lamp. What is it in that city? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 5-ESS1-2
  • Water vapor in the air cools and changes into the tiny drops of liquid water that make up a cloud. What is this change called? U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School, "Condensation and the Water Cycle"; Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 5-ESS2-1
  • Which change in practice reduces a community's impact on a nearby river? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 5-ESS3-1
  • Which of these is an example of erosion? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 4-ESS2-1
  • Which pair names two renewable energy resources? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 4-ESS3-1
  • Which sentence describes a region's climate, not one day's weather? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3-ESS2-2

Life Science 11

  • A bean plant begins as a seed, and a chicken begins as an egg. Which four things do the life cycles of all organisms have in common? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3-LS1-1
  • A cactus, a fern and a water lily are all planted in a hot, dry desert. What is the most likely result? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3-LS4-3
  • A lizard escapes from a predator but loses its tail. Which statement about the missing tail is correct? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3-LS3-2
  • Beavers dam a stream, and a dry meadow becomes a pond. Which organisms are most likely to be helped by this change? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3-LS4-4
  • In a model of an ecosystem, which arrow shows matter moving from a producer to a consumer? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 5-LS2-1
  • Mice of one species have either dark or light fur. In a field of dark soil, owls catch many more light mice than dark mice. Which mice are more likely to survive and have young there? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3-LS4-2
  • Six puppies in one litter all look like their parents, yet their fur colors differ a little from puppy to puppy. What does this show? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3-LS3-1
  • What do fossils show about most of the kinds of plants and animals that lived on Earth long ago? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3-LS4-1
  • Which question about plants can be answered by a test? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 5-LS1-1
  • Which structures of a plant support its reproduction? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 4-LS1-1
  • Why does a population of animals need reproduction in order to survive? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3-LS4-5(MA)

Physical Science 11

  • A dish of salt water is left on a windowsill. After a week the water is gone and white crystals are left. What happened? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 5-PS1-1
  • A scout sends a message with long and short flashes of a flashlight, and a friend reads the flashes to get the words. What is the scout doing? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 4-PS4-3
  • A sealed bag holds 40 grams of vinegar and 5 grams of baking soda. The bag itself weighs 3 grams. The two are mixed, and the bag puffs up with gas. What does the sealed bag weigh now? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 5-PS1-2
  • A student stirs a spoonful of each of four powders into water to see which ones dissolve. Which property is she testing? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 5-PS1-3
  • A toy boat floats on a pond. A wave passes under it, and the boat bobs up and down. What does this show about waves? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 4-PS4-1
  • An owl eats a frog that ate a grasshopper that ate grass. Where did the energy in the owl's food first come from? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 5-PS3-1
  • One end of a metal spoon sits in a bowl of hot soup. Soon the handle feels warm too. What does this show? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 4-PS3-2
  • Two children pull a wagon in opposite directions with equal force, and the wagon does not move. What kind of forces are acting on the wagon? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3-PS2-1
  • Two identical balls roll across a floor. One rolls much faster than the other. What is true of the faster ball? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 4-PS3-1
  • Two toy cars crash together with a loud bang and stop. Where did some of their energy of motion go? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 4-PS3-3
  • Which problem could be solved by using the forces between magnets? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3-PS2-4

Technology/Engineering 11

  • A class is designing a lunch box. The teacher says it must keep food cold for four hours. In engineering design, what is "keeps food cold for four hours"? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3.3-5-ETS1-1
  • A model bridge made of craft sticks breaks in the middle when weights are added. What should the team do next? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 4.3-5-ETS1-3
  • A team is building a prototype of a kite. Which design features should it evaluate? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 4.3-5-ETS1-5(MA)
  • A team is designing a backpack for kindergarten students. Which design feature matters most for these users? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 4.3-5-ETS1-5(MA)
  • A team must design a way to keep trash out of a pond. Why should the team come up with several possible solutions before building one? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3.3-5-ETS1-2
  • A team wants to show the class its idea for a new playground swing. Which is a representation of the design? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3.3-5-ETS1-4(MA)
  • An engineer draws a flashlight with its battery, switch, wires and bulb, and with lines showing how they connect. What is the drawing for? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 5.3-5-ETS3-2(MA)
  • Before designing a bird feeder, a team reads books and watches videos about feeders other people have built. What is the team doing? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3.3-5-ETS1-4(MA)
  • Which is an example of an invention, the development of a new technology, and not an improvement to an existing one? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 5.3-5-ETS3-1(MA)
  • Which of these is a technology? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 5.3-5-ETS3-1(MA)
  • Which statement defines a design problem? Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016), standard 3.3-5-ETS1-1

How this list was compiled: Outline: MCAS Grades 5 & 8 Science and Technology/Engineering (STE) Test Information, https://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/tdd/testdesign/g5-g8-ste-nextgen.docx, linked from Science and Technology/Engineering Test Design and Development (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education), https://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/tdd/sci.html?section=testdesign, read 2026-10-09. Each question names the standard it practices in the 2016 Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework, https://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/scitech/2016-04.pdf, read 2026-10-09; the fact in an answer is one that standard or its clarification statement gives, or is worked out from the numbers in the question. Two questions also rest on a public page named under the answer and opened 2026-10-09: U.S. Geological Survey, Where is Earth's Water?, https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/where-earths-water; and Condensation and the Water Cycle, https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/condensation-and-water-cycle. No released item and no practice test of the department was read. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site. Nothing is copied or reworded from an MCAS test, a released item, a practice test of the department or another practice test.

How it works

Forty-four unofficial questions for the grade 5 MCAS Science and Technology/Engineering test, each written for this page from the 2016 Massachusetts framework. This site is not affiliated with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Read the full guide

Three grades in one test

The grade 5 test is built on the standards of grades 3, 4 and 5, not grade 5 alone. Weather, life cycles, inherited traits, fossils, forces and magnets come from grade 3. Erosion, energy, waves and the structures of plants and animals come from grade 4. The water cycle, matter, ecosystems and the Sun, Earth and Moon come from grade 5.

Technology/Engineering is a quarter of the points

One point in four is engineering design: criteria and constraints, comparing solutions, testing a prototype for its failure points, and telling an invention from an innovation.

  • The first digit of the code under an answer is the grade that idea is taught in: 3-LS4-1 is grade 3 life science.

Questions and answers

How many questions are on the grade 5 science MCAS?

41 questions count, for 54 points: 35 selected-response questions worth one or two points and 6 constructed-response questions worth two or three. Each form also has seven matrix questions that do not count. There are two sessions.

What does the 5th grade science MCAS cover?

Earth and space science, life science, physical science and technology/engineering, each a quarter of the points, give or take five percent. At least half the questions are also coded to a science and engineering practice, such as analyzing data.

Is this science MCAS practice test for 5th grade made of released questions?

No. Every question was written for this page from the standards, without reading the state's released items. DESE posts its own released questions and practice tests, and the box below the questions links to them.

How are grade 5 science MCAS results reported?

As one of four achievement levels: Exceeding, Meeting, Partially Meeting or Not Meeting Expectations. The state's descriptors say what a grade 5 student at each of the top three levels can do. A percent on practice questions is not a level.

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