A bowling ball rolls into a set of pins. The pins fly apart with a loud crash, and the ball slows down. Where did the ball's energy go?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 4-PS3-3, core idea PS3.B, Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer
A child on a swing moves back and forth in the same way again and again. What does this regular pattern let an observer do?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 3-PS2-2, core idea PS2.A, Forces and Motion
A cyclist speeds up while riding along a flat road. What happens to the energy of the moving bike?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 4-PS3-1, core idea PS3.A, Definitions of Energy
A hand-crank flashlight has no battery. It lights when the handle is turned. Which energy change makes it work?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 4-PS3-4, core idea PS3.B, Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer
Show all 45 questions (41 more)
Physical Science, continued
A red ball sits on a table in a room with no light at all. Why can the ball not be seen?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 4-PS4-2, core idea PS4.B, Electromagnetic Radiation
A sealed plastic bag of ice cubes weighs 300 grams. The ice melts, and nothing leaks out of the bag. What does the bag weigh now?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-PS1-2, core idea PS1.A, Structure and Properties of Matter
A soccer ball sits still on the grass. A player kicks it and it rolls away. What does the kick show about forces?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 3-PS2-1, core idea PS2.A, Forces and Motion
A squirrel eats acorns and uses the energy to climb and keep warm. Where did that energy come from first?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-PS3-1, core idea PS3.D, Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life
A switch on the wall turns on a lamp across the room. What carries energy from the wall to the lamp?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 4-PS3-2, core idea PS3.B, Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer
Air blown into a balloon makes it swell, although the air cannot be seen. Which model explains this?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-PS1-1, core idea PS1.A, Structure and Properties of Matter
Baking soda is stirred into a cup of vinegar. Bubbles of a gas that was not there before rise to the top. What is the best conclusion?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-PS1-4, core idea PS1.B, Chemical Reactions
In a drawing of water waves, what does the amplitude show?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 4-PS4-1, core idea PS4.A, Wave Properties
Mia holds two magnets near each other. She moves them farther apart and turns one around. What does the size of the force between two magnets depend on?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 3-PS2-3, core idea PS2.B, Types of Interactions
Three people stand at the North Pole, on the equator and at the South Pole. Each drops a ball. Which way does each ball fall?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-PS2-1, core idea PS2.B, Types of Interactions
Two white powders look the same. What is the best way to tell which material each one is?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-PS1-3, core idea PS1.A, Structure and Properties of Matter
Life Science 15
A cactus, a fern and a water lily are planted in a hot, dry desert. The cactus grows well, the fern barely lives and the water lily dies. What does this show?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 3-LS4-3, core idea LS4.C, Adaptation
A deer hears a twig snap and runs away. Which shows the order of what happens?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 4-LS1-2, core idea LS1.D, Information Processing
A frog and an oak tree have very different life cycles. What do the life cycles of all organisms have in common?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 3-LS1-1, core idea LS1.B, Growth and Development of Organisms
A hawk eats a snake. The snake ate a mouse, and the mouse ate seeds. What can the hawk's food be traced back to?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-LS2-1, core idea LS2.A, Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
A kind of fish that has never lived in a lake is released there. What does this risk for the lake's ecosystem?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-LS2-1, core idea LS2.A, Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
A pile of raked leaves left in a yard turns dark and crumbly, and by spring much of it is gone. Bacteria and fungi live in the pile. What are they doing?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-LS2-1, core idea LS2.A, Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
A pond slowly dries up and becomes a grassy field. What is likely to happen to the organisms that lived in the pond?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 3-LS4-4, core idea LS2.C, Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience
A small seedling grows into a heavy tree. Where does the tree get most of the material it needs to grow?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-LS1-1, core idea LS1.C, Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
Beetles of one kind are either green or brown. They live on green leaves, where birds spot the brown beetles more easily. Which beetles have an advantage in surviving?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 3-LS4-2, core idea LS4.B, Natural Selection
How does matter move between a living animal and its environment?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-LS2-1, core idea LS2.B, Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
In a herd of grazing animals, a few watch for danger while the others eat. Which benefit of living in a group does this show?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 3-LS2-1, core idea LS2.D, Social Interactions and Group Behavior
Scientists dig up fossils of an animal that is not found alive anywhere today. What do the fossils show?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 3-LS4-1, core idea LS4.A, Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
Sunflower plants grown from the seeds of one parent plant all have yellow petals, but their heights differ a little. Which statement do these observations support?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 3-LS3-1, core idea LS3.A, Inheritance of Traits
Two bean plants grow from seeds of the same parent. One gets plenty of light and grows tall. The other is kept in dim light and stays short. What does this show?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 3-LS3-2, core idea LS3.B, Variation of Traits
Which choice names one internal structure and one external structure of an animal?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 4-LS1-1, core idea LS1.A, Structure and Function
Earth Science 15
A city lies where earthquakes are common. Which solution reduces the harm an earthquake can do?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 4-ESS3-2, core idea ESS3.B, Natural Hazards
A class marks the shadow of a flagpole every hour on a sunny day. What do they observe?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-ESS1-2, core idea ESS1.B, Earth and the Solar System
A student shades a circle graph to show where all of Earth's water is. Which part takes up almost the whole circle?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-ESS2-2, core idea ESS2.C, The Roles of Water in Earth's Surface Processes
A table shows that a town had 2, 3, 2 and 2 inches of rain in the last four Julys. What is the best prediction for next July?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 3-ESS2-1, core idea ESS2.D, Weather and Climate
A town builds a wall along its river to hold back floodwater. What is true about this design?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 3-ESS3-1, core idea ESS3.B, Natural Hazards
In a cliff, a rock layer with fish fossils lies below a layer with fossils of land plants. What change in the landscape does this suggest?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 4-ESS1-1, core idea ESS1.C, The History of Planet Earth
Neighbors plant trees along a stream bank to keep soil from washing into the water. What is this an example of?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-ESS3-1, core idea ESS3.C, Human Impacts on Earth Systems
On maps of Earth's surface, where do major mountain chains form?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 4-ESS2-2, core idea ESS2.B, Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions
Stars lie at very different distances from Earth. Why does the sun appear larger and brighter than the others?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-ESS1-1, core idea ESS1.A, The Universe and Its Stars
Tree roots grow into a crack in a rock, and over the years the crack widens until the rock splits. What does this show?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 4-ESS2-1, core idea ESS2.A, Earth Materials and Systems
What does the climate of a region describe?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 3-ESS2-2, core idea ESS2.D, Weather and Climate
Which motion gives Earth its pattern of day and night?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-ESS1-2, core idea ESS1.B, Earth and the Solar System
Which pair of energy resources is renewable over time?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 4-ESS3-1, core idea ESS3.A, Natural Resources
Which two places together hold most of Earth's fresh water?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-ESS2-2, core idea ESS2.C, The Roles of Water in Earth's Surface Processes
Wind blows sand against a desert rock year after year and slowly wears it smooth. Which two of Earth's systems are interacting?Oregon Department of Education, Item Specifications, 5th Grade OSAS Science Test, 2022 Oregon Science Standards (NGSS), performance expectation 5-ESS2-1, core idea ESS2.A, Earth Materials and Systems
Unofficial practice for Oregon's grade 5 science test, the OSAS Science Summative Test, which took the place of the older OAKS science test. The questions are our own, written from the state's item specifications. Not affiliated with the Oregon Department of Education.
Read the full guide
What the 5th grade science test covers
Oregon's blueprint gives physical science, life science and Earth science the same weight: each supplies 1 to 2 item clusters and 4 to 5 stand-alone items, 18 scored items in all. The test draws on the standards of grades 3, 4 and 5, so forces, magnets, life cycles and weather from grade 3 and energy, waves and rock layers from grade 4 appear beside grade 5 matter, food webs and Earth's water.
Where each answer comes from
Every fact is a core idea in Oregon's item specifications for the grade 5 test. The code under an answer, such as 5-PS1-2, is the performance expectation it practices.
A question may describe a small table or a setup; the answer usually sits in those details.
Questions and answers
Is there still an OAKS science test in 5th grade?
Oregon's fifth graders now take the OSAS Science Summative Test, first given in 2018-19 on the Next Generation Science Standards. OAKS was the name of the state's earlier tests. This page practices the test given today.
How many questions are on the 5th grade OSAS science test?
The blueprint lists 4 cluster items and 14 stand-alone items that count. Field-test items are added: one more cluster or five more stand-alone items.
How long does the Oregon 5th grade science test take?
It is not timed. The state says most students in grade 5 need about 75 to 85 minutes. Once a student starts, the test must be finished within 20 calendar days.
What score is proficient on 5th grade OSAS science?
Oregon reports four levels. In grade 5, Level 2 begins at 3131, Level 3 at 3162 and Level 4 at 3198. Proficiency is shown by Level 3 or higher.
Where is Oregon's own OSAS science sample test?
The Oregon Department of Education publishes sample tests on its OSAS portal, osasportal.org, so students can try the question types. This page is separate, unofficial practice.