Year 5 Science Achievement Standard – Australian Curriculum v9
This Achievement Standard describes what students are expected to know and do in Year 5 Science by the end of the year. Teachers can use it to guide assessment design, collect evidence of learning, and ensure planning stays aligned with the Australian Curriculum v9.
What Students Should Know
By the end of Year 5 students explain how the form and behaviour of living things enables survival. They describe key processes that change Earth’s surface. They identify sources of light and model the transfer of light to explain observed phenomena. They relate the particulate arrangement of solids, liquids and gases to their observable properties. They describe examples of collaboration leading to advances in science, and scientific knowledge that has changed over time. They identify examples where scientific knowledge informs the actions of individuals and communities.
Students plan safe investigations to identify patterns and relationships and make reasoned predictions. They identify risks associated with investigations and key intercultural considerations when planning field work. They identify variables to be changed and measured. They use equipment to generate data with appropriate precision. They construct representations to organise data and information and describe patterns, trends and relationships. They compare their methods and findings to those of others, identify possible sources of error in their investigation, pose questions for further investigation and draw reasoned conclusions. They use language features that reflect their purpose and audience when communicating their ideas and findings.
Content Descriptors by Strand
This standard is supported by 12 Content Descriptors:
Science as a human endeavour
Nature and development of science
AC9S5H01 examine why advances in science are often the result of collaboration or build on the work of othersUse and influence of science
AC9S5H02 investigate how scientific knowledge is used by individuals and communities to identify problems, consider responses and make decisionsScience inquiry
Questioning and predicting
AC9S5I01 pose investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make reasoned predictionsPlanning and conducting
AC9S5I02 plan and conduct repeatable investigations to answer questions, including, as appropriate, deciding the variables to be changed, measured and controlled in fair tests; describing potential risks; planning for the safe use of equipment and materials; and identifying required permissions to conduct investigations on Country/Place AC9S5I03 use equipment to observe, measure and record data with reasonable precision, using digital tools as appropriateProcessing, modelling and analysing
AC9S5I04 construct and use appropriate representations, including tables, graphs and visual or physical models, to organise and process data and information and describe patterns, trends and relationshipsEvaluating
AC9S5I05 compare methods and findings with those of others, recognise possible sources of error, pose questions for further investigation and select evidence to draw reasoned conclusionsCommunicating
AC9S5I06 write and create texts to communicate ideas and findings for specific purposes and audiences, including selection of language features, using digital tools as appropriateScience understanding
Biological sciences
AC9S5U01 examine how particular structural features and behaviours of living things enable their survival in specific habitatsEarth and space sciences
AC9S5U02 describe how weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition cause slow or rapid change to Earth’s surfacePhysical sciences
AC9S5U03 identify sources of light, recognise that light travels in a straight path and describe how shadows are formed and light can be reflected and refractedChemical sciences
AC9S5U04 explain observable properties of solids, liquids and gases by modelling the motion and arrangement of particlesAt a Glance
| Strand | Substrand | CDs | Elaborations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Science as a human endeavour | Nature and development of science | 1 | 5 |
| Science as a human endeavour | Use and influence of science | 1 | 5 |
| Science inquiry | Questioning and predicting | 1 | 5 |
| Science inquiry | Planning and conducting | 2 | 11 |
| Science inquiry | Processing, modelling and analysing | 1 | 5 |
| Science inquiry | Evaluating | 1 | 5 |
| Science inquiry | Communicating | 1 | 6 |
| Science understanding | Biological sciences | 1 | 5 |
| Science understanding | Earth and space sciences | 1 | 7 |
| Science understanding | Physical sciences | 1 | 7 |
| Science understanding | Chemical sciences | 1 | 6 |
| Total | 12 | 67 | |