1. Content descriptors
The 12 descriptors identify the knowledge, understanding and inquiry practices students should have opportunities to learn during Year 5.
Australian Curriculum v9
Year 5 Science Curriculum: Achievement Standard and Content Descriptors
See the Year 5 Science achievement standard together with all 12 content descriptors that support it. The descriptors are grouped by strand so teachers can connect what students learn, how they investigate and the evidence used to judge achievement.
Available combined curriculum hubs
Browse published Science curriculum maps.
All Science achievement standards | All Science content descriptors
How the curriculum elements fit together
2. Learning and assessment
Learning sequences can combine a Science understanding focus with inquiry practices and a relevant Science as a human endeavour context.
3. Achievement standard
The achievement standard describes the expected quality and breadth of learning by the end of Year 5. Teacher judgement draws on a body of evidence, not a single task.
ASSCIY5
Open the standalone ASSCIY5 page →
Achievement standard (as ACARA publishes it)
Achievement standard
Click any sentence to jump to its statement and linked content descriptors.
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.
The 13 achievement standard statements
Open a statement to see the content descriptors ACARA links to it, then open a descriptor's elaborations.
By the end of Year 5 students explain how the form and behaviour of living things enables survival.
Content descriptorAC9S5U01 Science understanding
examine how particular structural features and behaviours of living things enable their survival in specific habitats
Elaborations (5)
- Elaboration identify physical and behavioural characteristics that enable a plant or animal to survive, such as being able to see in dim light and being nocturnal
- Elaboration exploring features of plants and animals that enable them to survive in Australia’s desert environments, such as bottle (or boab) trees and the water-holding frog
- Elaboration investigating how camouflage is used by animals to hide from predators and to ambush prey
- Elaboration using physical or digital simulations to explore how the shape of animals’ body parts, such as the beak of a particular bird species, influence their ability to find food and survive in a given environment
- Elaboration investigating First Nations Australians’ knowledges of the structural features of certain species and how those features can be exploited
They describe key processes that change Earth’s surface.
Content descriptorAC9S5U02 Science understanding
describe how weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition cause slow or rapid change to Earth’s surface
Elaborations (7)
- Elaboration identifying types of weathering caused by mechanical means such as by wind abrasion, cycles of extreme heat or cold, and frost wedging; and biological means such as by plants and tree roots
- Elaboration exploring how erosion can be caused by moving air or moving water and how substances such as surface soil are relocated, and identifying examples of erosion on a local or regional scale
- Elaboration analysing the difference between weathering and erosion and comparing the timescales over which these processes can occur
- Elaboration modelling the effects of erosion on a simulated landscape and exploring factors that mitigate its effects
- Elaboration investigating how humans have changed local landscapes and predicting the effect these changes might have on rates of erosion
- Elaboration considering how First Nations Australians are impacted by the rapid erosion of sand dunes and the resulting effect of saltwater on culturally significant freshwater swamps
- Elaboration considering the effects of significant rainfall, such as a monsoon, on the transportation and deposition of river sediments in the Asia-Pacific region
They identify sources of light and model the transfer of light to explain observed phenomena.
Content descriptorAC9S5U03 Science understanding
identify sources of light, recognise that light travels in a straight path and describe how shadows are formed and light can be reflected and refracted
Elaborations (7)
- Elaboration distinguishing between natural (such as glow worms, the sun and stars) and artificial (such as light bulbs or candles) sources of light
- Elaboration investigating the shadows that are formed when light is completely or partially blocked by an object, such as when using a sundial or shadow puppets
- Elaboration drawing ray diagrams to show how the path of light from a source reflects off surfaces into the eye
- Elaboration observing refraction of light using prisms or water droplets and examining the rainbow effect produced
- Elaboration exploring how 'holograph' videos use the refractive properties of light to create an image that appears to be 3-dimensional
- Elaboration exploring the use of reflection of light by mirrors such as in periscopes and mirror mazes
- Elaboration recognising First Nations Australians’ understanding of refraction as experienced in spearfishing and in shimmering body paint, and reflection as evidenced by materials selected for construction of housing
They relate the particulate arrangement of solids, liquids and gases to their observable properties.
Content descriptorAC9S5U04 Science understanding
explain observable properties of solids, liquids and gases by modelling the motion and arrangement of particles
Elaborations (6)
- Elaboration classifying substances as solids, liquids and gases and investigating their properties
- Elaboration exploring examples that demonstrate that gases have mass, such as blowing air through straws to move objects or using a balance to compare an empty balloon to one filled with air
- Elaboration using role-play to model the arrangement and motion of particles in solids, liquids and gases
- Elaboration observing a virtual demonstration of coloured gases being compressed and providing an explanation for the change in colour intensity
- Elaboration exploring, through guided discussion, ideas about what is between particles
- Elaboration recognising First Nations Australians’ knowledges and understandings of solids, liquids and gases and how these knowledges are applied in a range of processes and practices, including the extraction of oils, medical therapies and cooking
They describe examples of collaboration leading to advances in science, and scientific knowledge that has changed over time.
Content descriptorAC9S5H01 Science as a human endeavour
examine why advances in science are often the result of collaboration or build on the work of others
Elaborations (5)
- Elaboration researching how the recent discovery of a biofluorescent flying squirrel led to discoveries of more fluorescent mammals, such as wombats, bilbies, echidna and bandicoots as scientists collaborated with other scientists across fields of science and internationally
- Elaboration researching why European naturalists and scientists first thought the platypus was a faked animal, and how scientists such as those in the Platypus Conservation Initiative are collaborating in ongoing research to understand the features and behaviours of platypuses
- Elaboration investigating how contemporary soil erosion management practices adapt and build on First Nations Australians’ fire management and agricultural practices
- Elaboration exploring why developing new erosion mitigation techniques such as contour banks and strip cropping requires geologists, hydrologists and farmers to collaborate
- Elaboration exploring how understanding of light and optics has developed by comparing the ideas of Plato, Euclid, Ptolemy, Ibn al-Haytham and Roger Bacon
They identify examples where scientific knowledge informs the actions of individuals and communities.
Content descriptorAC9S5H02 Science as a human endeavour
investigate how scientific knowledge is used by individuals and communities to identify problems, consider responses and make decisions
Elaborations (5)
- Elaboration considering how decisions are made to farm particular crops or animals depending on local habitats, such as considering their ability to withstand drought or cold weather
- Elaboration examining how communities use knowledge of erosion processes to design landscape features that reduce erosion in fragile environments
- Elaboration examining how knowledge of erosion is used by park rangers to design rules such as keeping to the path and not climbing sandstone, and built features such as channel drains on paths, railings and barriers to protect the park environment and First Nations Australians’ heritage sites
- Elaboration researching the impacts of light pollution and exploring how communities have used scientific knowledge to reduce light pollution, such as through the use of covered bulbs facing downwards in streetlights, automated systems to turn off streetlights and motion sensors on outdoor lights at home and in public places
- Elaboration investigating how and why people used properties of light to design signal lamps to communicate via Morse code and where they continue to be used
Students plan safe investigations to identify patterns and relationships and make reasoned predictions.
Content descriptorAC9S5I01 Science inquiry
pose investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make reasoned predictions
Elaborations (5)
- Elaboration posing questions that can be investigated scientifically, such as: ‘Do all animals which live in desert habitats have ways to survive without water?’
- Elaboration acknowledging and using information from First Nations Australians to guide the formulation of investigable questions about structural features and behaviours of living things
- Elaboration posing investigable questions about landscape features and how they were changed by weathering, erosion, transportation or deposition
- Elaboration asking questions and making predictions to test relationships, such as: ‘Will there be more erosion of steeper slopes? Will this organisation of mirrors enable me to see around corners? Are animals that camouflage well more likely to survive predation?’
- Elaboration making reasoned predictions about the habitat a plant or animal lives in or the observable effect of light interacting with an object
Content descriptorAC9S5I02 Science inquiry
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
Elaborations (7)
- Elaboration considering different ways to approach investigations, such as researching, using trial and error, experimental testing, field observations, using digital tools to record observations or development of virtual simulations
- Elaboration planning and recording the method to be used in an investigation so that it could be repeated by someone else
- Elaboration making decisions on the variables to be changed, measured and controlled in fair tests, such as measuring the length and size of a shadow formed by different light sources
- Elaboration using a map or aerial photographs to predict local sites likely to be affected by erosion, and collaboratively planning a field excursion to collect observations
- Elaboration explaining rules for safe processes and use of equipment and materials, and potential risks to themselves or others when conducting an investigation
- Elaboration consulting with First Nations Australians to identify local areas that require permission before accessing
- Elaboration consulting with First Nations Australians to guide the planning of scientific investigations, considering potential risks for field investigations
They identify risks associated with investigations and key intercultural considerations when planning field work.
Content descriptorAC9S5I02 Science inquiry
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
Elaborations (7)
- Elaboration considering different ways to approach investigations, such as researching, using trial and error, experimental testing, field observations, using digital tools to record observations or development of virtual simulations
- Elaboration planning and recording the method to be used in an investigation so that it could be repeated by someone else
- Elaboration making decisions on the variables to be changed, measured and controlled in fair tests, such as measuring the length and size of a shadow formed by different light sources
- Elaboration using a map or aerial photographs to predict local sites likely to be affected by erosion, and collaboratively planning a field excursion to collect observations
- Elaboration explaining rules for safe processes and use of equipment and materials, and potential risks to themselves or others when conducting an investigation
- Elaboration consulting with First Nations Australians to identify local areas that require permission before accessing
- Elaboration consulting with First Nations Australians to guide the planning of scientific investigations, considering potential risks for field investigations
They identify variables to be changed and measured.
Content descriptorAC9S5I02 Science inquiry
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
Elaborations (7)
- Elaboration considering different ways to approach investigations, such as researching, using trial and error, experimental testing, field observations, using digital tools to record observations or development of virtual simulations
- Elaboration planning and recording the method to be used in an investigation so that it could be repeated by someone else
- Elaboration making decisions on the variables to be changed, measured and controlled in fair tests, such as measuring the length and size of a shadow formed by different light sources
- Elaboration using a map or aerial photographs to predict local sites likely to be affected by erosion, and collaboratively planning a field excursion to collect observations
- Elaboration explaining rules for safe processes and use of equipment and materials, and potential risks to themselves or others when conducting an investigation
- Elaboration consulting with First Nations Australians to identify local areas that require permission before accessing
- Elaboration consulting with First Nations Australians to guide the planning of scientific investigations, considering potential risks for field investigations
They use equipment to generate data with appropriate precision.
Content descriptorAC9S5I03 Science inquiry
use equipment to observe, measure and record data with reasonable precision, using digital tools as appropriate
Elaborations (4)
- Elaboration exploring which equipment gives the most reasonable precision for the measurements of data required in the investigation
- Elaboration exploring the precision of measurements of different equipment such as a cup compared with a measuring jug and discussing why precision is important in measurement
- Elaboration recording data using standard units, such as grams, second and metre, and developing the use of standard prefixes for metric units such as kilo- and milli-
- Elaboration recording data in tables and diagrams or electronically as digital images and spreadsheets
They construct representations to organise data and information and describe patterns, trends and relationships.
Content descriptorAC9S5I04 Science inquiry
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 relationships
Elaborations (5)
- Elaboration using annotated digital photography or field sketches to describe structural features of plants or animals
- Elaboration constructing a column graph to illustrate the relationship between predation and an animal feature such as colour as indicated by a simulation, and using values to represent the outcomes of repeated simulations
- Elaboration modelling landscapes using materials such as sand, gravel, soil and rocks to show effects of erosion by water
- Elaboration constructing labelled ray diagrams to represent observations and compare how light interacts with different objects
- Elaboration using maps to identify patterns in erosion site locations or aerial photographs to show effects of erosion over time
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.
Content descriptorAC9S5I05 Science inquiry
compare methods and findings with those of others, recognise possible sources of error, pose questions for further investigation and select evidence to draw reasoned conclusions
Elaborations (5)
- Elaboration comparing methods and findings with those of others to determine if the investigation was a fair test
- Elaboration recognising errors that could have occurred during investigations including changing too many variables, incorrect or misreading of measurements, or changes in environmental factors
- Elaboration comparing, in small groups, proposed reasons for findings and explaining their reasoning and posing further questions
- Elaboration discussing the difference between data and evidence and examining how evidence is selected
- Elaboration reflecting on inferences made from observations and analysis of the data to draw a reasoned conclusion
They use language features that reflect their purpose and audience when communicating their ideas and findings.
Content descriptorAC9S5I06 Science inquiry
write and create texts to communicate ideas and findings for specific purposes and audiences, including selection of language features, using digital tools as appropriate
Elaborations (6)
- Elaboration exploring how language features such as vocabulary and sentence structure help shape a text and give it meaning
- Elaboration acknowledging and exploring First Nations Australians’ ways of representing and communicating information about anatomical features
- Elaboration developing a digital presentation to share information about the structural features or behaviours of animals and plants in a particular habitat
- Elaboration constructing a persuasive text for local council to argue the use of an erosion mitigation strategy in a local area
- Elaboration co-authoring a scientific report on an investigation into the behaviours of light using appropriate vocabulary, data representations and sentence structures
- Elaboration exploring whether there is a ‘correct’ way of representing particles and creating an animation to teach other students about the particulate nature of matter
About the strands
The 12 content descriptors linked to ASSCIY5 sit under these strands.
Science understanding
The concepts students learn and use to explain living things, Earth, matter, energy and physical phenomena.
Science as a human endeavour
How scientific knowledge develops through collaboration and informs decisions made by individuals and communities.
Science inquiry
The practices students use to question, investigate, represent data, evaluate evidence and communicate findings.
A practical planning sequence
- Choose the curriculum focus. Start with one or more Science understanding descriptors.
- Select a meaningful context. Connect learning to how science develops or informs community decisions.
- Plan connected learning. Use the linked descriptors together where that creates a coherent sequence.
- Map the evidence. Use inquiry evidence to support a judgement against the relevant parts of the achievement standard.
Turn this curriculum map into a teaching sequence
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