GENERAL SCIENCE
Class 5 — Notes & Test (Science Ahead 5)
SECTION A: NOTES
Chapter 1: Classification of Living Things
● Living things are classified into groups based on similarities: Kingdom Animalia, Kingdom Plantae, Fungi,
Protista, Monera.
● Animals are classified into vertebrates (have a backbone) and invertebrates (no backbone).
● Vertebrates include: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish.
● Classification helps scientists study, identify, and compare living organisms easily.
Chapter 2: Microorganisms
● Microorganisms are tiny living things that can only be seen under a microscope.
● Main types: bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa.
● Useful microorganisms: yeast (used in baking), bacteria used to make yoghurt and cheese, bacteria used in
decomposing waste.
● Harmful microorganisms cause diseases such as flu, typhoid, and cholera.
● Ways to prevent the spread of harmful microorganisms: washing hands, cooking food properly, keeping
surroundings clean, vaccination.
Chapter 3: Flower and Seeds
● Main parts of a flower: petals, sepals, stamen (male part: anther + filament), pistil/carpel (female part:
stigma, style, ovary).
● Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma; can be done by wind, water, insects, or
birds.
● After pollination and fertilisation, the ovary develops into a fruit and the ovule develops into a seed.
● Seed dispersal methods: by wind (light, winged seeds), by water (floating seeds), by animals (sticky or
hooked seeds, or eaten and excreted), by explosion (pods burst open).
● Seeds need water, air, and a suitable temperature to germinate.
Chapter 4: Environmental Pollution
● Air pollution: caused by smoke from vehicles/factories, burning fuel; effects include breathing problems
and global warming.
● Water pollution: caused by industrial waste, sewage, and chemicals dumped into water bodies; harms
aquatic life and makes water unsafe to drink.
● Land/soil pollution: caused by dumping garbage, plastic waste, and use of pesticides.
● Noise pollution: caused by loud traffic, machinery, and loudspeakers; can damage hearing and cause stress.
● Prevention: reduce, reuse, recycle; use public transport; plant more trees; proper waste disposal.
Chapter 5: Physical and Chemical Changes in Matter
● Physical change: a change in the form or state of matter, but no new substance is formed; usually reversible
(e.g. melting ice, cutting paper, dissolving sugar in water).
● Chemical change: a new substance with different properties is formed; usually irreversible (e.g. burning
wood, rusting of iron, cooking an egg).
● Signs of a chemical change: colour change, gas produced, heat/light given off, formation of a new smell or
substance.
● States of matter: solid, liquid, gas — changes between them (melting, freezing, evaporation, condensation)
are physical changes.
Chapter 6: Light and Sound
● Light travels in straight lines and can be reflected (bounced back) or refracted (bent when passing through a
different medium).
● Reflection of light allows us to see objects and forms images in mirrors.
● Sound is produced by the vibration of an object.
● Sound travels through solids, liquids, and gases, but not through a vacuum.
● Pitch depends on the frequency of vibration (high frequency = high pitch); loudness depends on the
amplitude of vibration.
Chapter 7: Electricity and Magnetism
● An electric circuit is a closed path through which electric current flows; needs a source (battery), wires, and
a load (e.g. bulb).
● Conductors (e.g. copper, iron) allow electric current to pass through easily; insulators (e.g. rubber, plastic,
wood) do not.
● A magnet has two poles: North and South. Like poles repel; unlike poles attract.
● Magnetic materials: iron, nickel, cobalt (attracted to a magnet). Non-magnetic materials: wood, plastic,
paper.
● Uses of magnets: compass, electric motors, refrigerator doors, cranes for lifting scrap metal.
Chapter 8: Structure of Earth
● The Earth has three main layers: Crust (outer, thin, solid layer where we live), Mantle (thick middle layer
of hot, semi-solid rock), Core (innermost layer, made of iron and nickel).
● The core is divided into the outer core (liquid) and the inner core (solid, due to extreme pressure).
● The crust is the thinnest layer, while the mantle is the thickest layer.
SECTION B: TEST
Time: 60 minutes Total Marks: 40
Part A — Fill in the blanks (1 mark each)
1. Animals with a backbone are called ______.
2. The male part of a flower is called the ______.
3. Rusting of iron is an example of a ______ change.
4. Sound cannot travel through a ______.
5. The innermost layer of the Earth is called the ______.
Part B — Short Answer Questions (2 marks each)
6. Name two useful and two harmful microorganisms.
________________________________________
7. What is pollination? Name any two agents of pollination.
________________________________________
8. Give two differences between a physical change and a chemical change.
________________________________________
9. What is the difference between a conductor and an insulator? Give one example of each.
________________________________________
10. Name the three main layers of the Earth.
________________________________________
Part C — Long Answer Questions (3 marks each)
11. Explain any three ways to prevent environmental pollution.
________________________________________
________________________________________
12. What is a magnet? State the law of magnetic poles (attraction and repulsion).
________________________________________
________________________________________
13. Describe how sound is produced and how pitch and loudness are different.
________________________________________
________________________________________
Answer Key
● 1. Vertebrates
● 2. Stamen
● 3. Chemical
● 4. Vacuum
● 5. Core (inner core)
● 6. Useful: yeast, bacteria for yoghurt/cheese. Harmful: bacteria causing typhoid, virus causing flu.
● 7. Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma. Agents: wind and insects (also water,
birds).
● 8. Physical change: no new substance formed, usually reversible. Chemical change: new substance formed,
usually irreversible.
● 9. Conductor allows current to pass (e.g. copper); insulator does not allow current to pass (e.g. rubber).
● 10. Crust, Mantle, Core
● 11. Any three: reduce/reuse/recycle waste, use public transport, plant trees, proper disposal of garbage,
avoid burning waste.
● 12. A magnet is an object that attracts magnetic materials like iron. Like poles repel each other; unlike
poles attract each other.
● 13. Sound is produced by vibration of an object. Pitch depends on frequency of vibration (higher frequency
= higher pitch); loudness depends on amplitude of vibration (greater amplitude = louder sound).