Science / Year 5 / Science inquiry / Questioning and predicting

Curriculum content descriptions

pose investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make reasoned predictions (AC9S5I01)

Elaborations
  • posing questions that can be investigated scientifically, such as: ‘Do all animals which live in desert habitats have ways to survive without water?’
  • acknowledging and using information from First Nations Australians to guide the formulation of investigable questions about structural features and behaviours of living things
  • posing investigable questions about landscape features and how they were changed by weathering, erosion, transportation or deposition
  • 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?’
  • making reasoned predictions about the habitat a plant or animal lives in or the observable effect of light interacting with an object
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Literacy Literacy
ScOT terms

Research questions,  Scientific inquiry,  Predictions (Science),  Patterns,  Observations (Data)

Video

Elliot and the Surfing Scientist: Pepper scatter experiment

Watch what happens in this pepper scatter experiment by Surfing Scientist, Ruben Meerman. Ruben demonstrates an important property of water, surface tension, by dipping a toothpick into water sprinkled with pepper. Find out what happens when detergent is added.

Video

Elliot and the Surfing Scientist: Salt water density experiment

Discover what density is and how you can test the density of liquids. You will also find out about salt water and how its density is responsible for the circulation of water around the world's oceans.

Video

Robot biomimicry

This 9 minute video segment from Catalyst shows how inspiration from the world of animals has helped in the mechanical design of robots and adhesive materials.

Interactive

Syllabus bites: Electricity

This resource is designed to support science teachers in addressing concepts in electricity in the BOS NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum in Science - Stage 3. Making decisions about the use of electricity is approached from an understanding of circuits, sources and sustainability.

Interactive

DIY pH Indicator

This resource contains lessons plans containing instructions and teachers 'notes for an activity based on the natural pH indicator present in red cabbage leaves. It can be extracted following these explicit and clear directions included for this activity. This indicator solution changes colour from purple to bright pink ...

Video

Why are river pebbles round? Sugar shake: erosion experiment

This short video introduces the concepts of weathering and erosion by investigating why river pebbles are often rounded. Students can undertake an activity which demonstrates the process of erosion using sugar cubes. They are asked to predict what might happen (a hypothesis) and then observe what does happen and relate ...

Text

Shadows

This activity invites students to explore the phenomena of shadows and investigate the question, 'How can you change shadows?' Students work with shadow phenomena outdoors, indoors, or both to figure out how to change the size, shape, and position of a shadow. The activity is designed for use at home or in a classroom and ...

Online

Every drop counts, being water wise!

This activity aims to explore water usage and water saving ideas. Every drop counts! OUTCOMES are for children to: understand the importance of water; look at ways to help save water; and undertake a water audit.

Downloadable

Unit for Year 5 to 6 Butterflies: Engaging with nature

This unit of work engages students in preparing butterfly gardens in their schoolgrounds. It explores scientific entomology, features of insects (including butterflies), the contributions that butterflies make to a healthy environments, and the characteristics of butterfly gardens. The unit includes worksheets, assessment ...

Video

The Milky Way

What do you know about the Milky Way? Did you know that there are hundreds of billions of stars in it? Before you embark on your stargazing expedition, watch this video to learn how you can use just your hands and a compass to locate stars in the sky! What is the unit of measurement used when you're measuring distances ...

Video

Spectacular spiders and their stunning silks

Discover what makes spiders so spectacular in this award-winning clip about the feeding habits, adaptations, and physical features of spiders. See close-up footage of spiders weaving their webs, catching their prey, and sheltering in their retreats. Brandon Gifford entered this video in the 2013 Sleek Geeks Eureka Science ...

Video

Can We Help?: Effects of g-force on the human body

Peter Rowsthorn visits the Australian International Air Show to answer the question, 'What effect does g-force have on the human body?' Join Pete in the cockpit of a light plane for some aerobatics with pilot David Pilkington. G-force expert Dr David Newman explains the science as Pete endures up to 6 g in the aircraft.

Video

Elliot and the Surfing Scientist: Get Blown Away With This Air Experiment

Substances exist in different states depending on the temperature. Watch the Surfing Scientist have a popping good time as he demonstrates this phenomenon. Don't forget to block your ears!

Video

Hillside erosion: how to stop it

Find out what is causing erosion of the hills in a local area, and how this damage can be prevented. View this clip called 'Willunga Hills are falling down', created by young reporters from Willunga Primary School, South Australia. The clip was developed as part of the ABC Splash Live 'Making the news!' project, which featured ...

Video

Experimentals: The secret chamber of the Anti-Bubble

Bubble-hunters Doctor Ruby and Bunsen Bernie have to solve just one more challenging bubble test before they can enter the Chamber of the Anti-Bubble. They have to make a cubic bubble! This is part two of a two-part episode.

Video

Can We Help?: Can seahorse dads really have babies?

Peter Rowsthorn visits Melbourne Aquarium to answer the question 'Do male seahorses give birth to their young?' Discover the answer as a marine expert describes Syngnathids, a unique family of fish. Learn what makes the seahorse and the sea dragon so unusual in the marine animal world.

Video

Sustainable forests, 'lockups' and happy bees

What's a forest lockup? Why is the Tarkine forest special, and how does Tasmanian Forestry attempt to manage activities in the Tarkine forest sustainably? View this clip called 'Tarkine Forest', created by young reporters from Circular Head Christian School, Tasmania. The clip was developed as part of the ABC Splash Live ...

Video

Gardening Australia: Planting an orchard

Imagine eating oranges straight from a tree in your school orchard. Watch this clip to see how the Swan Valley Anglican Community School began creating their own orchard complete with fruit-bearing orange trees. Josh Byrne explains how to position an orchard, prepare the soil and select suitable plants.

Video

Restoring a native creek habitat

Discover how a primary school is working with local environmental groups to clean up the local creek and promote the return of native animals. View this clip called 'A fishy story!', created by young reporters from Willunga Primary School, South Australia. The clip was developed as part of the ABC Splash Live 'Making the ...

Video

Steam or just a load of hot air?

Take a journey with two 2013 Sleek Geeks Eureka Science Schools Prize finalists, as they present their take on the history of steam power. See how they link steam power, the properties of water and the way energy is converted. WARNING: if flickering light affects you, you may be best to avoid watching this video.