Year 5 - Science
Burning plants as fuel (non-statutory Climate Change & Sustainability)
Properties, changes and separating materials
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit explores the properties of everyday materials, including hardness, solubility, and conductivity. It covers reversible changes like dissolving and mixing, and irreversible changes such as burning. Emphasis is on scientific enquiries, data recording, and presenting findings with evidence.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to investigate which plants might be used as alternative fuels to fossil fuels.
Key Notes
- A fuel is something that can be used to produce heat or light.
- Fossil fuels are found deep under Earth's surface and there is a limited amount left.
- Plants are a sustainable source of fuel as we can keep growing more.
- Like fossil fuels, biofuels release carbon dioxide on burning.
- Scientists and engineers investigate which plants are the best ones to grow for biofuels.
Vocabulary To Learn
- burn: To burn is to be on fire.
- fossil fuels: Fossil fuels are fuels made over millions of years from fossilised plants and animals buried deep beneath Earth's surface.
- carbon dioxide: Carbon dioxide is a type of gas found in Earth's atmosphere.
- sustainable: Sustainable means using things in a way that doesn't use them up or harm the environment, so they can be used again in the future.
- biofuel: Biofuels are fuels made from plant materials.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- There is an endless supply of fossil fuels on Earth. There are no downsides to biofuels.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
A fuel is something that can be used to produce heat or light. Fossil fuels are found deep under Earth's surface and there is a limited amount left.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'burn'
To burn is to be on fire. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: There is an endless supply of fossil fuels on Earth. There are no downsides to biofuels. Correction: Teaching slides will explain that fossil fuel is a finite resource and will introduce the pros and cons of electric cars. Children will have a chance to discuss this in task B.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Bioplastics (non-statutory Climate Change & Sustainability) Study Guide
- Burning: an irreversible change Study Guide
- Everyday uses of thermal insulators Study Guide
- Greenhouse gases (non-statutory Climate Change & Sustainability) Study Guide
- How scientists work Study Guide
- Insulating our homes and schools (non-statutory Climate Change & Sustainability) Study Guide
- More irreversible changes Study Guide
- More reversible changes Study Guide
- Properties of materials Study Guide
- Providing safe drinking water (non-statutory Climate Change & Sustainability) Study Guide
- Recovering insoluble solids Study Guide
- Removing salt from seawater (non-statutory) Study Guide
- Reversible changes of state Study Guide
- Rusting: an irreversible change Study Guide
- Separating soluble solids from solutions Study Guide
- Soluble and insoluble Study Guide
- Thermal insulators: do and review Study Guide
- Thermal insulators: plan Study Guide
- Uses of everyday materials Study Guide
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