SSAT practice, Grade 5

Free printable SSAT practice test for Grade 5

30 questions across every part of the test, to print and do on paper. The answers are not on the paper: enter your email and we will send the answer sheet.

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Scholar Tests · Set 1

SSAT practice test, Grade 5

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Quantitative

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 12 minutes.

  1. 1.

    25% of the money in a tin is $8.75. How much money is in the tin altogether?

    1. A$3.50
    2. B$35.00
    3. C$2.19
    4. D$875.00
    5. E$26.25
  2. 2.

    One winter night in Ballarat the temperature dropped to −3 °C. The next afternoon it reached 3 °C. How many degrees warmer was the afternoon than the night?

    1. A8
    2. B3
    3. C6
    4. D5
    5. E7
  3. 3.

    Lucas and Priya share $70 in the ratio 2 : 5. How much does Lucas get?

    1. A$28
    2. B$35
    3. C$50
    4. D$20
    5. E$10
  4. 4.

    A rectangular lawn is 5 yd long and 4 yd wide. A path 1 yd wide runs all the way around the outside of it. What is the area of the path?

    1. A22 sq yd
    2. B10 sq yd
    3. C26 sq yd
    4. D18 sq yd
    5. E42 sq yd
  5. 5.

    Find the value of x.
    9x − 18 = 9

    1. A27
    2. B4
    3. C2
    4. D3
    5. E19
  6. 6.

    James is now 4 times as old as Priya. In 6 years' time James will be 2 times as old as Priya. How old is James now?

    1. A13
    2. B12
    3. C3
    4. D18
    5. E6
  7. 7.

    A spinner has 6 equal parts, and one of them is red. It is spun 30 times. About how many times would you expect it to land on red?

    1. A15
    2. B5
    3. C25
    4. D6
    5. E30
  8. 8.

    The table shows the sports chosen by a club's members. Some numbers are missing. Each row and each column adds up to its total. What number belongs in the cell marked ? in the table?

    1. A17
    2. B50
    3. C27
    4. D32
    5. E37
  9. 9.

    What is a fifth of a tenth of 250?

    1. A6
    2. B75
    3. C50
    4. D5
    5. E25
  10. 10.

    The two lines with arrowheads on them are parallel. What is the size of the angle marked with a question mark?

    1. A150°
    2. B140°
    3. C40°
    4. D70°
    5. E130°

Reading

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 10 minutes.

  1. The Ditch That Built a State

    In the early 1800s, moving goods across New York was slow and costly. Wagons bumped along rough roads, and shipping a ton of flour from the Great Lakes region to New York City could take weeks. DeWitt Clinton, who soon became governor, championed a bold solution: dig a canal about 363 miles long, linking Lake Erie at Buffalo to the Hudson River at Albany. From there, boats could float all the way down to New York City.

    Many people thought the idea was ridiculous. Critics called it "Clinton's Ditch." The land rose and fell along the route, and the builders had little formal training in engineering. Yet construction began in 1817, and workers, many of them recent immigrants, dug much of the canal by hand with shovels, axes and horses.

    To carry boats up and down the changing land, builders constructed locks. A lock is a chamber with gates at each end. A boat enters, the gates close, and water is let in or out until the boat is level with the next section of the canal. Then the far gate opens and the boat continues.

    The canal opened in 1825, and it was a dramatic success. Shipping costs fell sharply, and trips that once took weeks took days. Farmers in the Midwest could sell their crops in the East, and goods from the East flowed west. New York City grew into the busiest port in the country, and towns sprang up along the canal's banks.

    The ditch that critics laughed at helped make New York the "Empire State."

    1.

    What is the passage mainly about?

    1. AThe life of Governor DeWitt Clinton
    2. BWhy farmers moved from New York to the Midwest
    3. CHow locks are used on rivers around the world
    4. DThe history of New York City's harbor
    5. EThe building of the Erie Canal and how it changed trade
  2. 2.

    According to the passage, what does a lock do?

    1. AIt keeps boats from leaving the canal at night.
    2. BIt blocks the canal during storms.
    3. CIt stores water for farmers.
    4. DIt measures how much cargo a boat carries.
    5. EIt raises or lowers a boat to the level of the next section of the canal.
  3. 3.

    Why did critics call the project "Clinton's Ditch"?

    1. AClinton dug the canal himself.
    2. BThey thought the plan was foolish and would fail.
    3. CClinton wanted the canal to be a secret.
    4. DThe canal was named after Clinton by law.
    5. EThe canal was very shallow.
  4. 4.

    As used in the passage, the word "dramatic" most nearly means

    1. Arelated to the theater
    2. Bslow and gradual
    3. Cstriking and large
    4. Dsad and serious
    5. Eloud and noisy
  5. 5.

    How does the passage mostly develop its account of the canal?

    1. AIt tells the story from the point of view of a boat.
    2. BIt lists the canal's locks from east to west.
    3. CIt compares the canal with other canals.
    4. DIt describes a problem, the solution, and the results.
    5. EIt argues against building the canal.

  6. Mae Jemison: Reaching for Space

    As a girl growing up in Chicago in the 1960s, Mae Jemison spent hours in the library reading about astronomy and dinosaurs. She watched the early space missions on television and noticed something that bothered her: none of the astronauts looked like her. She decided that would not stop her.

    Jemison worked hard in school and entered Stanford University at just sixteen. She studied chemical engineering and also took classes in African American studies, and she was active in dance and theater. She believed that science and the arts were not opposites but partners, since both require creativity and careful observation.

    After Stanford, she earned a medical degree and became a doctor. She spent two years as a medical officer with the Peace Corps in West Africa, caring for volunteers and helping with health research. The work demanded quick decisions and calm leadership, skills that would later serve her well.

    In 1987, NASA selected Jemison as an astronaut. On September 12, 1992, she flew aboard the space shuttle Endeavour, becoming the first African American woman to travel into space. During the eight-day mission, she conducted experiments on how the body responds to weightlessness.

    After leaving NASA, Jemison started a company to develop new technology and founded programs to encourage young people, especially girls and students of color, to study science. She often tells students that the most important thing is not to limit themselves. In her view, curiosity is a kind of fuel, and anyone can use it.

    6.

    Which sentence best states the main idea of the passage?

    1. AMae Jemison followed her curiosity to become a doctor, an astronaut and a mentor for young scientists.
    2. BMae Jemison was the only student at Stanford to study dance.
    3. CMae Jemison's work in the Peace Corps was more important than her spaceflight.
    4. DNASA chose its astronauts mainly from doctors.
    5. EAstronauts must study both science and the arts.
  7. 7.

    What did Jemison do during her mission aboard Endeavour?

    1. AShe trained Peace Corps volunteers.
    2. BShe piloted the space shuttle.
    3. CShe conducted experiments on how the body responds to weightlessness.
    4. DShe took photographs of Chicago.
    5. EShe studied dinosaurs on the space station.
  8. 8.

    Why did watching early space missions bother young Jemison?

    1. AShe preferred reading about dinosaurs.
    2. BShe wanted to be a doctor instead.
    3. CShe thought the missions were too dangerous.
    4. DShe did not see anyone like herself among the astronauts.
    5. EShe did not believe the missions were real.
  9. 9.

    As it is used in the passage, the word "serve" most nearly means

    1. Aspend time in prison
    2. Bhelp or be useful to
    3. Cwork as a soldier for
    4. Dbring food to
    5. Ehit a ball to start a game
  10. 10.

    Why does the writer describe Jemison's interest in dance and theater?

    1. ATo explain why NASA chose her
    2. BTo show that she planned to be an actor
    3. CTo describe what she did in West Africa
    4. DTo suggest that she was not serious about science
    5. ETo support her belief that science and the arts work together

Verbal

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 5 minutes.

  1. 1.

    HOSTILE

    Which word means most nearly the same as the word in capital letters?

    1. Aunfriendly
    2. Bnervous
    3. Cwelcoming
    4. Dloud
    5. Eshy
  2. 2.

    Conductor is to orchestra as coach is to

    1. Awhistle
    2. Bplayer
    3. Cmusic
    4. Dstadium
    5. Eteam
  3. 3.

    Flock is to sheep as swarm is to

    1. Awolves
    2. Bhive
    3. Cbees
    4. Dsting
    5. Ehoney
  4. 4.

    Spectator is to game as audience is to

    1. Aapplause
    2. Bperformance
    3. Cactor
    4. Dticket
    5. Estage
  5. 5.

    QUELL

    Which word means most nearly the same as the word in capital letters?

    1. Aquarrel
    2. Bquiet
    3. Csuppress
    4. Dquestion
    5. Eprovoke
  6. 6.

    DEPLETE

    Which word means most nearly the same as the word in capital letters?

    1. Alower
    2. Bdelay
    3. Cdivide
    4. Duse up
    5. Ereplenish
  7. 7.

    VIVID

    Which word means most nearly the same as the word in capital letters?

    1. Aloud
    2. Bbright
    3. Cdull
    4. Dlarge
    5. Equick
  8. 8.

    Abolish is to law as veto is to

    1. Avote
    2. Bbill
    3. Ccourt
    4. Dcongress
    5. Epresident
  9. 9.

    SULLEN

    Which word means most nearly the same as the word in capital letters?

    1. Asudden
    2. Bsulky
    3. Ccheerful
    4. Dsolemn
    5. Esilent
  10. 10.

    Cartographer is to maps as lexicographer is to

    1. Awords
    2. Batlases
    3. Clibraries
    4. Dletters
    5. Edictionaries

Written by Scholar Tests in the style of the published SSAT question types. Not a real SSAT test, and a practice score is not a real score.