Science in Year 5: what Lärkompis practises
In Year 5 of Swedish school (around age 11), Lärkompis practises 16 skills in science (biology, physics and chemistry), linked to 23 of 33 items in the core content of Lgr22, the Swedish national curriculum, for Years 4–6. The areas are nature and environment; body and health; physics in nature and society; chemistry in nature, society and the human body; and systematic investigations and examination of information. Each skill has five difficulty levels, and the skills are practised in 5 mini-games, including Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt), Labbet (The Lab) and Vändspelet (The Flip Game).
Lgr22 sets out core content for each stage (Years 4–6), not for each year. So Lärkompis spreads the skills across the years using its own time windows, and these are estimates. For Year 5, this means that 11 skills start this year and 5 skills started earlier and are still being practised. The figure 23 of 33 counts the items in the core content from Skolverket (the Swedish National Agency for Education) that at least one skill links to; it does not mean the whole item is covered.
What Lärkompis practises in Year 5
The 16 skills in science in Year 5 are grouped into 5 areas following Skolverket's syllabus. Under each skill you can see the first and the last difficulty level, so you know how far the exercises go.
Nature and environment
- How people depend on and affect nature: ecosystem services, the right of public access and sustainable development Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures. Level 5: Match five pairs, plus harder guess-first questions.
- Producers, consumers and decomposers Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
Body and health
- Puberty, identity, relationships and consent Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures. Level 5: Match five pairs, plus harder guess-first questions.
- The heart and blood circulation (already starts in Year 4) Level 1: Questions with at most three clearly different options. Level 5: Match four question–answer pairs, plus mixed yes/no questions.
Physics in nature and society
- Renewable and fossil energy sources, and nuclear fuel Level 1: Choose from all the options. Level 5: Mixed, with all the examples.
- Gravity, friction, air resistance, magnetic force and buoyancy Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
- Energy flow between objects at different temperatures, and materials that conduct or insulate heat Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures. Level 5: Match five pairs, read below-zero temperatures on a thermometer and answer harder guess-first questions.
- Planets, the Sun and the Moon Level 1: Questions with at most three clearly different options. Level 5: Match four question–answer pairs, plus mixed yes/no questions.
Chemistry in nature, society and the human body
- Fossil and renewable fuels Level 1: Choose from all the options. Level 5: Mixed, with all the examples.
- Common household chemicals, their labels and how they should be handled (already starts in Year 4) Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures. Level 5: Match five pairs, plus harder guess-first questions.
- What air is made of: nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
- How raw materials become products such as metals, paper and plastic, plus reuse and recycling Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures. Level 5: Match five pairs, put five steps in order and answer harder guess-first questions.
- The water cycle, clouds and wind Level 1: Questions with at most three clearly different options. Level 5: Match four question–answer pairs, plus mixed yes/no questions.
Systematic investigations and examination of information
- Critically examining and using information about biology, physics and chemistry Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures. Level 5: Match five pairs, plus harder guess-first questions.
- Planning and carrying out investigations, evaluating the results and recording them in tables (already starts in Year 4) Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures. Level 5: Match five pairs, put five steps in order, spot the faulty measurement and answer harder guess-first questions.
- Discoveries in biology, physics and chemistry and why they matter Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures. Level 5: Match five pairs, put five steps in order and answer harder guess-first questions.
What the syllabus says, in short
The Lgr22 core content for Years 4–6 in science, summarised in our own words for the parts Lärkompis practises in Year 5. Read the full text in Skolverket's English translation of Lgr22.
- Food chains and natural cycles, and how humans affect nature.
- How day, night and the seasons come about, and how weather such as wind and rain forms.
- Different energy sources, their impact on the environment, and how heat moves between objects.
- The properties of water and air, and the water cycle.
How to help at home with science in Year 5
Year 5 is the middle of the middle stage. It pays to revise what was secure in Year 4 before new things are added on top, and to deal with small gaps while they are still small. Ask curious questions (“why do you think that happens?”) and try small experiments at home, for example in the kitchen or on a walk.
- A set time and place for homework. Decide together when and where homework is done, for how long, and that screens are put away. In the research review, clear routines showed the strongest link to better homework habits, more than direct help. Works in everyday life: about 10 minutes.
- Sit beside your child with your own book. You don’t need to know the answer. Have your own book or computer open, and answer questions with questions (“what is the question asking for?”). Being there without taking control supports independence. When it is hard going: about 15 minutes.
- Praise what your child did. Say “you didn’t give up when it got hard” or “you tried a new way” instead of “you’re so clever”. Praise for effort and strategy makes children more willing to take on challenges than praise for talent. As a conversation: about 5 minutes.
- Talk about mistakes as information. Say out loud when you make a mistake yourself and how you put it right. Ask your child: “What did you learn from this mistake?” Children pick up on how parents see failure, and it shapes how they see their own mistakes. As a conversation: about 5 minutes.
How you can tell it has clicked in Year 5
- Energy flow between objects at different temperatures, and materials that conduct or insulate heat: Your child knows that metal conducts heat and wool insulates.
- Fossil and renewable fuels: Your child can say which fuels are fossil fuels.
- What air is made of: nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour: Your child can say that most of the air is nitrogen, not oxygen.
- The water cycle, clouds and wind: Your child can describe the cycle in their own words: evaporation, clouds, precipitation.
Common pitfalls in Year 5
- Critically examining and using information about biology, physics and chemistry: Does not notice that adverts can look like facts.
- Common household chemicals, their labels and how they should be handled: Thinks that something that smells nice cannot be dangerous.
- How raw materials become products such as metals, paper and plastic, plus reuse and recycling: Thinks all plastic is made from plants.
- The heart and blood circulation: Thinks all arteries carry oxygen-rich blood and all veins carry oxygen-poor blood.
If science practice in Year 5 often ends in tears or takes far too long, stop for the day and write a few lines to the teacher about what was hard. That is useful information for the school, not a failure.
Games that practise it
In Year 5 science, Lärkompis uses 5 mini-games. In these games, playing is the practice, so your child learns while they play. There are no points or streaks, and no ads.
Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt)
A quiz show in a TV studio, where Vera leads the questions up a ladder. There are lifelines but no points: the ladder fills up with the questions your child has worked through. In Year 5, the game practises 16 skills: how people depend on and affect nature: ecosystem services, the right of public access and sustainable development; producers, consumers and decomposers; puberty, identity, relationships and consent; renewable and fossil energy sources, and nuclear fuel; and more.
Labbet (The Lab)
Guess first, then find out. The tasks are based on checked facts. In Year 5, the game practises 16 skills: how people depend on and affect nature: ecosystem services, the right of public access and sustainable development; producers, consumers and decomposers; puberty, identity, relationships and consent; renewable and fossil energy sources, and nuclear fuel; and more.
Vändspelet (The Flip Game)
A memory game where two cards that go together stay face up, for example 3 + 4 and 7. In Year 5, the game practises 8 skills: how people depend on and affect nature: ecosystem services, the right of public access and sustainable development; puberty, identity, relationships and consent; energy flow between objects at different temperatures, and materials that conduct or insulate heat; common household chemicals, their labels and how they should be handled; and more.
Tidslinjen (The Timeline)
Your child puts cards on a line in the right order, for example events, steps or numbers. A card in the right place turns over and shows the answer. In Year 5, the game practises 4 skills: how raw materials become products such as metals, paper and plastic, plus reuse and recycling; the water cycle, clouds and wind; planning and carrying out investigations, evaluating the results and recording them in tables; and discoveries in biology, physics and chemistry and why they matter.
Sorteringsbandet (The Sorting Belt)
A calm conveyor belt of things that your child puts in the right box by following a rule. In Year 5, the game practises 2 skills: energy flow between objects at different temperatures, and materials that conduct or insulate heat; and how raw materials become products such as metals, paper and plastic, plus reuse and recycling.
Questions about science in Year 5
What does Lärkompis practise in science in Year 5?
Lärkompis has 16 skills in science in Year 5, for example “How people depend on and affect nature: ecosystem services, the right of public access and sustainable development”; “Producers, consumers and decomposers”; “Puberty, identity, relationships and consent”; “Renewable and fossil energy sources, and nuclear fuel”; and “Gravity, friction, air resistance, magnetic force and buoyancy”. Each skill has five levels. In “How people depend on and affect nature: ecosystem services, the right of public access and sustainable development”, for example, level 1 is “Choose the right word from three options, with pictures” and level 5 is “Match five pairs, plus harder guess-first questions”. The app adjusts the level to how your child is doing.
What comes after Year 5 in science?
In Year 6, Lärkompis practises 15 skills in science, and new that year are “Viruses, bacteria, vaccines and the immune system”; “Reflection, vibration, echoes and transparency”; and “Thermometers, scales, rulers, stopwatches, measuring cylinders and force meters”. Most of it builds on what your child practised in Year 5.
Which mistakes are common in science in Year 5?
Common mistakes that Lärkompis covers include “Does not notice that adverts can look like facts” in “Critically examining and using information about biology, physics and chemistry” and “Thinks that something that smells nice cannot be dangerous” in “Common household chemicals, their labels and how they should be handled”. When an answer is wrong, the app shows how to think it through instead of just marking it wrong, and the parent panel shows what your child is practising right now.
Does Lärkompis follow Lgr22 in science in Year 5?
Yes. Every exercise in science in Year 5 is linked to an item in the Lgr22 core content for Years 4–6; 23 of 33 items in science (biology, physics and chemistry) have at least one linked skill. Lärkompis is a complement at home and does not replace teaching.
How much does it cost to practise science in Year 5 with Lärkompis?
Lärkompis costs SEK 49, once, for all subjects and every child in the family, with future updates included. You can try science in Year 5 for free first, without an account.
More years and subjects
The same year in other subjects:
