Primary 5 General Studies

The system that brings oxygen into the body and removes carbon dioxide, including the nose, windpipe and lungs.

The system made up of the heart and blood vessels that moves blood around the body.

The system that breaks food down into nutrients and absorbs them, from the mouth to the intestines.

The millions of tiny air sacs in the lungs where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged with the blood.

The sheet of muscle below the lungs that contracts and relaxes to help us breathe.

The blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart.

The blood vessel that carries blood back to the heart.

The tiniest blood vessels linking arteries and veins, where oxygen and nutrients enter the cells.

The wave-like squeezing of the digestive tract that pushes food along.

A healthy state of mind with steady emotions, able to face difficulties and get along with others.

The feeling of tension the body and mind have when facing difficulties, challenges or changes.

Inner feelings such as joy, anger or sadness. Everyone has them; what matters is how we express them.

A feeling of being overly worried and tense about things that have not happened.

Planning and dividing our time so tasks are done in order.

The ability to understand how another person feels by imagining ourselves in their place.

The process of calming body and mind from tension, such as deep breathing or listening to music.

A professionally trained person at a school or organisation who helps others with emotional problems.

The people we can rely on and turn to in hard times, such as family, teachers and friends.

The addictive chemical in tobacco that makes smokers dependent and hard to quit.

The sticky substance made by burning tobacco; it coats and blackens the lungs and raises the risk of cancer.

The poisonous gas in cigarette smoke that takes oxygen's place on red blood cells, starving the body of oxygen.

The smoke breathed out by smokers or given off by burning cigarettes, harming the health of those who breathe it in.

When the body depends on a substance and feels unwell without it.

A disease in which the liver hardens and loses function after long-term damage; heavy drinking over many years is one cause.

Influence from friends or classmates that pushes us to do things we would rather not do, in order to fit in.

Ways of saying no firmly and politely, such as giving reasons, offering alternatives and leaving the scene.

The substance in alcoholic drinks that harms the liver and brain and clouds judgement.

Tiny living things too small to see, such as bacteria and mould; some of them spoil food.

When food changes in smell, colour or quality because microorganisms have grown, and is no longer fit to eat.

Storing food below four degrees Celsius to slow the multiplication of bacteria.

Substances added to food to preserve it, colour it or flavour it, such as preservatives and colourings.

An additive that holds back microorganisms and lengthens a food's storage life.

The list on packaged food arranged from the largest to the smallest amount.

The date by which food is at its best quality — about quality, not safety.

The safety deadline of a food; past it, the food must not be eaten.

The label listing a food's energy and main nutrients, helping us compare and choose.

When bacteria from raw food transfer to cooked or ready-to-eat food, such as cutting raw meat and fruit with the same knife.

The way atmospheric greenhouse gases let sunlight in and trap heat from the ground, keeping the Earth warm.

Gases that trap heat, such as carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour.

The main greenhouse gas released by burning fossil fuels, which plants absorb for photosynthesis.

Fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas formed from ancient living things, releasing carbon dioxide when burned.

Rising ocean levels as ice melts and seawater expands, threatening coastal areas.

Severe weather far from normal patterns, such as heatwaves, heavy rain, droughts and strong typhoons.

The total greenhouse gases emitted directly and indirectly by a person or an activity.

Energy that keeps renewing itself, such as wind, solar and hydro power.

When greenhouse gas emissions are balanced by absorption, giving net zero.

Legally designated uplands for recreation and conservation; Hong Kong has 24 of them.

Land covered by shallow fresh or salt water, such as mudflats, mangroves and gei wai, teeming with life.

An area set aside to protect precious plants, animals and habitats, with human disturbance restricted.

Birds that travel long distances with the seasons, such as the black-faced spoonbill.

Trees growing where fresh and salt water meet, with breathing roots and viviparous seedlings; a natural coastal shield.

Living things so few in number that they face extinction and need special protection.

The natural home where wild animals live and feed, such as mudflats and woodland.

A park themed on unique geological features; the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark holds this title.

A system where living things and their environment depend on each other, such as a wetland or forest.

Development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

Using fewer things at the source, such as bringing your own bag and refusing excess packaging.

Using an item again, such as donating old clothes or refilling glass bottles.

Sorting waste for processing into new products, such as turning used paper into new paper.

Swapping to greener items or methods, such as electric cars instead of petrol cars.

A site where waste is buried; Hong Kong's landfills are filling up.

Food thrown away in cooking and eating — about 30 percent of Hong Kong's municipal solid waste.

Buying only what is needed and choosing simply packaged, durable products with eco-labels.

A label showing an appliance's energy efficiency; grade 1 is the most efficient.

An action that changes an object's shape or motion, measured in newtons.

The Earth's pull on objects, directed downwards, making things fall.

The force between two touching surfaces that opposes their relative motion.

The force a magnet exerts on magnetic materials, acting across space.

The restoring force produced when springs or rubber bands are stretched or squeezed.

A tool that measures force by how far a spring stretches, in newtons.

The unit of force; an object of about 100 grams feels a gravity of about one newton.

A test in which only the variable being studied changes and all other conditions stay the same.

A condition that can change in an experiment; a fair test changes only one at a time.

Light's property of travelling in straight lines through a uniform medium; shadows and pinhole images arise from it.

Light bouncing back off a surface; mirror images depend on it.

The angle between the incoming ray and the normal; it equals the angle of reflection.

The bending of light as it passes between media and changes speed.

White light splitting into seven colours through a prism or droplets.

A transparent triangular block that splits white light into seven colours.

Rough surfaces scattering light in all directions, letting us see objects from any angle.

A tube with two mirrors at forty-five degrees that reflects light so you can see over an obstacle.

A thin fibre carrying light signals that bounce along inside, sending data at high speed.

The flow of heat from hotter to colder objects, by conduction, convection and radiation.

Heat passing along a solid from hot parts to cold parts as vibrations pass between particles.

Circulating flow in liquids and gases as heated fluid rises and cooler fluid sinks, carrying heat around.

Heat travelling in straight lines as electromagnetic waves without any medium, such as sunshine.

A material that passes heat easily, such as metal.

A material that conducts heat very slowly, such as wood, plastic and air.

The state when two touching objects reach the same temperature and heat no longer flows.

A space with almost no matter, unable to conduct or convect — the layer inside a thermos flask.

A container that blocks all three modes of heat transfer with a vacuum layer and silvered walls to keep water warm.

The protective outer layer of a seed, which splits during germination.

The part inside a seed that grows into a new plant — plumule, hypocotyl and radicle.

The seed leaf storing food for germination; beans have two.

The process of a seed waking after absorbing water and putting out root and shoot.

The group given all suitable conditions, serving as the baseline for comparison.

A group deliberately missing or changing one condition, compared against the control.

The gas seeds need to respire while germinating; without it they rot.

The proportion of seeds in a group that germinate — 8 of 10 is 80 percent.

The resting state of a seed, with slowed life processes, awaiting suitable conditions.

Water turning from liquid into vapour and rising into the air when heated.

Vapour cooling back into droplets or ice crystals — the making of clouds, fog and dew.

Water falling from the sky as rain, snow or hail.

Water in its gas form, invisible and mixed into the air.

Nature's endless loop of evaporation, condensation, precipitation and return flow.

Leaves releasing water into the air as vapour.

A huge basin storing fresh water, such as Plover Cove and High Island reservoirs.

Water supplied to Hong Kong from the Dongjiang by the Dongjiang-Shenzhen scheme — about 70 to 80 percent of our supply.

Water with little salt that we can drink, such as rain and river water; the Earth's fresh water is very limited.

Industry taking resources straight from nature, such as farming, fishing and mining.

Industry turning raw materials into products, such as manufacturing and construction.

Industry providing services rather than goods — retail, finance, education — the mainstay of Hong Kong's economy.

The four industries upholding Hong Kong: financial services, trading and logistics, tourism, and professional and producer services.

A port where most goods pass duty-free and trade is free — Hong Kong is one.

The system pegging the Hong Kong dollar to the US dollar at about 7.8, keeping the rate stable.

The total value of goods and services an economy produces over a period, measuring its size.

A global city dense with banking, securities and insurance — Hong Kong is among the world's leading ones.

An economy changing from one structure to another, as Hong Kong moved from manufacturing to services.

A checkpoint for crossing between two places, such as Lo Wu and Shenzhen Bay.

Opened in 2018, a 55-kilometre bridge-and-tunnel sea crossing linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao.

The rail link joining West Kowloon to the national high-speed network — about 48 minutes to Guangzhou South.

Water carried to Hong Kong by the Dongjiang-Shenzhen scheme — about 70 to 80 percent of our supply.

The city cluster of Hong Kong, Macao and nine mainland cities including Guangzhou and Shenzhen, with over 70 million people.

Checks on imported food, animals and plants at the border to ensure safety and hygiene.

Partner schools in different places that learn from each other through visits and exchange activities.

The Bay Area network letting cities reach one another within an hour, like travelling within one city.

Parties combining their strengths, such as Hong Kong's finance with the mainland's advanced manufacturing.

A group of people living in one area, sharing facilities, services and daily life.

The local body collecting residents' views, reflecting them to the government and promoting community activities.

The government office coordinating local affairs and linking residents with departments.

A non-profit body providing social services, such as Tung Wah and Po Leung Kuk.

A person who freely gives time and effort to help others without reward.

A fundraiser where volunteers hand out small flags for donations, approved by the Social Welfare Department.

Facilities shared by residents, such as parks, libraries and community halls.

The identification with and attachment to a community that makes us care and join in.

Taking part in public affairs with views, service and action, fulfilling civic duty.

Channels carrying messages to large audiences, such as newspapers, TV, radio and online platforms.

Paid content promoting products or services, often with exaggerated wording.

Content leaning towards one side's view, making coverage less balanced.

Sensational headlines that lure clicks with hollow or mismatched content.

Unverified information spreading widely, which may be entirely false.

Who published the information and where it came from — the first thing to verify.

Verifying sources, evidence and multiple reports to confirm whether information is true.

A creator's rights over their work; sharing needs consent and credit.

The record left by online posts, uploads and forwards, which is hard to erase completely.

The thinker and educator of the Spring and Autumn period who founded Confucianism, honoured as the model teacher of all ages.

The teaching centred on benevolence, propriety, filial piety and reciprocity, shaping China and East Asia for over two millennia.

The highest Confucian virtue — loving, understanding and caring for others.

The norms of treating people well, shown in respect and courteous conduct.

The virtue of loving and caring for parents, in provision and in heart.

The Confucian classic recording Confucius's words and deeds, compiled by his disciples.

Putting oneself in others' place — not imposing what one does not want.

Good character and conduct, such as honesty, kindness and filial devotion.

The region deeply shaped by Confucian culture — China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and more.

In 221 BC the Qin united the six states and standardised script, currency and measures.

The trade route opened in the Han dynasty linking China with Central Asia and Europe.

Papermaking, printing, gunpowder and the compass — ancient China's most world-changing technologies.

The war Britain launched against China in 1840; the defeated Qing ceded territory by treaty.

The unequal treaty of 1842 by which the Qing ceded Hong Kong Island.

The 1911 revolution led by Sun Yat-sen that ended imperial rule; the Republic followed in 1912.

The policy of economic reform and opening to the world launched in 1978.

Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty on 1 July 1997 as a Special Administrative Region.

The mainland keeps socialism while Hong Kong keeps its original capitalist system and way of life, run by Hong Kong people with high autonomy.

Railways running above 250 km/h; China operates over 40,000 kilometres, the most in the world.

China's home-grown high-speed train, reaching 350 km/h.

China's crewed spacecraft series; Shenzhou 5 flew the first crewed mission in 2003.

China's home-built space laboratory, where taikonauts work in orbit for months.

China's lunar exploration programme; Chang'e 5 returned about 1,731 grams of lunar soil.

China's home-grown satellite navigation system, globally completed in 2020.

The faster, lower-delay mobile network generation powering smart applications.

Payment by scanning QR codes with a phone, now common across the mainland.

The basic structures supporting economy and life, such as rail, bridges, airports and water supply.

Data identifying who you are — name, address, phone, photos and passwords.

The right to keep one's life and data free from prying eyes and misuse.

A password of eight or more characters mixing letters, numbers and symbols, hard to guess.

Besides a password, entering a code sent to your phone for stronger sign-in security.

Fake sites or messages tricking people into entering passwords and account details.

Attacking, humiliating or excluding others online, including doxxing and malicious photo edits.

Publishing someone's personal data without consent — an invasion of privacy.

Telling the platform about a bad account and stopping it from contacting you.

The courtesy rules of online life — no abuse, no doxxing, respect for different views.

A clear set of steps to solve a problem, such as a recipe or route planner.

A series of instructions written for a computer to execute.

The program structure where instructions run one after another in order.

The structure repeating a block of instructions, such as 'repeat 10 times'.

The 'if...then...else' structure letting a program choose by situation.

Finding and fixing wrong instructions in a program.

Coding by dragging blocks instead of typing, as in Scratch.

Thinking that decomposes problems, finds patterns, designs steps, tests and improves.

A single step commanding the computer, which must be precise and clear.

Computer technology imitating human learning, reasoning, recognition and generation.

The method by which computers find patterns in vast data and improve themselves.

A program that hears spoken commands and answers, such as a phone assistant.

Technology matching facial features to verify identity, for unlocking and checks.

AI technology faking a person's face and voice to create false videos.

Unfair or inaccurate AI judgments caused by incomplete or false training data.

Text, images, music or video created by AI itself.

The raw text, photos and numbers AI needs to learn from.

The habit of not believing blindly — checking evidence and analysing from many angles.

Creating something never seen before, such as papermaking.

Improving what exists into new value, such as the digital camera.

The repeating process of finding a problem, brainstorming, prototyping, testing and improving.

A first model to test an idea, made cheaply from card and similar materials.

Generating as many ideas as possible without judging them first.

Refining again and again from tests and feedback until it improves.

The legal right protecting an invention from copying for its term, usually twenty years.

The person who actually uses the product; their feedback drives better design.

Designing products around the human body so they are comfortable and safe.

Buying goods from abroad, such as Hong Kong importing rice and oil.

Selling local goods abroad, such as the mainland exporting electronics.

The linked stages from raw materials through manufacturing and transport to retail.

The standard metal box for cargo, making loading and shipping fast and safe.

Goods passing through a local port to elsewhere; Hong Kong is a leading re-export centre.

The global body setting trade rules and settling disputes.

Trading that secures producers fair incomes and supports sustainable farming.

A tax on goods crossing borders; most goods enter Hong Kong duty-free.

The growing interconnection of the world in trade, culture and information.

The 2015 global climate pact striving to hold warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The turning point when carbon dioxide emissions reach their highest level and stop rising.

Emissions balanced by absorption, reaching net zero.

The yearly UN climate conference where parties negotiate emission targets.

The body of scientists assessing climate change to give policy a scientific basis.

The international fund helping developing countries adapt and build clean energy.

Cutting greenhouse gas emissions, such as using clean energy and saving power.

Energy that keeps renewing itself, such as wind, solar and hydro power.

Actions by individuals and society against climate change, from saving energy to policy.

The process of cultures spreading to, learning from and influencing one another.

The ancient trade route linking China with Central Asia and Europe, carrying silk, porcelain and culture.

Different cultures coexisting in one society — Hong Kong is an example.

A fixed blanket view of a group, breeding prejudice and misunderstanding.

A place's characteristic foods and eating habits — a vital part of culture.

Days a community celebrates together, carrying culture and faith — Lunar New Year and Christmas, say.

The trend of the world linking ever closer in trade, culture and information.

Traditions and skills handed down generations, such as Cantonese opera and tea art.

Recognising and honouring each other's differences — the precondition of exchange.