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Earth Materials at Work is a free printable Grade 2 science worksheet on explaining why a rock, a soil or water suits the job it is used for, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 2-PS1-2. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 25 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Earth Materials at Work

2-PS1-2

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.Why is river water cleaned before it comes out of the faucet?
  • A.Cleaning makes it taste salty
  • B.River water can carry mud and germs that make people ill
  • C.River water is too cold
2.Why is clay, not sand, used to make a pot?
  • A.Clay is always red
  • B.Clay holds its shape when molded and hardens when it is fired
  • C.Sand is too heavy
3.Why is salt spread on icy roads in winter?
  • A.It makes the roads shine
  • B.It feeds the plants by the road
  • C.It makes the ice melt, so the roads are less slippery
4.Why are old walls often built from blocks of hard rock?
  • A.Hard rock lasts a long time in wind and rain
  • B.Hard rock is soft to touch
  • C.Hard rock floats
5.Why is sand put under the swings in a playground?
  • A.Sand makes the swings faster
  • B.Loose sand is soft to land on
  • C.Sand keeps the swings dry
6.Why is soil, not sand, best for a vegetable patch?
  • A.Soil holds the water and food that roots need
  • B.Sand is too dark
  • C.Soil is drier than sand
7.Why are some dams built from rock with a core of packed clay?
  • A.Clay is light enough to float
  • B.Clay lets very little water through, and the rock is heavy and strong
  • C.Rock soaks up the water
8.Why do potters add water to dry clay?
  • A.Water changes clay into sand
  • B.Wet clay becomes soft enough to shape
  • C.Water makes clay harder

LessonPrint · 2-PS1-2 · Set 25 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Earth Materials at Work

Set 25. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.River water can carry mud and germs that make people ill
  2. 2.Clay holds its shape when molded and hardens when it is fired
  3. 3.It makes the ice melt, so the roads are less slippery
  4. 4.Hard rock lasts a long time in wind and rain
  5. 5.Loose sand is soft to land on
  6. 6.Soil holds the water and food that roots need
  7. 7.Clay lets very little water through, and the rock is heavy and strong
  8. 8.Wet clay becomes soft enough to shape

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 2-PS1-2 of the Next Generation Science Standards.