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Float or Sink? is a free printable Grade 2 science worksheet on testing and recording whether materials float or sink, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 2-PS1-1. It prints 7 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 12 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.

Float or Sink?

2-PS1-1

NameDate

Read the record, then answer the questions.

1.Read the record, then answer the questions.

Float or Sink?

Our predictions and results for eight objects put in the water tub one at a time. WHAT WE THOUGHT, AND WHAT HAPPENED Apple ............. we said sink, it floated Coin .............. we said sink, it sank Wooden block ...... we said float, it floated Metal key ......... we said sink, it sank Plastic bottle top we said float, it floated Pebble ............ we said sink, it sank Candle ............ we said sink, it floated Steel paperclip ... we said float, it sank Same tub of water, and each object was dropped in the same way.

  1. 1. What happened to the steel paperclip?
  2. 2. Which predictions did the class get wrong?
  3. 3. What would a wooden spoon probably do?
  4. 4. What happened to the apple?
2.You want to sort a box of objects into floaters and sinkers. What do you do?
  • A.Weigh only the biggest one
  • B.Sort them by color
  • C.Put each one in the water and see what it does
3.A big log and a small pebble are put in a pond. What happens?
  • A.The log floats and the pebble sinks, even though the log is bigger and heavier
  • B.The pebble floats because it is small
  • C.Both sink, because they are hard
4.A plastic bottle top floats. Would a whole empty plastic bottle with its top on float?
  • A.No, it would sink at once
  • B.Yes, it would float
  • C.It would fly
5.Which of these would you expect to float?
  • A.A marble
  • B.A metal spoon
  • C.A cork
6.A sheet of foil floats, but the same foil squashed into a tight ball sinks. What changed?
  • A.Its shape, not what it is made of
  • B.It turned into a different metal
  • C.The water got heavier
7.Two blocks are the same size. One is wood and one is steel. Which floats?
  • A.The wooden block
  • B.The steel block
  • C.Both of them

LessonPrint · 2-PS1-1 · Set 12 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Float or Sink?

Set 12. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. The paperclip sank. 2. The apple and the candle, which floated, and the paperclip, which sank. 3. Float, like the wooden block. 4. The apple floated.
  2. 2.Put each one in the water and see what it does
  3. 3.The log floats and the pebble sinks, even though the log is bigger and heavier
  4. 4.Yes, it would float
  5. 5.A cork
  6. 6.Its shape, not what it is made of
  7. 7.The wooden block

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 2-PS1-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.