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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 19 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. Which predictions did the class get wrong?
  2. 2. Why write down a prediction before testing?
  3. 3. What happened to the steel paperclip?
  4. 4. What happened to the apple?
2.Which of these would you expect to float?
  • A.A metal spoon
  • B.A cork
  • C.A marble
3.Why test each object in the same tub of water?
  • A.So only the object changes between tests
  • B.So it is quicker
  • C.So the water stays clean
4.Two blocks are the same size. One is wood and one is steel. Which floats?
  • A.Both of them
  • B.The steel block
  • C.The wooden block
5.A plastic bottle top floats. Would a whole empty plastic bottle with its top on float?
  • A.Yes, it would float
  • B.No, it would sink at once
  • C.It would fly
6.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
7.Which of these would you expect to sink?
  • A.A stone
  • B.A leaf
  • C.A ping-pong ball

LessonPrint · 2-PS1-1 · Set 19 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Float or Sink?

Set 19. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. The apple and the candle, which floated, and the paperclip, which sank. 2. So you can check what you thought against what happened. 3. The paperclip sank. 4. The apple floated.
  2. 2.A cork
  3. 3.So only the object changes between tests
  4. 4.The wooden block
  5. 5.Yes, it would float
  6. 6.Put each one in the water and see what it does
  7. 7.A stone

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