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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 22 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. Why write down a prediction before testing?
  2. 2. What does this record not tell you?
  3. 3. What happened to the apple?
  4. 4. What was kept the same for every object?
2.Which of these would you expect to float?
  • A.A cork
  • B.A metal spoon
  • C.A marble
3.A plastic bottle top floats. Would a whole empty plastic bottle with its top on float?
  • A.Yes, it would float
  • B.It would fly
  • C.No, it would sink at once
4.Why test each object in the same tub of water?
  • A.So it is quicker
  • B.So the water stays clean
  • C.So only the object changes between tests
5.Which of these would you expect to sink?
  • A.A ping-pong ball
  • B.A leaf
  • C.A stone
6.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
7.A big log and a small pebble are put in a pond. What happens?
  • A.Both sink, because they are hard
  • B.The pebble floats because it is small
  • C.The log floats and the pebble sinks, even though the log is bigger and heavier

LessonPrint · 2-PS1-1 · Set 22 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Float or Sink?

Set 22. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. So you can check what you thought against what happened. 2. It does not tell you what the objects would do in salty water. 3. The apple floated. 4. The same tub of water, and each object was dropped in the same way.
  2. 2.A cork
  3. 3.Yes, it would float
  4. 4.So only the object changes between tests
  5. 5.A stone
  6. 6.The wooden block
  7. 7.The log floats and the pebble sinks, even though the log is bigger and heavier

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