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Holding the Land in Place is a free printable Grade 2 science worksheet on comparing solutions that slow wind or water changing the land, aligned to Common Core standard 2-ESS2-1. 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 pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 23 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.

Holding the Land in Place

2-ESS2-1

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.Which would you choose to stop a sand dune blowing away?
  • A.Plants with roots that hold the sand
  • B.Nothing at all
  • C.A smooth plastic sheet
2.Why test two designs rather than just building the best-looking one?
  • A.The results show which actually holds the soil
  • B.Testing wastes time
  • C.Looks are what matter
3.A plastic sheet let no soil wash off but the water ran off fast. What is the drawback?
  • A.Plastic is green
  • B.There is no drawback
  • C.The fast water may wash soil away further down
4.Why does planting grass on a slope hold the soil?
  • A.Grass drinks all the water
  • B.Grass is heavy
  • C.The grass covers the soil so water cannot wash it away
5.Test results: bare soil lost a big pile, grassed soil lost hardly any. Which solution worked better?
  • A.Neither worked
  • B.The grass, because hardly any soil washed down
  • C.The bare soil
6.A wall stops soil washing down but costs a lot. How do you decide?
  • A.Weigh how well it works against what it costs
  • B.Always pick the cheapest
  • C.Always pick the strongest
7.What does a barrier at the bottom of a slope do?
  • A.Stops the rain falling
  • B.Catches soil that has already washed down
  • C.Makes the slope steeper
8.What should be kept the same when comparing two slope designs?
  • A.Nothing at all
  • B.The colour of the tray
  • C.The same jug of water, the same slope and the same soil

LessonPrint · 2-ESS2-1 · Set 23 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Holding the Land in Place

Set 23. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Plants with roots that hold the sand
  2. 2.The results show which actually holds the soil
  3. 3.The fast water may wash soil away further down
  4. 4.The grass covers the soil so water cannot wash it away
  5. 5.The grass, because hardly any soil washed down
  6. 6.Weigh how well it works against what it costs
  7. 7.Catches soil that has already washed down
  8. 8.The same jug of water, the same slope and the same soil

More practice for 2-ESS2-1

Compare designs meant to stop wind or water reshaping the land.

Teaching this next? Holding the Land in Place is the 50-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 2 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 2-ESS2-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.