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Sunlight, Water, or Both is a free printable Grade 2 science worksheet on planning an investigation into what plants need to grow, aligned to Common Core standard 2-LS2-1. 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 15 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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One paper per pupil

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

Sunlight, Water, or Both

2-LS2-1

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.Tray 4 had neither. What does its result add?
  • A.Nothing at all
  • B.It shows what happens with nothing, to compare the others against
  • C.It proves soil is useless
2.A pupil waters one tray more than the others. What is wrong?
  • A.The tray will be tidier
  • B.Two things now differ, so the result cannot be explained
  • C.Nothing, more water is better
3.What should be kept the same in a plant test?
  • A.The amount of light in every tray
  • B.The seed, the soil and the tray
  • C.Nothing, so it is interesting
4.Why were all four trays sown on the same day?
  • A.So the class was busy
  • B.So only the sunlight and the water differed between them
  • C.So the trays matched
5.What would settle whether a plant needs soil as well?
  • A.Asking a gardener
  • B.Watching tray 1 for longer
  • C.A tray with water and light but no soil
6.Tray 1 had sunlight and water and grew thick green grass. Tray 2 had sunlight and no water and grew nothing. What does that show?
  • A.Sunlight is not needed
  • B.Without water nothing grows at all
  • C.Grass hates sunlight
7.How long should a plant test run?
  • A.One afternoon
  • B.Until somebody gets bored
  • C.Long enough for a difference to show, such as three weeks
8.Tray 3 had water and no sunlight and grew pale thin grass. What does that show?
  • A.Water lets it grow, but sunlight is needed to grow thick and green
  • B.Sunlight does nothing
  • C.Water is not needed

LessonPrint · 2-LS2-1 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Sunlight, Water, or Both

Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.It shows what happens with nothing, to compare the others against
  2. 2.Two things now differ, so the result cannot be explained
  3. 3.The seed, the soil and the tray
  4. 4.So only the sunlight and the water differed between them
  5. 5.A tray with water and light but no soil
  6. 6.Without water nothing grows at all
  7. 7.Long enough for a difference to show, such as three weeks
  8. 8.Water lets it grow, but sunlight is needed to grow thick and green

More practice for 2-LS2-1

Test whether plants need sunlight and water to grow.

Teaching this next? Sunlight, Water, or Both is the 50-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 2 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 2-LS2-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.