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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 18 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.

Sunlight, Water, or Both

2-LS2-1

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.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.Water is not needed
  • C.Sunlight does nothing
2.A pupil waters one tray more than the others. What is wrong?
  • A.Nothing, more water is better
  • B.The tray will be tidier
  • C.Two things now differ, so the result cannot be explained
3.Why were all four trays sown on the same day?
  • A.So the trays matched
  • B.So the class was busy
  • C.So only the sunlight and the water differed between them
4.How long should a plant test run?
  • A.Until somebody gets bored
  • B.Long enough for a difference to show, such as three weeks
  • C.One afternoon
5.Tray 4 had neither. What does its result add?
  • A.It proves soil is useless
  • B.Nothing at all
  • C.It shows what happens with nothing, to compare the others against
6.What should be kept the same in a plant test?
  • A.The amount of light in every tray
  • B.Nothing, so it is interesting
  • C.The seed, the soil and the tray
7.What would settle whether a plant needs soil as well?
  • A.A tray with water and light but no soil
  • B.Watching tray 1 for longer
  • C.Asking a gardener
8.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

LessonPrint · 2-LS2-1 · Set 18 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Sunlight, Water, or Both

Set 18. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.