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Is That Design Worth It? is a free printable Grade 3 science worksheet on judging the merit of a design that reduces a weather hazard, aligned to Common Core standard 3-ESS3-1. 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 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 21 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.

Is That Design Worth It?

3-ESS3-1

NameDate

Read the survey, then answer.

1.Read the record, then answer the questions.

After the Storm

A survey of the school grounds the morning after a gale, with the weather record for that week. THE WEEK AND THE DAMAGE Mon-Thu: light wind, no damage Friday: gale, gusts to 70 mph Damage: 3 fence panels down, 1 tree branch broken, bins across the yard The bins in the sheltered corner did not move. The fence on the sheltered side did not fall.

  1. 1. What would shelter round the bin area probably do?
  2. 2. What claim does this survey support?
2.A design works in a light gale but not a severe one. What should you say?
  • A.It reduces some damage but not all, and say at what strength it fails
  • B.It does not work
  • C.It works perfectly
3.Bins in the sheltered corner did not move in the gale. What design does that suggest?
  • A.Moving the bins into the wind
  • B.Heavier bin lids only
  • C.A windbreak round the bin area
4.Lightning rods on a school. What hazard do they reduce?
  • A.Strong wind
  • B.Damage and fire from a lightning strike
  • C.Flooding
5.A flood barrier protects one street and floods the next. How do you judge it?
  • A.Only count the street it saved
  • B.Count the harm it moves as well as the harm it stops
  • C.Ignore the second street
6.What should a claim about a design's merit include?
  • A.Only how it looks
  • B.Evidence of what it reduced, and what it cost
  • C.Only what it cost
7.What makes a hazard design worth its cost?
  • A.It reduces damage by more than it costs to build
  • B.It looks impressive
  • C.It is quick to make

LessonPrint · 3-ESS3-1 · Set 21 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Is That Design Worth It?

Set 21. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Stop the bins blowing across the yard in the next gale. 2. Shelter reduces the damage a gale does.
  2. 2.It reduces some damage but not all, and say at what strength it fails
  3. 3.A windbreak round the bin area
  4. 4.Damage and fire from a lightning strike
  5. 5.Count the harm it moves as well as the harm it stops
  6. 6.Evidence of what it reduced, and what it cost
  7. 7.It reduces damage by more than it costs to build

More practice for 3-ESS3-1

Judge a design meant to reduce the damage from a weather hazard.

Teaching this next? Is That Design Worth It? is the 55-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 3-ESS3-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.