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Sunflowers in Sun and Shade is a free printable Grade 3 science worksheet on using measured heights as evidence that surroundings change a trait, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 3-LS3-2. 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 17 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.

Sunflowers in Sun and Shade

3-LS3-2

NameDate

Read the record, then answer the questions.

1.Read the record, then answer the questions.

Sunflowers From One Packet

Heights measured after ten weeks, from one packet of seed sown in two places. HEIGHTS AFTER TEN WEEKS Sunny bed: 148 cm, 152 cm, 139 cm, 155 cm, 144 cm Shady bed: 96 cm, 88 cm, 102 cm, 91 cm, 85 cm All seeds came from the same packet. All had the same soil and the same watering. Every plant had yellow flowers and a thick stem.

  1. 1. What was the tallest plant in the sunny bed?
  2. 2. What would a third bed with even less light probably show?
  3. 3. What was kept the same between the two beds?
  4. 4. Why did plants from one packet end up different heights?
2.Hydrangea bushes of one kind have blue flowers in some soils and pink in others. What causes the difference?
  • A.The soil they grow in
  • B.The bushes are different kinds
  • C.The gardener's favorite color
3.How could you test whether light affects the height of a plant?
  • A.Grow seeds from one packet, some in light and some in shade, with everything else the same
  • B.Grow one plant and measure it once
  • C.Grow different kinds of seed in the same place
4.Two cuttings from one geranium grow on a sunny windowsill and in a dark corner. Which will probably have greener, sturdier leaves?
  • A.The one in the dark corner
  • B.The one on the sunny windowsill
  • C.Both exactly the same, because they came from one plant
5.Flamingos get their pink color from the food they eat. What does that show?
  • A.Their surroundings, through their food, affect a trait
  • B.The color is only inherited
  • C.All birds are pink
6.A tree on a windy hilltop is short and bent. A tree of the same kind in a valley is tall and straight. What explains it?
  • A.The hilltop tree is older
  • B.The wind on the hilltop affected how it grew
  • C.The two trees are different kinds
7.Identical twins grow up apart, and one does far more sport. One is much stronger. Inherited or surroundings?
  • A.Neither
  • B.Surroundings, because the twins started the same
  • C.Inherited, because they are twins

LessonPrint · 3-LS3-2 · Set 17 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Sunflowers in Sun and Shade

Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. 155 cm. 2. Plants shorter than the shady bed's, if less sunlight means less growth. 3. The same seed packet, the same soil and the same watering. 4. The plants in the shady bed had less sunlight, which affected their growth.
  2. 2.The soil they grow in
  3. 3.Grow seeds from one packet, some in light and some in shade, with everything else the same
  4. 4.The one on the sunny windowsill
  5. 5.Their surroundings, through their food, affect a trait
  6. 6.The wind on the hilltop affected how it grew
  7. 7.Surroundings, because the twins started the same

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 3-LS3-2 of the Next Generation Science Standards.