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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 19 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 does this record not tell you?
  2. 2. What claim does this record support?
  3. 3. What was the tallest plant in the sunny bed?
  4. 4. What would a third bed with even less light probably show?
2.Why use seeds from the same packet when testing surroundings?
  • A.So any difference is caused by the surroundings, not different parents
  • B.Because packets are cheaper
  • C.So they look the same in photos
3.A seedling grown in a dark cupboard is pale and spindly. What caused that?
  • A.Growing without light
  • B.It was too warm
  • C.It came from a pale parent
4.How could you test whether light affects the height of a plant?
  • A.Grow one plant and measure it once
  • B.Grow different kinds of seed in the same place
  • C.Grow seeds from one packet, some in light and some in shade, with everything else the same
5.Flamingos get their pink color from the food they eat. What does that show?
  • A.The color is only inherited
  • B.All birds are pink
  • C.Their surroundings, through their food, affect a trait
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.A kind of plant that normally grows tall is given too little water. What happens?
  • A.It grows taller than normal
  • B.It changes into a different kind of plant
  • C.It grows short and stunted

LessonPrint · 3-LS3-2 · Set 19 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Sunflowers in Sun and Shade

Set 19. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. It does not tell you how much sunlight each bed actually received. 2. Seed from one packet grew to different heights, so the sunny and shady beds changed how tall the plants grew. 3. 155 cm. 4. Plants shorter than the shady bed's, if less sunlight means less growth.
  2. 2.So any difference is caused by the surroundings, not different parents
  3. 3.Growing without light
  4. 4.Grow seeds from one packet, some in light and some in shade, with everything else the same
  5. 5.Their surroundings, through their food, affect a trait
  6. 6.The wind on the hilltop affected how it grew
  7. 7.It grows short and stunted

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