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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.

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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 claim does this record support?
  2. 2. What would a third bed with even less light probably show?
  3. 3. What was the tallest plant in the sunny bed?
  4. 4. Why did plants from one packet end up different heights?
2.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 on the sunny windowsill
  • B.The one in the dark corner
  • C.Both exactly the same, because they came from one plant
3.Flamingos get their pink color from the food they eat. What does that show?
  • A.All birds are pink
  • B.Their surroundings, through their food, affect a trait
  • C.The color is only inherited
4.A kind of plant that normally grows tall is given too little water. What happens?
  • A.It grows short and stunted
  • B.It changes into a different kind of plant
  • C.It grows taller than normal
5.How could you test whether light affects the height of a plant?
  • A.Grow different kinds of seed in the same place
  • B.Grow seeds from one packet, some in light and some in shade, with everything else the same
  • C.Grow one plant and measure it once
6.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
7.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 wind on the hilltop affected how it grew
  • B.The two trees are different kinds
  • C.The hilltop tree is older

LessonPrint · 3-LS3-2 · Set 25 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Sunflowers in Sun and Shade

Set 25. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Seed from one packet grew to different heights, so the sunny and shady beds changed how tall the plants grew. 2. Plants shorter than the shady bed's, if less sunlight means less growth. 3. 155 cm. 4. The plants in the shady bed had less sunlight, which affected their growth.
  2. 2.The one on the sunny windowsill
  3. 3.Their surroundings, through their food, affect a trait
  4. 4.It grows short and stunted
  5. 5.Grow seeds from one packet, some in light and some in shade, with everything else the same
  6. 6.Growing without light
  7. 7.The wind on the hilltop affected how it grew

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