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Three Rock Pools is a free printable Grade 3 science worksheet on using rock-pool counts to argue which sea creatures survive well where, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 3-LS4-3. 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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Three Rock Pools

3-LS4-3

NameDate

Read the record, then answer the questions.

1.Read the record, then answer the questions.

Three Rock Pools

Counts the class made in three rock pools at low tide: one high on the shore, one in the middle and one near the sea. WHAT WE COUNTED High pool (out of the sea for most of the day): 30 barnacles, 6 limpets, some green seaweed, no starfish, no kelp Middle pool: 12 limpets, 9 sea anemones, 4 crabs, brown seaweed, no kelp Low pool (covered by the sea for all but an hour a day): 5 starfish, 11 sea anemones, 6 crabs, kelp, 3 small fish The high pool's water was the warmest, and its level dropped most in the sun. We counted for ten minutes at each pool.

  1. 1. Where was the kelp found?
  2. 2. Barnacles were most common in the high pool. What does that suggest about them?
  3. 3. Where would you look to find more kelp?
  4. 4. Why might starfish survive well in the low pool but not in the high pool?
2.Which ocean habitat could a polar bear survive in?
  • A.A warm coral reef
  • B.The sea ice of the Arctic
  • C.The floor of the deep dark sea
3.Why does an anglerfish have a glowing lure on its head?
  • A.To attract prey in the dark deep sea, where no sunlight reaches
  • B.To scare the sun away
  • C.To keep itself warm
4.A crab from a rock pool is left on dry sand in the hot sun. What will happen?
  • A.It will grow faster
  • B.It will be fine all day
  • C.It will survive less well, or not at all, unless it gets back to water
5.Why do some animals in the deep sea have no working eyes?
  • A.They are always asleep
  • B.There is no light to see by down there
  • C.The water is too salty for eyes
6.A limpet clamps tight to a rock when the tide goes out. How does that help?
  • A.It helps it swim
  • B.It keeps it warm
  • C.It stops it drying out until the sea comes back
7.How can a seal live in icy seas?
  • A.It never gets wet
  • B.A thick layer of fat under its skin keeps it warm
  • C.It lives on land all year

LessonPrint · 3-LS4-3 · Set 11 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Three Rock Pools

Set 11. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Only in the low pool. 2. Barnacles can survive being out of the sea for most of the day. 3. Lower down the shore, near the sea like the low pool. 4. The low pool is covered by the sea nearly all day, while the high pool warms up and its water drops in the sun.
  2. 2.The sea ice of the Arctic
  3. 3.To attract prey in the dark deep sea, where no sunlight reaches
  4. 4.It will survive less well, or not at all, unless it gets back to water
  5. 5.There is no light to see by down there
  6. 6.It stops it drying out until the sea comes back
  7. 7.A thick layer of fat under its skin keeps it warm

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 3-LS4-3 of the Next Generation Science Standards.