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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. Why might starfish survive well in the low pool but not in the high pool?
  2. 2. What claim does this survey support?
  3. 3. Where was the kelp found?
  4. 4. Barnacles were most common in the high pool. What does that suggest about them?
2.Which ocean habitat could a polar bear survive in?
  • A.The floor of the deep dark sea
  • B.A warm coral reef
  • C.The sea ice of the Arctic
3.A crab from a rock pool is left on dry sand in the hot sun. What will happen?
  • A.It will survive less well, or not at all, unless it gets back to water
  • B.It will grow faster
  • C.It will be fine all day
4.What would happen to a kelp forest if the sea became very cloudy?
  • A.Nothing would change
  • B.The kelp would get less light and grow less well
  • C.The kelp would grow faster
5.Why does kelp grow only in shallow water?
  • A.It is too heavy for deep water
  • B.It needs sunlight, which cannot reach the deep sea
  • C.It cannot swim
6.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 keep itself warm
  • C.To scare the sun away
7.Why are there no coral reefs in polar seas?
  • A.Polar bears eat the coral
  • B.Polar seas are too salty for fish
  • C.Reef coral needs warm water to survive

LessonPrint · 3-LS4-3 · Set 4 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Three Rock Pools

Set 4. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. 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. Some sea creatures survive well high on the shore, and others only in the pool near the sea. 3. Only in the low pool. 4. Barnacles can survive being out of the sea for most of the day.
  2. 2.The sea ice of the Arctic
  3. 3.It will survive less well, or not at all, unless it gets back to water
  4. 4.The kelp would get less light and grow less well
  5. 5.It needs sunlight, which cannot reach the deep sea
  6. 6.To attract prey in the dark deep sea, where no sunlight reaches
  7. 7.Reef coral needs warm water to survive

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