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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. How many starfish were in the low pool?
  2. 2. Where would you look to find more kelp?
  3. 3. What claim does this survey support?
  4. 4. Barnacles were most common in the high pool. What does that suggest about them?
2.Why does an anglerfish have a glowing lure on its head?
  • A.To keep itself warm
  • B.To attract prey in the dark deep sea, where no sunlight reaches
  • C.To scare the sun away
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 be fine all day
  • C.It will grow faster
4.How can a seal live in icy seas?
  • A.It never gets wet
  • B.It lives on land all year
  • C.A thick layer of fat under its skin keeps it warm
5.What would happen to a kelp forest if the sea became very cloudy?
  • A.The kelp would grow faster
  • B.Nothing would change
  • C.The kelp would get less light and grow less well
6.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
7.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

LessonPrint · 3-LS4-3 · Set 6 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Three Rock Pools

Set 6. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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