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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. How many starfish were in the low pool?
  3. 3. Barnacles were most common in the high pool. What does that suggest about them?
  4. 4. Why count for ten minutes at each pool?
2.A crab from a rock pool is left on dry sand in the hot sun. What will happen?
  • A.It will be fine all day
  • B.It will survive less well, or not at all, unless it gets back to water
  • C.It will grow faster
3.Why are there no coral reefs in polar seas?
  • A.Reef coral needs warm water to survive
  • B.Polar bears eat the coral
  • C.Polar seas are too salty for fish
4.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
5.Why can mussels and barnacles live where the waves crash?
  • A.They are fixed tight to the rocks, and the waves bring them food
  • B.They swim away from every wave
  • C.Waves cannot reach them
6.What would happen to a kelp forest if the sea became very cloudy?
  • A.The kelp would get less light and grow less well
  • B.The kelp would grow faster
  • C.Nothing would change
7.Why do some animals in the deep sea have no working eyes?
  • A.There is no light to see by down there
  • B.They are always asleep
  • C.The water is too salty for eyes

LessonPrint · 3-LS4-3 · Set 8 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Three Rock Pools

Set 8. 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. 5 starfish. 3. Barnacles can survive being out of the sea for most of the day. 4. So each pool was searched for the same time and the counts can be compared.
  2. 2.It will survive less well, or not at all, unless it gets back to water
  3. 3.Reef coral needs warm water to survive
  4. 4.To attract prey in the dark deep sea, where no sunlight reaches
  5. 5.They are fixed tight to the rocks, and the waves bring them food
  6. 6.The kelp would get less light and grow less well
  7. 7.There is no light to see by down there

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