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Four Ways Energy Travels is a free printable Grade 4 science worksheet on evidence that energy is transferred by sound, light, heat and electric current, aligned to Common Core standard 4-PS3-2. It prints 3 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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One paper per pupil

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All 25 sets ask different questions.

Four Ways Energy Travels

4-PS3-2

NameDate

Sort each one into how the energy travelled.

1.Sort each one: By sound or By light or By heat or By electric current?

Sort: A battery lights a bulb along a wire, A solar cell turns a small fan, Thunder shakes a door, A hot pan warms the handle

By soundBy lightBy heatBy electric current
2.Sort each one: By sound or By light or By heat or By electric current?

Sort: A radiator warms the air across a room, A struck tuning fork makes a paper cone buzz, A switch starts a buzzer across the bench, Sunlight warms a dark cloth

By soundBy lightBy heatBy electric current
3.Sort each one: By sound or By light or By heat or By electric current?

Sort: A loudspeaker rattles a window, A spoon in hot water warms at the far end, A torch lights a card across the room, A cell turns a motor at the end of a circuit

By soundBy lightBy heatBy electric current

LessonPrint · 4-PS3-2 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Four Ways Energy Travels

Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. A battery lights a bulb along a wire — By electric current 2. A hot pan warms the handle — By heat 3. A solar cell turns a small fan — By light 4. Thunder shakes a door — By sound
  2. 2.1. A radiator warms the air across a room — By heat 2. A struck tuning fork makes a paper cone buzz — By sound 3. A switch starts a buzzer across the bench — By electric current 4. Sunlight warms a dark cloth — By light
  3. 3.1. A cell turns a motor at the end of a circuit — By electric current 2. A loudspeaker rattles a window — By sound 3. A spoon in hot water warms at the far end — By heat 4. A torch lights a card across the room — By light

Questions about Four Ways Energy Travels

What does the Four Ways Energy Travels worksheet cover?

It practises evidence that energy is transferred by sound, light, heat and electric current — 3 questions for Grade 4, all on Common Core 4-PS3-2: Show that energy travels by sound, light, heat and electric current. The instruction to pupils is “Sort each one into how the energy travelled”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.

Which Common Core standard does Four Ways Energy Travels practise?

4-PS3-2 — 4-PS3-2, in the Physical Science domain for Grade 4. The published standard reads: “Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.

What age or grade is this worksheet for?

Four Ways Energy Travels is written for Grade 4, typically ages 9-10. It is one of the sheets on 4-PS3-2, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.

Does Four Ways Energy Travels come with an answer key?

Yes. All 3 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.

How many different versions of Four Ways Energy Travels can I print?

25 — one per pupil, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.

Is Four Ways Energy Travels free to print and photocopy?

Yes. Four Ways Energy Travels, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.

Is there a lesson plan to teach 4-PS3-2?

Yes — “Four Ways Energy Travels” is a 55-minute Grade 4 plan for 4-PS3-2, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Four Ways Energy Travels is the practice that follows it.

More practice for 4-PS3-2

Show that energy travels by sound, light, heat and electric current.

Teaching this next? Four Ways Energy Travels is the 55-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 4 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 4-PS3-2 of the Next Generation Science Standards.