Renewable or Not? is a free printable Grade 4 science worksheet on sorting energy resources by whether nature replaces them as they are used, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 4-ESS3-1. 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 students 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.
1.Sort each one: Renewable: nature replaces it quickly or Nonrenewable: once used, it is gone?
Sort: Coal dug from a mine, Wind turning the blades of a turbine, A river flowing through a dam, Diesel made from oil
Renewable: nature replaces it quicklyNonrenewable: once used, it is gone
2.Sort each one: Renewable: nature replaces it quickly or Nonrenewable: once used, it is gone?
Sort: Waves rising and falling at sea, Heat from deep underground, Uranium for a nuclear power station, Natural gas piped from underground
Renewable: nature replaces it quicklyNonrenewable: once used, it is gone
3.Sort each one: Renewable: nature replaces it quickly or Nonrenewable: once used, it is gone?
Sort: Oil pumped from under the sea bed, Gasoline made from oil, Sunlight falling on solar panels, Fuel made from crops grown each year
Renewable: nature replaces it quicklyNonrenewable: once used, it is gone
LessonPrint · 4-ESS3-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Renewable or Not?
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. A river flowing through a dam — Renewable: nature replaces it quickly 2. Coal dug from a mine — Nonrenewable: once used, it is gone 3. Diesel made from oil — Nonrenewable: once used, it is gone 4. Wind turning the blades of a turbine — Renewable: nature replaces it quickly
2.1. Heat from deep underground — Renewable: nature replaces it quickly 2. Natural gas piped from underground — Nonrenewable: once used, it is gone 3. Uranium for a nuclear power station — Nonrenewable: once used, it is gone 4. Waves rising and falling at sea — Renewable: nature replaces it quickly
3.1. Fuel made from crops grown each year — Renewable: nature replaces it quickly 2. Gasoline made from oil — Nonrenewable: once used, it is gone 3. Oil pumped from under the sea bed — Nonrenewable: once used, it is gone 4. Sunlight falling on solar panels — Renewable: nature replaces it quickly
Questions about Renewable or Not?
What does the Renewable or Not? worksheet cover?
It practices sorting energy resources by whether nature replaces them as they are used — 3 questions for Grade 4, all on NGSS 4-ESS3-1: Explain where energy and fuels come from and what using them does. The instruction to students is “Sort each energy source into the right group”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does Renewable or Not? practice?
4-ESS3-1, under Earth and Space Science for Grade 4. The published performance expectation reads: “Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and that their uses affect the environment.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Renewable or Not? is written for Grade 4, typically ages 9-10. It is one of the sheets on 4-ESS3-1, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Renewable or Not? 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 Renewable or Not? can I print?
25 — one per student, 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 Renewable or Not? free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Renewable or Not?, 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.
More practice for 4-ESS3-1
Explain where energy and fuels come from and what using them does.