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What Counts, and What Limits is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 science worksheet on defining a design problem with criteria and constraints, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 3-5-ETS1-1. 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.

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All 25 sets ask different questions.

What Counts, and What Limits

3-5-ETS1-1

NameDate

Sort each one into criterion or constraint.

1.Sort each one: Criterion: what success means or Constraint: what limits you?

Sort: The model must convert one energy form into another, It must be built from recycled materials only, The light must be visible at fifty meters, It must be carried by one person

Criterion: what success meansConstraint: what limits you
2.Sort each one: Criterion: what success means or Constraint: what limits you?

Sort: You have two afternoons to build and test it, The device must send a message in under ten seconds, No mains electricity may be used, The bank must stop 90 out of 100 homes flooding

Criterion: what success meansConstraint: what limits you
3.Sort each one: Criterion: what success means or Constraint: what limits you?

Sort: The budget is ten pounds, The shelter must stay standing in a strong wind, The alarm must be heard from the far gate, Nothing may be screwed into the wall

Criterion: what success meansConstraint: what limits you

LessonPrint · 3-5-ETS1-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What Counts, and What Limits

Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. It must be built from recycled materials only — Constraint: what limits you 2. It must be carried by one person — Constraint: what limits you 3. The light must be visible at fifty meters — Criterion: what success means 4. The model must convert one energy form into another — Criterion: what success means
  2. 2.1. No mains electricity may be used — Constraint: what limits you 2. The bank must stop 90 out of 100 homes flooding — Criterion: what success means 3. The device must send a message in under ten seconds — Criterion: what success means 4. You have two afternoons to build and test it — Constraint: what limits you
  3. 3.1. Nothing may be screwed into the wall — Constraint: what limits you 2. The alarm must be heard from the far gate — Criterion: what success means 3. The budget is ten pounds — Constraint: what limits you 4. The shelter must stay standing in a strong wind — Criterion: what success means

Questions about What Counts, and What Limits

What does the What Counts, and What Limits worksheet cover?

It practices defining a design problem with criteria and constraints — 3 questions for Grade 3 to Grade 5, all on NGSS 3-5-ETS1-1: Define a design problem, with what counts as success and what limits you. The instruction to students is “Sort each one into criterion or constraint”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.

Which NGSS performance expectation does What Counts, and What Limits practice?

3-5-ETS1-1, under Engineering Design for Grade 3 to Grade 5. The published performance expectation reads: “Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.

What age or grade is this worksheet for?

What Counts, and What Limits is written for Grade 3 to Grade 5, typically ages 40-41. It is one of the sheets on 3-5-ETS1-1, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.

Does What Counts, and What Limits 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 What Counts, and What Limits 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 What Counts, and What Limits free to print and photocopy?

Yes. What Counts, and What Limits, 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 3-5-ETS1-1?

Yes — “What Counts, and What Limits” is a 55-minute Grade 3 to Grade 5 plan for 3-5-ETS1-1, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. What Counts, and What Limits is the practice that follows it.

More practice for 3-5-ETS1-1

Define a design problem, with what counts as success and what limits you.

Teaching this next? What Counts, and What Limits is the 55-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 to Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 3-5-ETS1-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.