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Four White Powders is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on identifying materials by testing their properties, aligned to Common Core standard 5-PS1-3. It prints 8 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 10 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Four White Powders

5-PS1-3

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.Two unknowns give identical results on every test you ran. What follows?
  • A.They are definitely different
  • B.You need a new test, or they may be the same material
  • C.The tests were wrong
2.Why must the same amount of each powder be used?
  • A.It does not matter
  • B.So the results can be compared fairly
  • C.To use up the powders
3.Why is colour a weak property for identifying these powders?
  • A.Colour is not a property
  • B.All four are white, so it separates none of them
  • C.Colour cannot be observed
4.Powder C fizzes with vinegar and the others do not. What is that test good for?
  • A.Separating C from the rest
  • B.Identifying all four
  • C.Nothing useful
5.Two powders both dissolve in water. What does that tell you?
  • A.Not enough to tell them apart; another test is needed
  • B.One must be sugar
  • C.They are the same substance
6.What is a property, in this test?
  • A.Something the material does that can be observed and compared
  • B.Where it was bought
  • C.What it is called
7.What makes an identification trustworthy?
  • A.A confident guess
  • B.Several properties agreeing, tested the same way each time
  • C.One striking result
8.You have four tests and four unknowns. What is the aim?
  • A.Get four fizzes
  • B.Use every test on one powder
  • C.Find a combination of results unique to each unknown

LessonPrint · 5-PS1-3 · Set 10 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Four White Powders

Set 10. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.You need a new test, or they may be the same material
  2. 2.So the results can be compared fairly
  3. 3.All four are white, so it separates none of them
  4. 4.Separating C from the rest
  5. 5.Not enough to tell them apart; another test is needed
  6. 6.Something the material does that can be observed and compared
  7. 7.Several properties agreeing, tested the same way each time
  8. 8.Find a combination of results unique to each unknown

More practice for 5-PS1-3

Identify a material by its properties.

Teaching this next? Four White Powders is the 60-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 5-PS1-3 of the Next Generation Science Standards.