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

LessonPrint · 5-PS1-3 · Set 17 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Four White Powders

Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.