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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 2 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.All four are white, so it separates none of them
  • B.Colour is not a property
  • C.Colour cannot be observed
2.You have four tests and four unknowns. What is the aim?
  • A.Use every test on one powder
  • B.Get four fizzes
  • C.Find a combination of results unique to each unknown
3.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
4.Two unknowns give identical results on every test you ran. What follows?
  • A.The tests were wrong
  • B.You need a new test, or they may be the same material
  • C.They are definitely different
5.What makes an identification trustworthy?
  • A.Several properties agreeing, tested the same way each time
  • B.A confident guess
  • C.One striking result
6.Why must the same amount of each powder be used?
  • A.So the results can be compared fairly
  • B.It does not matter
  • C.To use up the powders
7.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
8.What is a property, in this test?
  • A.Where it was bought
  • B.What it is called
  • C.Something the material does that can be observed and compared

LessonPrint · 5-PS1-3 · Set 2 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Four White Powders

Set 2. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.