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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 25 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 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
2.Two powders both dissolve in water. What does that tell you?
  • A.One must be sugar
  • B.Not enough to tell them apart; another test is needed
  • C.They are the same substance
3.Powder C fizzes with vinegar and the others do not. What is that test good for?
  • A.Nothing useful
  • B.Separating C from the rest
  • C.Identifying all four
4.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
5.What makes an identification trustworthy?
  • A.One striking result
  • B.A confident guess
  • C.Several properties agreeing, tested the same way each time
6.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
7.Why is colour a weak property for identifying these powders?
  • A.All four are white, so it separates none of them
  • B.Colour cannot be observed
  • C.Colour is not a property
8.What is a property, in this test?
  • A.Something the material does that can be observed and compared
  • B.What it is called
  • C.Where it was bought

LessonPrint · 5-PS1-3 · Set 25 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Four White Powders

Set 25. Prints on its own sheet.

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