Skip to content
LessonPrint

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 5 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

Next setLesson plan

One paper per pupil

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

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.What makes an identification trustworthy?
  • A.One striking result
  • B.A confident guess
  • C.Several properties agreeing, tested the same way each time
2.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
3.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
4.Why must the same amount of each powder be used?
  • A.To use up the powders
  • B.So the results can be compared fairly
  • C.It does not matter
5.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
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.Colour cannot be observed
  • B.All four are white, so it separates none of them
  • C.Colour is not a property
8.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

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

Answer key — Four White Powders

Set 5. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Several properties agreeing, tested the same way each time
  2. 2.Something the material does that can be observed and compared
  3. 3.Find a combination of results unique to each unknown
  4. 4.So the results can be compared fairly
  5. 5.Not enough to tell them apart; another test is needed
  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.Separating C from the rest

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.