Keeping the Sea Clean is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on how communities use science to protect coasts and oceans, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 5-ESS3-1. 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 students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
1.Why do some places charge a small amount for plastic carrier bags?
A.Fewer bags are used, so fewer end up in rivers and the sea
B.To make bags stronger
C.To make the stores tidier
2.A fishing town's catches fall year after year. What could help the fish recover?
A.An area of sea where no fishing is allowed, so fish can breed
B.Catching the fish faster
C.Using bigger boats
3.Why do some fishing laws require nets with bigger holes?
A.So the nets are lighter
B.So young fish escape and grow up to breed
C.So more fish are caught
4.Why are tiny plastic beads banned from face washes in many countries?
A.They are too expensive
B.They wash down drains into the sea and are eaten by sea life
C.They make faces too clean
5.Volunteers record every kind of litter they pick up on a beach. Why record the kinds?
A.So the town can tackle where most of it comes from
B.So the beach looks busy
C.So the litter weighs more
6.Why do scientists count seabirds on a cliff every year?
A.To notice early if their numbers start to fall, so the cause can be found
B.To feed the birds
C.To scare the birds away
7.Boats' anchors are tearing up a seagrass meadow. What could a harbor do?
A.Use heavier anchors
B.Put in fixed moorings so boats do not need to drop anchor
C.Ban everyone from the harbor for ever
8.Storm drains carry street litter into the sea. What could a town do?
A.Fit nets or screens on the drains to catch litter
B.Make the drains wider
C.Sweep the litter into the drains
LessonPrint · 5-ESS3-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Keeping the Sea Clean
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.Fewer bags are used, so fewer end up in rivers and the sea
2.An area of sea where no fishing is allowed, so fish can breed
3.So young fish escape and grow up to breed
4.They wash down drains into the sea and are eaten by sea life
5.So the town can tackle where most of it comes from
6.To notice early if their numbers start to fall, so the cause can be found
7.Put in fixed moorings so boats do not need to drop anchor
8.Fit nets or screens on the drains to catch litter
Questions about Keeping the Sea Clean
What does the Keeping the Sea Clean worksheet cover?
It practices how communities use science to protect coasts and oceans — 8 questions for Grade 5, all on NGSS 5-ESS3-1: Gather information on how communities use science to protect resources. The instruction to students is “Circle the best answer”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does Keeping the Sea Clean practice?
5-ESS3-1, under Earth and Space Science for Grade 5. The published performance expectation reads: “Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Keeping the Sea Clean is written for Grade 5, typically ages 10-11. It is one of the sheets on 5-ESS3-1, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Keeping the Sea Clean come with an answer key?
Yes. All 8 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Keeping the Sea Clean can I print?
25 — one per student, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Keeping the Sea Clean free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Keeping the Sea Clean, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
More practice for 5-ESS3-1
Gather information on how communities use science to protect resources.