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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 15 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.

Keeping the Sea Clean

5-ESS3-1

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.Waste water is cleaned at a works before it reaches the sea. What does that protect?
  • A.Only the pipes
  • B.Nothing, the sea cleans itself
  • C.Sea life and the people who swim there
2.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
3.A fishing town's catches fall year after year. What could help the fish recover?
  • A.Using bigger boats
  • B.Catching the fish faster
  • C.An area of sea where no fishing is allowed, so fish can breed
4.Volunteers record every kind of litter they pick up on a beach. Why record the kinds?
  • A.So the beach looks busy
  • B.So the litter weighs more
  • C.So the town can tackle where most of it comes from
5.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
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.A beach survey found most of the litter was plastic bottles and their tops. Which measure uses that evidence best?
  • A.Painting the bins blue
  • B.A scheme that pays people back for returning bottles
  • C.Closing the beach in winter
8.Why might a community replant seagrass and salt marsh along its coast?
  • A.They keep tourists away
  • B.They make the sea saltier
  • C.They shelter young fish and hold the mud in place

LessonPrint · 5-ESS3-1 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Keeping the Sea Clean

Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Sea life and the people who swim there
  2. 2.Put in fixed moorings so boats do not need to drop anchor
  3. 3.An area of sea where no fishing is allowed, so fish can breed
  4. 4.So the town can tackle where most of it comes from
  5. 5.Fit nets or screens on the drains to catch litter
  6. 6.To notice early if their numbers start to fall, so the cause can be found
  7. 7.A scheme that pays people back for returning bottles
  8. 8.They shelter young fish and hold the mud in place

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 5-ESS3-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.