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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 20 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.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 town can tackle where most of it comes from
  • C.So the litter weighs more
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.Using bigger boats
  • C.Catching the fish faster
3.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
4.Why are tiny plastic beads banned from face washes in many countries?
  • A.They are too expensive
  • B.They make faces too clean
  • C.They wash down drains into the sea and are eaten by sea life
5.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 the stores tidier
  • C.To make bags stronger
6.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
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.Sweep the litter into the drains
  • B.Make the drains wider
  • C.Fit nets or screens on the drains to catch litter

LessonPrint · 5-ESS3-1 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Keeping the Sea Clean

Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.So the town can tackle where most of it comes from
  2. 2.An area of sea where no fishing is allowed, so fish can breed
  3. 3.Sea life and the people who swim there
  4. 4.They wash down drains into the sea and are eaten by sea life
  5. 5.Fewer bags are used, so fewer end up in rivers and the sea
  6. 6.So young fish escape and grow up to breed
  7. 7.Put in fixed moorings so boats do not need to drop anchor
  8. 8.Fit nets or screens on the drains to catch litter

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