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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 9 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.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
2.Boats' anchors are tearing up a seagrass meadow. What could a harbor do?
  • A.Put in fixed moorings so boats do not need to drop anchor
  • B.Ban everyone from the harbor for ever
  • C.Use heavier anchors
3.Why do some fishing laws require nets with bigger holes?
  • A.So more fish are caught
  • B.So the nets are lighter
  • C.So young fish escape and grow up to breed
4.A town turns off its seafront lights during the turtle nesting season. How could it check this worked?
  • A.Count how many hatchlings reach the sea before and after
  • B.Ask people whether they liked the dark
  • C.Count the streetlights
5.Why do scientists count seabirds on a cliff every year?
  • A.To scare the birds away
  • B.To feed the birds
  • C.To notice early if their numbers start to fall, so the cause can be found
6.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
7.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.Sweep the litter into the drains
  • C.Make the drains wider
8.A fishing town's catches fall year after year. What could help the fish recover?
  • A.Catching the fish faster
  • B.An area of sea where no fishing is allowed, so fish can breed
  • C.Using bigger boats

LessonPrint · 5-ESS3-1 · Set 9 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Keeping the Sea Clean

Set 9. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.They shelter young fish and hold the mud in place
  2. 2.Put in fixed moorings so boats do not need to drop anchor
  3. 3.So young fish escape and grow up to breed
  4. 4.Count how many hatchlings reach the sea before and after
  5. 5.To notice early if their numbers start to fall, so the cause can be found
  6. 6.They wash down drains into the sea and are eaten by sea life
  7. 7.Fit nets or screens on the drains to catch litter
  8. 8.An area of sea where no fishing is allowed, so fish can breed

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