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Setting the Bar and the Bounds is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 science worksheet on defining a design problem with criteria and constraints, aligned to Common Core standard 3-5-ETS1-1. It prints 3 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 15 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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One paper per pupil

Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Setting the Bar and the Bounds

3-5-ETS1-1

NameDate

Sort each one into criterion or constraint.

LessonPrint · 3-5-ETS1-1 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Setting the Bar and the Bounds

Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. It must be safe to leave unsupervised — Constraint: what limits you 2. It must survive a week outdoors — Criterion: what success means 3. No part may need mains water — Constraint: what limits you 4. The model must cycle matter back to the soil — Criterion: what success means
  2. 2.1. The budget is fifteen pounds — Constraint: what limits you 2. The design must cut water use by a quarter — Criterion: what success means 3. The filter must remove all visible sediment — Criterion: what success means 4. You may use only materials already in school — Constraint: what limits you
  3. 3.1. It must be finished within three lessons — Constraint: what limits you 2. It must be understood by a Year 2 class — Criterion: what success means 3. Nothing may be dug into the field — Constraint: what limits you 4. The store must keep water cool for six hours — Criterion: what success means

More practice for 3-5-ETS1-1

Define a design problem, with what counts as success and what limits you.

Teaching this next? Setting the Bar and the Bounds is the 60-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 to Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 3-5-ETS1-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.