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The Compost Bin, Month by Month is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on using a year of compost records as evidence that decomposers return matter, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 5-LS2-1. It prints 7 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.

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

The Compost Bin, Month by Month

5-LS2-1

NameDate

Read the record, then answer the questions.

1.Read the record, then answer the questions.

The Compost Bin, Month by Month

Monthly notes and masses from the school compost bin, over one year. WHAT WENT IN AND WHAT CAME OUT September: 40 kg of leaves, peelings and grass added December: pile warm inside, worms and woodlice present, 26 kg March: dark crumbly material, few recognizable pieces, 17 kg June: dark soil-like compost, 14 kg, spread on the beds Plants grown in that bed were noticeably greener.

  1. 1. What would happen to the compost spread on the beds?
  2. 2. How much material was added in September?
  3. 3. What claim does this record support?
  4. 4. Where did the missing mass go?
2.What do worms do in a compost bin?
  • A.Eat dead material and break it into smaller pieces
  • B.Make the plants grow inside the bin
  • C.Keep the bin dry
3.Where do the minerals in fallen leaves end up after they rot?
  • A.In the clouds
  • B.Nowhere, they are destroyed
  • C.Back in the soil, where roots can take them up
4.Why should a compost heap be kept damp rather than dry?
  • A.Decomposers need water to live and do their work
  • B.Dry compost is heavier
  • C.Water makes it smell nicer
5.Which of these would rot most slowly in a compost bin?
  • A.A banana peel
  • B.Grass cuttings
  • C.A plastic bag
6.What would happen in a wood with no decomposers at all?
  • A.The trees would grow faster
  • B.Nothing would change
  • C.Dead leaves and wood would pile up, and their matter would not return to the soil
7.Why does the middle of a compost heap get warm?
  • A.The decomposers breaking the material down give off heat
  • B.The sun heats the middle most
  • C.Compost is made of hot food

LessonPrint · 5-LS2-1 · Set 10 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The Compost Bin, Month by Month

Set 10. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. It would feed the plants, which grew noticeably greener. 2. 40 kg of leaves, peelings and grass. 3. Matter moves from plants through decomposers back into the soil and the air. 4. Into gas and water given off as the decomposers broke the material down.
  2. 2.Eat dead material and break it into smaller pieces
  3. 3.Back in the soil, where roots can take them up
  4. 4.Decomposers need water to live and do their work
  5. 5.A plastic bag
  6. 6.Dead leaves and wood would pile up, and their matter would not return to the soil
  7. 7.The decomposers breaking the material down give off heat

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 5-LS2-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.