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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.

Set 11 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.

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. What was in the trash can in December?
  3. 3. What claim does this record support?
  4. 4. What does this record not tell you?
2.Why should a compost heap be kept damp rather than dry?
  • A.Water makes it smell nicer
  • B.Dry compost is heavier
  • C.Decomposers need water to live and do their work
3.What would happen in a wood with no decomposers at all?
  • A.Nothing would change
  • B.The trees would grow faster
  • C.Dead leaves and wood would pile up, and their matter would not return to the soil
4.Why is compost good to dig into a vegetable bed?
  • A.It returns matter to the soil that plants can take up
  • B.It makes the soil heavier
  • C.It keeps slugs away for ever
5.Turning a compost heap over with a fork helps it rot faster. Why?
  • A.It lets in air that the decomposers need
  • B.It squashes the worms
  • C.It cools the heap down
6.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
7.Which of these would rot most slowly in a compost bin?
  • A.A banana peel
  • B.Grass cuttings
  • C.A plastic bag

LessonPrint · 5-LS2-1 · Set 11 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The Compost Bin, Month by Month

Set 11. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. It would feed the plants, which grew noticeably greener. 2. A warm pile with worms and woodlice, at 26 kg. 3. Matter moves from plants through decomposers back into the soil and the air. 4. It does not tell you which decomposers did most of the work.
  2. 2.Decomposers need water to live and do their work
  3. 3.Dead leaves and wood would pile up, and their matter would not return to the soil
  4. 4.It returns matter to the soil that plants can take up
  5. 5.It lets in air that the decomposers need
  6. 6.The decomposers breaking the material down give off heat
  7. 7.A plastic bag

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