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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 16 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. How much material was added in September?
  2. 2. What happened to the mass over the year?
  3. 3. What does this record not tell you?
  4. 4. What would happen to the compost spread on the beds?
2.A fallen log in a wood is soft and crumbly after a few years. What has happened?
  • A.Fungi and other decomposers have broken it down
  • B.It has turned back into a seed
  • C.The rain has melted it
3.What do worms do in a compost bin?
  • A.Make the plants grow inside the bin
  • B.Keep the bin dry
  • C.Eat dead material and break it into smaller pieces
4.Which of these would rot most slowly in a compost bin?
  • A.A plastic bag
  • B.Grass cuttings
  • C.A banana peel
5.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
6.Turning a compost heap over with a fork helps it rot faster. Why?
  • A.It cools the heap down
  • B.It lets in air that the decomposers need
  • C.It squashes the worms
7.Where do the minerals in fallen leaves end up after they rot?
  • A.In the clouds
  • B.Back in the soil, where roots can take them up
  • C.Nowhere, they are destroyed

LessonPrint · 5-LS2-1 · Set 16 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The Compost Bin, Month by Month

Set 16. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. 40 kg of leaves, peelings and grass. 2. It fell from 40 kg in September to 14 kg in June. 3. It does not tell you which decomposers did most of the work. 4. It would feed the plants, which grew noticeably greener.
  2. 2.Fungi and other decomposers have broken it down
  3. 3.Eat dead material and break it into smaller pieces
  4. 4.A plastic bag
  5. 5.Decomposers need water to live and do their work
  6. 6.It lets in air that the decomposers need
  7. 7.Back in the soil, where roots can take them up

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