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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 17 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 happened to the mass over the year?
  2. 2. What does this record not tell you?
  3. 3. What was in the trash can in December?
  4. 4. What would happen to the compost spread on the beds?
2.Why should a compost heap be kept damp rather than dry?
  • A.Dry compost is heavier
  • B.Decomposers need water to live and do their work
  • C.Water makes it smell nicer
3.What would happen in a wood with no decomposers at all?
  • A.Dead leaves and wood would pile up, and their matter would not return to the soil
  • B.Nothing would change
  • C.The trees would grow faster
4.Which of these would rot most slowly in a compost bin?
  • A.A banana peel
  • B.Grass cuttings
  • C.A plastic bag
5.Where do the minerals in fallen leaves end up after they rot?
  • A.Nowhere, they are destroyed
  • B.Back in the soil, where roots can take them up
  • C.In the clouds
6.Turning a compost heap over with a fork helps it rot faster. Why?
  • A.It squashes the worms
  • B.It cools the heap down
  • C.It lets in air that the decomposers need
7.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

LessonPrint · 5-LS2-1 · Set 17 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The Compost Bin, Month by Month

Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. It fell from 40 kg in September to 14 kg in June. 2. It does not tell you which decomposers did most of the work. 3. A warm pile with worms and woodlice, at 26 kg. 4. It would feed the plants, which grew noticeably greener.
  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.A plastic bag
  5. 5.Back in the soil, where roots can take them up
  6. 6.It lets in air that the decomposers need
  7. 7.It returns matter to the soil that plants can take up

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