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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 18 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. Where did the missing mass go?
2.A fallen log in a wood is soft and crumbly after a few years. What has happened?
  • A.The rain has melted it
  • B.Fungi and other decomposers have broken it down
  • C.It has turned back into a seed
3.Turning a compost heap over with a fork helps it rot faster. Why?
  • A.It cools the heap down
  • B.It squashes the worms
  • C.It lets in air that the decomposers need
4.Some of a compost heap's mass is lost to the air. In what form?
  • A.As smoke from burning
  • B.As gases given off while the material is broken down
  • C.As light
5.Why does the middle of a compost heap get warm?
  • A.Compost is made of hot food
  • B.The sun heats the middle most
  • C.The decomposers breaking the material down give off heat
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 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

LessonPrint · 5-LS2-1 · Set 18 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The Compost Bin, Month by Month

Set 18. 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. Into gas and water given off as the decomposers broke the material down.
  2. 2.Fungi and other decomposers have broken it down
  3. 3.It lets in air that the decomposers need
  4. 4.As gases given off while the material is broken down
  5. 5.The decomposers breaking the material down give off heat
  6. 6.Dead leaves and wood would pile up, and their matter would not return to the soil
  7. 7.Decomposers need water to live and do their work

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