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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 21 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. Where did the missing mass go?
  3. 3. What happened to the mass over the year?
  4. 4. What was in the trash can in December?
2.Which of these would rot most slowly in a compost bin?
  • A.A plastic bag
  • B.Grass cuttings
  • C.A banana peel
3.Some of a compost heap's mass is lost to the air. In what form?
  • A.As gases given off while the material is broken down
  • B.As light
  • C.As smoke from burning
4.Why should a compost heap be kept damp rather than dry?
  • A.Decomposers need water to live and do their work
  • B.Water makes it smell nicer
  • C.Dry compost is heavier
5.Turning a compost heap over with a fork helps it rot faster. Why?
  • A.It squashes the worms
  • B.It lets in air that the decomposers need
  • C.It cools the heap down
6.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
7.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

LessonPrint · 5-LS2-1 · Set 21 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The Compost Bin, Month by Month

Set 21. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. It would feed the plants, which grew noticeably greener. 2. Into gas and water given off as the decomposers broke the material down. 3. It fell from 40 kg in September to 14 kg in June. 4. A warm pile with worms and woodlice, at 26 kg.
  2. 2.A plastic bag
  3. 3.As gases given off while the material is broken down
  4. 4.Decomposers need water to live and do their work
  5. 5.It lets in air that the decomposers need
  6. 6.It returns matter to the soil that plants can take up
  7. 7.Eat dead material and break it into smaller pieces

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