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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 23 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 does this record not tell you?
  2. 2. What would happen to the compost spread on the beds?
  3. 3. What claim does this record support?
  4. 4. What happened to the mass over the year?
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.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
4.What do worms do in a compost bin?
  • A.Keep the bin dry
  • B.Make the plants grow inside the bin
  • C.Eat dead material and break it into smaller pieces
5.Why does the middle of a compost heap get warm?
  • A.The decomposers breaking the material down give off heat
  • B.Compost is made of hot food
  • C.The sun heats the middle most
6.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
7.Turning a compost heap over with a fork helps it rot faster. Why?
  • A.It lets in air that the decomposers need
  • B.It cools the heap down
  • C.It squashes the worms

LessonPrint · 5-LS2-1 · Set 23 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The Compost Bin, Month by Month

Set 23. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. It does not tell you which decomposers did most of the work. 2. It would feed the plants, which grew noticeably greener. 3. Matter moves from plants through decomposers back into the soil and the air. 4. It fell from 40 kg in September to 14 kg in June.
  2. 2.Decomposers need water to live and do their work
  3. 3.Back in the soil, where roots can take them up
  4. 4.Eat dead material and break it into smaller pieces
  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.It lets in air that the decomposers need

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