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Too Small to See is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on modelling matter as particles too small to be seen, aligned to Common Core standard 5-PS1-1. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils 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.

Too Small to See

5-PS1-1

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.Why can a particle model be used if nobody can see the particles?
  • A.It cannot be used
  • B.Models must be visible
  • C.It explains and predicts what we can measure
2.Sugar stirred into water disappears from view. What has happened to it?
  • A.It has turned into water
  • B.It has broken into particles too small to see, spread through the water
  • C.It has been destroyed
3.Sugar water is left to evaporate. What is left behind, and why?
  • A.Nothing at all
  • B.The sugar, because its particles stayed when the water left
  • C.New sugar made by the water
4.What does a good model of matter have to do?
  • A.Look attractive
  • B.Explain the observations and predict new ones
  • C.Be complicated
5.Which observation is best explained by particles too small to see?
  • A.Ice is cold
  • B.A dissolved solid can be recovered by evaporating the liquid
  • C.Water is wet
6.A smell spreads across a room. What does a particle model say?
  • A.The smell has no substance
  • B.Particles from the source spread out through the air
  • C.Air carries nothing
7.How could you show the sugar is still there?
  • A.Look harder
  • B.Taste it, or evaporate the water and weigh what is left
  • C.Stir it faster
8.A balloon is inflated. What model explains why it is heavier?
  • A.The rubber grew heavier
  • B.Air is made of particles, and more have been put in
  • C.Air has no mass

LessonPrint · 5-PS1-1 · Set 21 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Too Small to See

Set 21. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.It explains and predicts what we can measure
  2. 2.It has broken into particles too small to see, spread through the water
  3. 3.The sugar, because its particles stayed when the water left
  4. 4.Explain the observations and predict new ones
  5. 5.A dissolved solid can be recovered by evaporating the liquid
  6. 6.Particles from the source spread out through the air
  7. 7.Taste it, or evaporate the water and weigh what is left
  8. 8.Air is made of particles, and more have been put in

More practice for 5-PS1-1

Model matter as particles far too small to see.

Teaching this next? Too Small to See is the 60-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 5-PS1-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.