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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 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.

Too Small to See

5-PS1-1

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

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

LessonPrint · 5-PS1-1 · Set 23 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Too Small to See

Set 23. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.