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

LessonPrint · 5-PS1-1 · Set 3 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Too Small to See

Set 3. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.