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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 9 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.Models must be visible
  • B.It cannot be used
  • C.It explains and predicts what we can measure
2.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
3.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
4.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
5.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
6.Sugar water is left to evaporate. What is left behind, and why?
  • A.The sugar, because its particles stayed when the water left
  • B.Nothing at all
  • C.New sugar made by the water
7.A smell spreads across a room. What does a particle model say?
  • A.Air carries nothing
  • B.Particles from the source spread out through the air
  • C.The smell has no substance
8.What does a good model of matter have to do?
  • A.Look attractive
  • B.Explain the observations and predict new ones
  • C.Be complicated

LessonPrint · 5-PS1-1 · Set 9 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Too Small to See

Set 9. Prints on its own sheet.

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