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Where a Plant's Mass Comes From is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on arguing that plants get their materials chiefly from air and water, aligned to Common Core standard 5-LS1-1. It prints 5 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 5 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.

Where a Plant's Mass Comes From

5-LS1-1

NameDate

Read the record, then answer the questions.

1.Read the record, then answer the questions.

Where the Plant's Mass Came From

A five-month record of a potted plant, with the pot and soil weighed separately. OVER FIVE MONTHS Plant mass at the start ......... 12 g Plant mass at the end ........... 486 g Dry soil at the start ........... 2,000 g Dry soil at the end ............. 1,988 g Water given over five months .... about 9 litres The pot stood in the light and was not fed.

  1. 1. Where did most of the plant's new material come from?
  2. 2. How much did the plant gain over five months?
  3. 3. How much dry soil was lost?
  4. 4. Can the soil account for the plant's gain?
2.Why does this argument need the soil weighed as well as the plant?
  • A.Without it you cannot say the mass did not come from the soil
  • B.It fills the table
  • C.Soil is interesting
3.What does the plant take from the soil, if not most of its mass?
  • A.Water and small amounts of minerals
  • B.All of its material
  • C.Nothing at all
4.What would you measure to test this claim on a different plant?
  • A.The number of leaves
  • B.Its height only
  • C.The plant's mass gain and the dry soil's mass loss over the same period
5.A plant gained 474 g while the dry soil lost only 12 g. What does that rule out?
  • A.That the plant's mass came mostly from the soil
  • B.That soil matters at all
  • C.That the plant grew

LessonPrint · 5-LS1-1 · Set 5 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Where a Plant's Mass Comes From

Set 5. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. From air and water rather than from the soil. 2. 474 g, from 12 g to 486 g. 3. 12 g, from 2,000 g to 1,988 g. 4. No: the plant gained 474 g and the soil lost only 12 g.
  2. 2.Without it you cannot say the mass did not come from the soil
  3. 3.Water and small amounts of minerals
  4. 4.The plant's mass gain and the dry soil's mass loss over the same period
  5. 5.That the plant's mass came mostly from the soil

More practice for 5-LS1-1

Argue that plants build themselves mostly from air and water.

Teaching this next? Where a Plant's Mass Comes From is the 60-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 5-LS1-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.