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Where the Sun Sends the Water is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on using a covered-bowl model of how the sun moves water from sea to air, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 5-ESS2-1. It prints 7 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Where the Sun Sends the Water

5-ESS2-1

NameDate

Read the record, then answer the questions.

1.Read the record, then answer the questions.

Salty Water Under Plastic Wrap

Notes from two bowls of salty water, each covered with plastic wrap with a small cup in the middle, left out for one sunny day. BOWL IN THE SUN Morning: plastic wrap dry, cup empty Midday: water drops forming under the plastic wrap Afternoon: drops running down the plastic wrap and dripping into the cup Evening: 15 ml of water in the cup, and a white salt crust around the bowl's edge A drop from the cup, dried on a dark tile, left no white mark. BOWL IN THE SHADE Evening: only a few drops under the plastic wrap, cup still empty

  1. 1. Where did the drops under the plastic wrap come from?
  2. 2. Why was a second bowl left in the shade?
  3. 3. What claim does this record support?
  4. 4. How much water was in the cup by the evening?
2.Where does most of the water vapor in the air come from?
  • A.Water evaporating from the oceans
  • B.Ponds in parks
  • C.Breathing animals
3.Water vapor rises and cools. What happens to it?
  • A.It disappears
  • B.It turns into salt
  • C.It condenses into tiny droplets that form clouds
4.Sea water is salty, but rain from clouds over the sea is fresh. Why?
  • A.The rain is from rivers
  • B.Clouds clean the salt out
  • C.Only the water evaporates; the salt stays in the sea
5.Why do puddles dry faster on a sunny day than a cloudy one?
  • A.Clouds add water to puddles
  • B.Puddles drain faster in sunlight
  • C.The sun's heat makes the water evaporate faster
6.Why do salt makers spread sea water in wide shallow ponds?
  • A.So the water stays cold
  • B.So fish can swim in them
  • C.The sun and wind can evaporate the water faster
7.Sea water is left in a shallow pan in the sun for a week. What is left?
  • A.Salt crystals, after the water has evaporated
  • B.Nothing at all
  • C.Fresh water

LessonPrint · 5-ESS2-1 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Where the Sun Sends the Water

Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Water from the salty water went up into the air and turned back into drops on the plastic wrap. 2. So the effect of the sun could be seen by comparing the two bowls. 3. The sun's warmth sends water from salty water into the air, and the salt is left behind. 4. 15 ml of water.
  2. 2.Water evaporating from the oceans
  3. 3.It condenses into tiny droplets that form clouds
  4. 4.Only the water evaporates; the salt stays in the sea
  5. 5.The sun's heat makes the water evaporate faster
  6. 6.The sun and wind can evaporate the water faster
  7. 7.Salt crystals, after the water has evaporated

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 5-ESS2-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.