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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. What claim does this record support?
  2. 2. How much water was in the cup by the evening?
  3. 3. Why was a second bowl left in the shade?
  4. 4. What formed under the plastic wrap at midday?
2.What would happen to rain over the land if the sun stopped warming the sea?
  • A.Much less water would evaporate, so there would be much less rain
  • B.There would be more rain
  • C.Nothing would change
3.Sea water is left in a shallow pan in the sun for a week. What is left?
  • A.Nothing at all
  • B.Fresh water
  • C.Salt crystals, after the water has evaporated
4.Rain falls far inland that began as sea water. What carried it there?
  • A.Underground rivers
  • B.Moving air, as wind carrying clouds
  • C.Birds
5.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
6.Why do puddles dry faster on a sunny day than a cloudy one?
  • A.Clouds add water to puddles
  • B.The sun's heat makes the water evaporate faster
  • C.Puddles drain faster in sunlight
7.Why do salt makers spread sea water in wide shallow ponds?
  • A.So fish can swim in them
  • B.So the water stays cold
  • C.The sun and wind can evaporate the water faster

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

Answer key — Where the Sun Sends the Water

Set 5. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. The sun's warmth sends water from salty water into the air, and the salt is left behind. 2. 15 ml of water. 3. So the effect of the sun could be seen by comparing the two bowls. 4. Water drops.
  2. 2.Much less water would evaporate, so there would be much less rain
  3. 3.Salt crystals, after the water has evaporated
  4. 4.Moving air, as wind carrying clouds
  5. 5.Water evaporating from the oceans
  6. 6.The sun's heat makes the water evaporate faster
  7. 7.The sun and wind can evaporate the water faster

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