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Which Soil Holds the Water? is a free printable Grade 2 science worksheet on analyzing test data to find the soil best suited to a job, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 2-PS1-2. It prints 4 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 24 of them with 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.

Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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One paper per student

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24 of these 25 sets ask different questions — this skill does not have 25 questions to give. The rest reorder them, so no two students have the same paper in front of them.

Which Soil Holds the Water?

2-PS1-2

NameDate

Look at the results, then answer.

1.
SandClayGarden soilCompost0123456789
Bean seeds that came up out of ten, in four soils. Which soil grew the fewest?
2.
SandGravelClayGarden soil01234567
Days four soils stayed damp after one watering. Which soil dried out first, with the fewest damp days?
3.
SandClayGarden soilLeaf mold012345678910
Worms found in one spadeful of four soils. Which soil had the most worms?
4.
SandGravelClayGarden soil02468101214
Minutes for a cup of water to soak into four soils. Which soil took the longest?

LessonPrint · 2-PS1-2 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Which Soil Holds the Water?

Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Clay, where only 2 seeds came up.
  2. 2.Gravel, which stayed damp for only 1 day.
  3. 3.Leaf mold, with 10 worms.
  4. 4.Clay, which took 14 minutes.

Questions about Which Soil Holds the Water?

What does the Which Soil Holds the Water? worksheet cover?

It practices analyzing test data to find the soil best suited to a job — 4 questions for Grade 2, all on NGSS 2-PS1-2: Test materials and decide which one suits a job best. The instruction to students is “Look at the results, then answer”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.

Which NGSS performance expectation does Which Soil Holds the Water? practice?

2-PS1-2, under Physical Science for Grade 2. The published performance expectation reads: “Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.

What age or grade is this worksheet for?

Which Soil Holds the Water? is written for Grade 2, typically ages 7-8. It is one of the sheets on 2-PS1-2, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.

Does Which Soil Holds the Water? come with an answer key?

Yes. All 4 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.

How many different versions of Which Soil Holds the Water? can I print?

25 versions, of which 24 ask genuinely different questions — this skill does not have 25 distinct questions to give, so the rest reorder them and no two students still share a paper. Set 1 downloads all 25 as one PDF.

Is Which Soil Holds the Water? free to print and photocopy?

Yes. Which Soil Holds the Water?, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.

More practice for 2-PS1-2

Test materials and decide which one suits a job best.

All Grade 2 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 2-PS1-2 of the Next Generation Science Standards.