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.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
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. Why was a second bowl left in the shade?
2. How much water was in the cup by the evening?
3. What claim does this record support?
4. Why did the drop from the cup leave no white mark on the tile?
2.Water vapor rises and cools. What happens to it?
A.It condenses into tiny droplets that form clouds
B.It disappears
C.It turns into salt
3.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
4.In a model, a bowl of salty water stands for the sea. What could stand for the cool air where clouds form?
A.Plastic wrap stretched over the top
B.The salt
C.The table
5.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
6.What gives sea water the energy to evaporate?
A.The salt in it
B.The fish in it
C.Heat from the sun
7.What would happen to rain over the land if the sun stopped warming the sea?
A.Nothing would change
B.There would be more rain
C.Much less water would evaporate, so there would be much less rain
LessonPrint · 5-ESS2-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Where the Sun Sends the Water
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. So the effect of the sun could be seen by comparing the two bowls. 2. 15 ml of water. 3. The sun's warmth sends water from salty water into the air, and the salt is left behind. 4. Only the water left the bowl; the salt stayed behind as a crust.
2.It condenses into tiny droplets that form clouds
3.The sun's heat makes the water evaporate faster
4.Plastic wrap stretched over the top
5.Only the water evaporates; the salt stays in the sea
6.Heat from the sun
7.Much less water would evaporate, so there would be much less rain
Questions about Where the Sun Sends the Water
What does the Where the Sun Sends the Water worksheet cover?
It practices using a covered-bowl model of how the sun moves water from sea to air — 7 questions for Grade 5, all on NGSS 5-ESS2-1: Model one way that land, life, water and air affect each other. The instruction to students is “Read the record, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does Where the Sun Sends the Water practice?
5-ESS2-1, under Earth and Space Science for Grade 5. The published performance expectation reads: “Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Where the Sun Sends the Water is written for Grade 5, typically ages 10-11. It is one of the sheets on 5-ESS2-1, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Where the Sun Sends the Water come with an answer key?
Yes. All 7 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 Where the Sun Sends the Water can I print?
25 — one per student, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Where the Sun Sends the Water free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Where the Sun Sends 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 5-ESS2-1
Model one way that land, life, water and air affect each other.