Worksheet Grade 3 Engineering & Design

Birchpond Water Tower and Pipe Map: A Grade 3 Worksheet

A grade 3 engineering worksheet where students read a water tower and pipe plan for the town of Birchpond and add, subtract, and multiply to size the design.

Grade: Grade 3
Subject: Engineering & Design
Material: Worksheet
Time: 30 min
Prep: No prep
Materials: None

Standards

3-5-ETS1-2 NGSS

Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

How this material aligns: Item 9 alone meets this standard: students compare two possible pipe plans for Birchpond, one 445-meter line against three short pipes totaling 460 meters, against the stated criterion of using less pipe and must say how they know.

All materials for 3-5-ETS1-2 →

3.NBT.A.2 Common Core Math

Fluently add and subtract within 1000 using strategies and algorithms based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction.

How this material aligns: Items 1 through 4, 7, and 8 add and subtract three-digit pipe lengths and water amounts within 1000, using regrouping across the tens and hundreds places, which is the fluency this standard requires of grade 3.

All materials for 3.NBT.A.2 →

3.OA.A.1 Common Core Math

Interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 5 x 7 as the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a total number of objects can be expressed as 5 x 7.

How this material aligns: Items 5 and 6 ask students to say what a product means on the pipe map, such as 6 streets of 8 houses each, before giving the total, which is the equal-groups interpretation of multiplication this standard requires.

All materials for 3.OA.A.1 →

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This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely, without attribution. Updated 2026-07-23.

Objectives

Students will add and subtract pipe lengths and water amounts within 1000.
Students will interpret a multiplication fact as equal groups on a pipe map.
Students will explain a design choice about which pipe plan uses less pipe.

Vocabulary

Water tower: A water tower is a big tank raised high above town that stores drinking water. Its height is what pushes water through the pipes, keeping the pressure steady even when the power goes out.

Also: pipe, meter, liter

Teacher overview

The town of Birchpond has one water tower. The tower is built up high so water can flow down to homes on its own. Pipes carry the water from the tower to the streets. This worksheet gives students the town's pipe plan and has them add, subtract, and multiply to size the design. Every number students need appears in the plan itself, so no outside information is required.

Birchpond Water Tower and Pipe Map: A Grade 3 Worksheet — Grade 3 Engineering & Design

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

The town of Birchpond has three main pipes. Pipe A is 120 meters long. Pipe B is 85 meters long. Pipe C is 240 meters long. The tower can hold 900 liters of water.

Add the length of Pipe A and Pipe B. How many meters is that?
How much longer is Pipe C than Pipe B?
Find the total length of Pipe A, Pipe B, and Pipe C.
The tower holds 900 liters. It sends out 350 liters. How many liters are left?
Birchpond has 6 streets. Each street has 8 houses. Tell what 6 times 8 means in Birchpond. Then give the total number of houses.
Birchpond has 4 pumps. Each pump pushes 5 liters each turn. Tell what 4 times 5 means. Then give the total liters.
North Street needs 300 liters. South Street needs 250 liters. How many liters do they need together?
The full tower holds 900 liters. After North and South get their water, how many liters are left?
The town can build one long pipe that is 445 meters. Or it can build three short pipes that add up to 460 meters. Which plan uses less pipe? Tell how you know.
Why is the water tower built up high? Use what you know about how water flows to help explain.

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Answer Key

Answer: 205 meters. 120 + 85 = 205.
Answer: 155 meters. 240 − 85 = 155.
Answer: 445 meters. 120 + 85 + 240 = 445.
Answer: 550 liters. 900 − 350 = 550.
Answer: 48 houses. 6 times 8 means 6 streets with 8 houses on each street. 6 × 8 = 48 houses.
Answer: 20 liters. 4 times 5 means 4 pumps that each push 5 liters. 4 × 5 = 20 liters.
Answer: 550 liters. 300 + 250 = 550.
Answer: 350 liters. The tower holds 900 and sends 550 to the two streets, so 900 − 550 = 350 left.
Answer: The one long pipe. The long pipe is 445 meters and the three short pipes are 460 meters, and 445 is less than 460, so the long pipe uses less pipe.
Answer: The tower is built up high so water can flow down to the homes on its own, without a pump running all the time. Accept any answer that names height and water flowing down.

Differentiation

Support

Give these students a base-ten block or number line for the addition and subtraction in items 1 through 4. Circle the two numbers in each word problem before they start, and let them use a printed multiplication chart for items 5 and 6.

Extension

Ask these students to plan a fourth pipe for a new street so the four pipes together stay under 700 meters, and to show the addition that proves it. Have them write one new word problem about the tower for a partner to solve.

ELL supports

Provide a labeled picture of a water tower with pipes running to houses, marked with the words "tower," "pipe," and "house." Give sentence frames for items 9 and 10, such as "The ___ plan uses less pipe because ___."

Extensions

Have students find the real water tower or standpipe nearest their school on a town map or photo. Ask them to guess which streets its pipes reach first and to explain their guess using the idea that water flows downhill from the tower.