Free printable worksheet · Science
Free U.S. temperature chart worksheet with answer key
How much has the US warmed since 1895? A one-page worksheet on a chart of trustworthy public data, with three questions and lines to write on, plus an answer key for you. Free, no account needed, and the numbers are the newest the source has published.
The chart on the worksheet
The contiguous US averaged 54.6°F in 2025. The warmest year since records began in 1895 was 2024, at 55.5°F. Through 2025, the dashed trend line, the straight line that best fits every year, rose about 0.18°F a decade, or 2.3°F since 1895, and warming had sped up to about 0.5°F a decade since 1970. Alaska and Hawaii aren't included.
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025 · Open the interactive chart and its numbers
What students answer
How to read this chart
Each point is one year's average temperature across the lower 48 states, in degrees Fahrenheit. The axis doesn't start at zero, so a small rise looks steep: read the numbers on the axis, not the height of the line. The dashed line is the trend, the straight line that best fits every year; single years bounce above and below it.
Questions to discuss
- Find the warmest and coolest years on the chart. How many degrees apart are they?
- Why might one year be much cooler than the year before, even while the trend line keeps rising?
- The axis doesn't start at zero here, but bar charts always do. Why is that fair for temperatures but not for bars?
The answer key gives the chart's key numbers (newest, highest, lowest, biggest change) and, for each question, the figures it asks about, written from the same data students see.
Or assign it online
Post this link in Google Classroom, Canvas or Moodle. Students see the interactive chart and the questions; they don't need an account.
A chart for class, every Monday
One fresh chart of public data, three questions to discuss and a link that opens it as a class assignment, in your inbox each Monday. Free, no account. See this week's.