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Grade 5 Stars, Shadows & Earth's Rotation Worksheet with Answers

Grade 5 (US) · Year 6 (UK) · Class 5 (India) · Science

Unit 2: Forces & SpaceStars & Earth's MotionNGSS 5-ESS1-2

Day and night, changing shadows, the sun as a star, and seasonal star patterns. This free upper elementary worksheet has 13 questions and a full answer key. Print it or save it as a PDF — every answer is checked by code, not guessed.

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Stars, Shadows & Earth's Rotation

Grade 5 · Science

Score___ / 13

Name

Class

Date

Learning goal: Stars & Earth's Motion · NGSS 5-ESS1-2

Directions: This worksheet has 2 parts. Read the instructions at the start of each part.

Part A

Label the diagram. Use the words in the box.

Word bank

shadowlight sourceobject
123
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
Part B

Answer each question. Use full sentences where you can.

  1. 4

    Why does the sun look bigger than other stars?

  2. 5

    Why do we see different constellations in different seasons?

  3. 6

    Why do shadows change length during the day?

  4. 7

    Some stars look dim. Does that mean they are small?

  5. 8

    At what time of day are shadows shortest?

  6. 9

    What is the closest star to Earth?

  7. 10

    How long does Earth take to orbit the sun?

  8. 11

    Why do we have day and night?

  9. 12

    Why can't we see stars in the daytime?

  10. 13

    How long does Earth take to rotate once?

★ Challenge corner for fast finishers

I travel at 300,000 km every second. What am I?

How did I do?

Teacher's comments

Free printable worksheets with answer keys · aethelsystems.com/worksheets/science/5/stars_shadows

Answer key (click to show)
  1. 1.light source
  2. 2.object
  3. 3.shadow
  4. 4.it is much closer
  5. 5.Earth's orbit means we face different parts of space at night
  6. 6.the sun's position in the sky changes
  7. 7.not necessarily — they may be farther away
  8. 8.around noon
  9. 9.the sun
  10. 10.about 365 days (one year)
  11. 11.Earth spins (rotates) on its axis
  12. 12.sunlight makes the sky too bright
  13. 13.about 24 hours (one day)
  14. ★light (challenge corner)

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How to use this worksheet

  • Use it as a 10–15 minute warm-up or homework task rather than a long drill.
  • Ask students to show their working so you can see where a mistake started, not just that it happened.
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