How gravity holds the solar system together

Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Orbit diagram from above, not to scale: the Sun in the center and Earth on its path, with arrows not drawn.

2. 1.

   What keeps Earth moving around the Sun instead of flying off into space, by Ari's reading?

   • The Sun's gravity pulling on Earth
   • Wind in space pushing Earth along
   • Nothing; space has no gravity
   • Earth's spin acting like an engine
3. 2.

   What keeps the Moon in orbit around Earth, as Bo learns?

   • The Moon's own gravity alone
   • Nothing; the Moon floats freely
   • The Sun's light pushing the Moon
   • Earth's gravity pulling on the Moon
4. 3.

   Which force holds the planets of the solar system together, in Kira's notes?

   • Magnetism
   • Gravity
   • Wind
   • Nothing; planets drift freely
5. 4.

   Jun's diagram shows a planet on its orbit with four possible paths. If the Sun's gravity suddenly stopped, which path would the planet take?

   • C, the same circle as before
   • D, straight out away from the Sun
   • B, straight ahead in the direction it was moving
   • A, straight into the Sun
6. 5.

   a ball on a string moving in a circle around a hand, with the string shown slipping free. Outdoors, Luz's teacher swings a soft ball on a string in a circle. The string slips loose. Which way does the ball go?

   • It keeps circling around the hand
   • Straight back toward the teacher's hand
   • Straight ahead, the way it was moving
   • Straight out, away from the circle's center
7. 6.

   “Orbit diagram from above, not to scale:” If Earth's gravity vanished, what would the Moon do, by Milo's reasoning?

   • Keep orbiting Earth as before
   • Stop moving at once
   • Move off in a straight line
   • Fall onto Earth
8. 7.

   Three circles labeled Sun, Earth and Moon, with no orbit lines drawn. Which statement about orbits is true, by Noah's reading?

   • Earth orbits the Moon
   • The Sun orbits Earth
   • The Moon orbits the Sun, not Earth
   • Earth orbits the Sun, and the Moon orbits Earth
9. 8.

   What sits at the center of the planets' orbits, as Ren draws them?

   • Jupiter, the biggest planet
   • The Sun
   • The Moon
   • Earth
10. 9.

    Orbit diagram from above, not to scale. Why do the planets orbit the Sun rather than Jupiter, as Zee explains?

    • The Sun pushes them around
    • The planets pick the brightest object
    • The Sun has far more mass, so its pull wins
    • Jupiter has no gravity

11. Use this

    Pull-arrow diagram, not to scale: a person on Earth with one arrow toward Earth's center and one toward the distant Sun, arrows not sized.

12. 10.

    Which pulls harder on Esme at school: the Sun, far away, or Earth, right underfoot?

    • Earth, because it is so close
    • The Sun, because it has more mass
    • They pull equally
    • Neither pulls on people