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

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

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

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

   • Nothing; planets drift freely
   • Gravity
   • Magnetism
   • Wind
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?

   • B, straight ahead in the direction it was moving
   • C, the same circle as before
   • D, straight out away from the Sun
   • 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?

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

   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
   • Earth orbits the Sun, and the Moon orbits Earth
   • The Moon orbits the Sun, not Earth
   • The Sun orbits Earth
8. 7.

   If Earth orbits the Sun, why does the Sun seem to cross Pia's sky each day?

   • The Sun's gravity drags it across
   • Earth orbits the Sun once a day
   • Earth spins once a day
   • The Sun orbits Earth once a day
9. 8.

   The Sun holds about 99.8% of all the mass in the solar system (NASA). What does that mean for its pull, by Tala's reasoning?

   • Its gravity is by far the strongest in the solar system
   • Mass has nothing to do with gravity
   • Its gravity is weak, since it is so far away
   • The planets pull harder on the Sun than it pulls on them
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
    • Jupiter has no gravity
    • The Sun has far more mass, so its pull wins

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?

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