How gravity holds the solar system together

Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

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

   • The Sun's light pushing the Moon
   • Nothing; the Moon floats freely
   • The Moon's own gravity alone
   • Earth's gravity pulling on the Moon
2. 2.

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

   • Magnetism
   • Wind
   • Nothing; planets drift freely
   • Gravity
3. 3.

   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?

   • A, straight into the Sun
   • C, the same circle as before
   • D, straight out away from the Sun
   • B, straight ahead in the direction it was moving
4. 4.

   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 ahead, the way it was moving
   • It keeps circling around the hand
   • Straight back toward the teacher's hand
   • Straight out, away from the circle's center
5. 5.

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

   • Move off in a straight line
   • Stop moving at once
   • Keep orbiting Earth as before
   • Fall onto Earth
6. 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
   • The Sun orbits Earth
   • The Moon orbits the Sun, not Earth
   • Earth orbits the Sun, and the Moon orbits Earth
7. 7.

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

   • The Moon
   • Jupiter, the biggest planet
   • Earth
   • The Sun
8. 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 weak, since it is so far away
   • Mass has nothing to do with gravity
   • Its gravity is by far the strongest in the solar system
   • The planets pull harder on the Sun than it pulls on them
9. 9.

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

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

10. Read this first

    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.

11. 10.

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

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