Planets and other objects in the solar system

Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Data table (NASA Planetary Fact Sheet, 2025), columns Planet, Diameter (km), Moons and Rings. Mercury: 4,879, 0, no. Earth: 12,756, 1, no. Mars: 6,792, 2, no. Jupiter: 142,984, 95, yes. Saturn: 120,536, 274, yes. Neptune: 49,528, 16, yes.

2. 1.

   Ari compares the first three planets in the table with the last three. Which pattern does the table show?

   • The outer planets are small and rocky
   • Each planet in the table has rings
   • The inner planets have more moons and rings than the giants
   • The outer planets are far wider, with many moons and rings
3. 2.

   The table shows small rocky planets close to the Sun and giants farther out. Which explanation fits NASA's account, Bo?

   • The giants were rocky once and then swelled up
   • The inner planets are moons of the Sun, so they stay small
   • Near the young Sun, only rock could stand the heat
   • The inner planets lost their rings to the Sun
4. 3.

   Astronomers find a planet around another star: about 120,000 km wide, with rings and many moons. Using the table, which planets is it most like, Esme?

   • The giant planets, like Saturn
   • The rocky planets, like Earth and Mars
   • The asteroids, like Vesta
   • The dwarf planets, like Pluto
5. 4.

   Mystery card: icy, a few kilometers across, grows a glowing cloud and a tail as it nears the Sun. What is it, and where might it come from, Jun?

   • A comet, from the Kuiper Belt or the Oort Cloud
   • A dwarf planet, from inside Mars's orbit
   • A meteorite, from Earth's ground
   • An asteroid, from the main belt between Mars and Jupiter
6. 5.

   Mystery card: round, orbits the Sun in the Kuiper Belt among many icy bodies, and has five moons. What is it, Kira?

   • Pluto, a dwarf planet
   • Charon, a moon
   • Ceres, in the asteroid belt
   • Pluto, the ninth planet
7. 6.

   Mystery card: a pebble-sized rock found in a field after a bright streak crossed the sky. Before it reached Earth's air, what was it called, Luz?

   • A meteorite
   • A meteoroid
   • A meteor
   • A comet's tail

8. Use this

   Orbit diagram from above, not to scale:

10. 7.

    Milo follows the comet in the diagram. At which position does it have its biggest glowing cloud and tail?

    • P, farthest from the Sun
    • R, closest to the Sun
    • The same at P, Q and R
    • Q, near Jupiter's orbit
11. 8.

    The comet has no tail at P but a long one at R. Which explanation, with its reason, fits, Pia?

    Use the picture in question 7.

    • Heat: near the Sun, its ices turn to gas that is pushed away
    • Rock: it scrapes against the asteroid belt and sheds dust
    • Gravity: Jupiter stretches it into a tail
    • Air: it glows in Earth's air like a meteor
12. 9.

    Ren's friend says Pluto is a planet because it is round and orbits the Sun. Which response is best?

    • Agree: round things that orbit the Sun are planets
    • Agree: it has five moons, so it is a planet
    • Disagree: it hasn't cleared its orbit, so it is a dwarf planet
    • Disagree: Pluto is a moon of Neptune
13. 10.

    Zee's cousin says a shooting star is a real star falling to Earth. Which response fits?

    • Agree: old stars fall out of the sky
    • Disagree: it is a meteorite still out in space
    • Disagree: it is a comet crashing into the Moon
    • Disagree: it is a meteor, a space rock glowing in our air