Earth's Spin & Orbit · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Earth's Spin & Orbit

Science · Space Exploration · ages 7-9
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. About how long does it take Earth to spin around one time?

    • 24 hours
    • 24 days
    • 24 years

  2. What causes day and night on Earth?

    • Earth spinning around
    • The Sun moving around Earth
    • Earth getting closer to the Sun

  3. It takes Earth about 365 days to travel all the way around the Sun.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Earth has been spinning for 12 hours since midnight. How many more hours until it finishes one full 24-hour spin?

    Answer: ______________

  5. When it is nighttime where you live, what is happening on the other side of Earth?

    • It is daytime there
    • It is nighttime everywhere on Earth
    • The Sun has gone away

  6. Which takes longer: one spin of Earth or one orbit around the Sun?

    Spin: about 24 hoursOrbit: about 365 days
    • One spin (24 hours)
    • One orbit (365 days)
    • They take the same time

  7. Since Earth spins, the same side always faces the Sun, so it is always day in the same place.

    Circle one:   True   False

  8. Ali says, "Earth orbits the Sun once every 24 hours." What is his mistake?

    • He mixed up day with night
    • He forgot the Sun is a star
    • He mixed up spinning with orbiting
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Earth's Spin & Orbit W1-mt_w2xiMNkyyX-s1

  1. 24 hours · One full spin takes about 24 hours, which is one day.
  2. Earth spinning around · Earth spins, so one side faces the Sun (day) while the other side faces away (night).
  3. True · That trip around the Sun takes about 365 days, which is one year.
  4. 12 · One full spin is 24 hours. 24 minus 12 leaves 12 more hours.
  5. It is daytime there · While your side faces away from the Sun, the other side faces toward it, so it is daytime there.
  6. One orbit (365 days) · A spin takes about a day, but a full orbit around the Sun takes about 365 days, much longer.
  7. False · Earth keeps spinning, so every place moves in and out of sunlight. No place stays in day or night forever.
  8. He mixed up spinning with orbiting · 24 hours is how long one spin takes. One orbit around the Sun takes about 365 days.
Worksheet · LightMySky