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6th grade · Science · Unit 3 of 10

Stars, Galaxies & the Universe

Star life cycles, the H-R diagram, kinds of galaxies, and the Big Bang.

What your child practices

Practices the life cycle of stars and classifying stars on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, spiral, elliptical and irregular galaxies and where our solar system sits in the Milky Way, and the evidence (such as galaxies moving apart and leftover radiation) for the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 6.2; 6.3 · stars and galaxies, gravity, and how our view of the universe has changed

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Stars form in clouds of gas and dust called nebulae.
  2. On an H-R diagram, most stars lie on the main sequence.
  3. A Sun-like star ends as a white dwarf: hot but dim because it is very small.
  4. The Big Bang theory says the universe began very hot and dense and has been expanding.

Example: Where do new stars form? Gravity pulls gas and dust together. This happens in clouds called nebulae. Answer: in nebulae

Stars, Galaxies & the Universe in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 3 of 10 in 6th grade Science, after Solar System Tour and before Stars & the Universe.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    White dwarfs are hot but dim because they are…

    • very large
    • very cold
    • very small
    • very far away always

  2. Question 2

    The Big Bang theory says the universe…

    • has always been the same size
    • began very hot and dense and has been expanding ever since
    • began as a star
    • is shrinking

  3. Question 3

    Stars form inside clouds of gas and dust called…

    • nebulae
    • black holes
    • comets
    • galaxies

  4. Question 4

    The Milky Way is a…

    • spiral galaxy
    • elliptical galaxy
    • nebula
    • irregular galaxy

  5. Question 5

    Where is our solar system in the Milky Way?

    • In a spiral arm, about halfway from the center
    • Outside the galaxy
    • In the central black hole
    • At the exact center

  6. Question 6

    Faint microwave radiation coming from every direction in space is evidence of…

    • Earth's atmosphere
    • the Moon
    • the early, hot universe
    • nearby stars only

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