Grade 6 · Science · Unit 5 of 9
Our Solar System
Planets, moons and the asteroid belt
What your child practises
The planets in order, rocky versus giant planets, reading a table of planet data, moons, dwarf planets, comets and the asteroid belt.
Nova Scotia Curriculum learning outcome: Earth and Space Science: Space · the Sun, planets and moons of our solar system
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Put these in order, starting with the one closest to the Sun.
- Earth
- Mercury
- Mars
- Jupiter
- Uranus
Mercury → Earth → Mars → Jupiter → Uranus
Hint: Try: My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune). The asteroid belt lies between Mars and Jupiter.
Question 2
Which planet is closest to the Sun?
- Earth
- Mercury
- Venus
- Mars
Mercury
Hint: It's the smallest planet and it zips around the Sun in just 88 days.
Question 3
Rocky planet or giant planet? Tap an item, then tap its basket.
Sort into: 🪨 rocky planet · 🎈 giant planet
- 🌍Earth
- 🪐Saturn
- 🟠Jupiter
- 🔴Mars
- 🟢Uranus
- ⚪Mercury
🪨 rocky planet: Earth, Mars, Mercury · 🎈 giant planet: Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus
Hint: The four inner planets are small and rocky. The four outer planets are huge giants made mostly of gas and ice.
Question 4
Which planet is the largest?
🟠- Jupiter
- Earth
- Saturn
- Neptune
Jupiter
Hint: This giant is so big that more than 1000 Earths could fit inside it.
Question 5
Which planet is known as the Red Planet?
🔴- Jupiter
- Mars
- Venus
- Mercury
Mars
Hint: This planet, fourth from the Sun, has rusty red dust.
Question 6
What is one astronomical unit (AU)?
- the average distance from Earth to the Sun
- the distance light travels in a year
- the width of Earth
- the distance across the Milky Way
the average distance from Earth to the Sun
Hint: Astronomers use Earth's distance from the Sun as a handy ruler for the solar system.