6th grade Science practice sheet
Alabama Course of Study · from Gradelings · Name: ______________________
Question 1
Put these in order, starting with the one closest to the Sun.
- Uranus
- Neptune
- Mars
- Earth
- Saturn
Earth → Mars → Saturn → Uranus → Neptune
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
Earth's atmosphere helps life by…
- making Earth airless
- stopping all sunlight
- keeping water frozen
- providing oxygen and blocking harmful radiation
providing oxygen and blocking harmful radiation
Hint: Air and the ozone layer.
Question 3
Red supergiants are cool but bright because they are…
- very close
- very small
- enormous
- very hot
enormous
Hint: Huge surface area.
Question 4
Light from distant galaxies is shifted toward red. This shows they are…
- moving toward us
- standing still
- moving away from us
- getting hotter
moving away from us
Hint: Redshift.
Question 5
Put the steps that make sedimentary rock in order.
- 🌧️Weathering breaks rock into small pieces
- 🟫The sediment settles in layers
- 🌊Erosion carries the pieces away
- 🪨Layers are pressed and cemented into rock
Weathering breaks rock into small pieces → Erosion carries the pieces away → The sediment settles in layers → Layers are pressed and cemented into rock
Hint: First rock breaks down (weathering), then the pieces are moved (erosion), dropped in layers (deposition), and finally pressed and cemented together.
Question 6
Malnutrition can result when…
- soil is healthy
- soil is poor or water is scarce, so crops fail
- there are too many farms
- rain is steady
soil is poor or water is scarce, so crops fail
Hint: Resources grow food.
Question 7
A cloud forms when rising air…
- speeds up
- cools to its dew point
- turns into ice cream
- warms up
cools to its dew point
Hint: Cool air holds less vapor.
Question 8
Higher elevations are usually…
- colder
- warmer
- wetter always
- the same
colder
Hint: Temperature drops as you climb.
Question 9
Mid-ocean ridges are where plates…
- pull apart and new crust forms
- stop moving
- slide under
- crash together
pull apart and new crust forms
Hint: Divergent boundaries.
Question 10
Scientists use index fossils to…
- predict the weather
- measure rainfall
- match the ages of rock layers in different places
- find gold
match the ages of rock layers in different places
Hint: Some living things lived only for a short, known time.
Answer key
- 1. Earth → Mars → Saturn → Uranus → Neptune (Our Solar System)
- 2. providing oxygen and blocking harmful radiation (Solar System Tour)
- 3. enormous (Stars, Galaxies & the Universe)
- 4. moving away from us (Stars & the Universe)
- 5. Weathering breaks rock into small pieces → Erosion carries the pieces away → The sediment settles in layers → Layers are pressed and cemented into rock (The Rock Cycle)
- 6. soil is poor or water is scarce, so crops fail (Managing Resources)
- 7. cools to its dew point (Weather Systems)
- 8. colder (Climate & Climate Change)
- 9. pull apart and new crust forms (Earth's Changing Surface)
- 10. match the ages of rock layers in different places (Earth's History & Fossils)
Want more than 10 questions?
In Gradelings the questions change every time and adjust to your child, with hints and kind feedback. See all science units.