Stars and Constellations — Answers
Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 6 the solar system & space worksheet.
Success TutoringWorksheetsAnswer sheetYear 6 · Science · The Solar System & SpaceStars and Constellations — Answers
Part A: Lights in the night sky
Read the passage. Then circle the best answer.
Stars are huge balls of extremely hot, glowing gas. They make their own light and heat. Our Sun is a medium-sized star. It looks so big and bright only because it is much closer to us than any other star.
Stars are so far away that scientists measure their distance in light-years. One light-year is the distance light travels in one year — about 9.5 million million kilometres. The next nearest star after the Sun is over 4 light-years away.
Stars look different in brightness because some are bigger or hotter, and some are closer to us. Stars also have different colours: the hottest stars are blue-white, and the coolest are red. Our Sun is a yellow star.
Long ago, people joined up stars to make pictures called constellations and used them to tell stories, find directions and track the seasons. Because the Earth spins, constellations appear to move across the sky during the night. Because the Earth orbits the Sun, we see different constellations at different times of the year.
Planets do not make their own light. They shine because they reflect sunlight, and they slowly change position against the background stars.
- Aa planet that glows
- Ba huge ball of hot, glowing gas that makes its own light
- Ca rock that reflects sunlight
- Da cloud of ice
Answer: a huge ball of hot, glowing gas that makes its own light
Stars, like our Sun, are huge balls of hot gas that give off their own light and heat.
- Aa group of planets
- Ba pattern of stars that people have named
- Ca very bright star
- Da kind of telescope
Answer: a pattern of stars that people have named
Constellations are patterns of stars, often named after animals, objects or characters from stories.
- Atime
- Bdistance
- Cbrightness
- Dtemperature
Answer: distance
A light-year is a distance: how far light travels in one year (about 9.5 million million kilometres).
- AThe stars are orbiting the Earth.
- BThe Earth is spinning.
- CThe Moon pushes them.
- DThe wind blows them.
Answer: The Earth is spinning.
As the Earth rotates, the stars appear to move across the sky, just as the Sun does in the day.
- Ared
- Borange
- Cyellow
- Dblue-white
Answer: blue-white
Blue-white stars are the hottest. Red stars are the coolest.
Part B: Stars, planets and patterns
- star
- planet
- constellation
- light-year
- makes its own light
- the distance light travels in a year
- a named pattern of stars
- reflects light from a star
Answer: star → makes its own light; planet → reflects light from a star; constellation → a named pattern of stars; light-year → the distance light travels in a year
Answer: blue-white
Also accept: blue.
Answer: Sun
Answer: It might be closer to Earth, or it might be bigger or hotter and give off more light.
Answer: As the Earth orbits the Sun, the night side of the Earth faces a different part of space, so different stars are visible.
Part C: True or false?
Write True or False.
Answer: True
It is the closest star to Earth.
Answer: False
Stars are still there, but sunlight makes the sky too bright to see them.
Answer: False
They only look close from Earth; some are much further away than others.
Answer: False
Planets reflect sunlight.
Part D: Working scientifically: star watching
With an adult, try this on a clear night. Use the same spot and a fixed landmark each time.
Omar stood in the same spot in his backyard at 8 pm, 9:30 pm and 11 pm. Each time, he drew a bright constellation and the roofline of his house. At 8 pm it was low in the east. At 9:30 pm it was higher. At 11 pm it was high in the sky and further west.
Answer: It rose higher in the sky and moved from the east towards the west.
Model answer: The Earth spins once every 24 hours. As Omar's part of the Earth turned, his view of the sky changed, so the constellation seemed to move across the sky. The stars did not really move much; we did.
Success criteria:
- Says the Earth rotates
- Explains that our view changes, so stars appear to move
- Compares with the Sun appearing to move (optional)
Marking tips
- Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
- For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
- Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.