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Bright Because It Is Close is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on arguing that the sun's brightness is due to its distance from Earth, aligned to Common Core standard 5-ESS1-1. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 11 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Bright Because It Is Close

5-ESS1-1

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.A star is moved twice as far away in a model. What happens to how bright it looks?
  • A.It looks brighter
  • B.Nothing changes
  • C.It looks dimmer
2.Two torches of equal brightness are set at 2 m and 20 m. What do you see?
  • A.The nearer one looks much brighter
  • B.The far one looks brighter
  • C.They look the same
3.A star looks dim. What are the two possible reasons?
  • A.It is always small
  • B.It is going out
  • C.It is far away, or it gives out less light, or both
4.The sun looks far brighter than any other star. What is the best explanation?
  • A.It is very much closer to Earth than the other stars
  • B.It is the biggest star there is
  • C.It is the only real star
5.Why is the sun's apparent brightness poor evidence that it is a large star?
  • A.The sun is not a star
  • B.Brightness never relates to size
  • C.Its closeness explains the brightness without any claim about size
6.What is 'apparent brightness'?
  • A.How bright a star looks from Earth
  • B.Its temperature
  • C.How much light it really gives out
7.Which measurement would settle whether a dim star is small or distant?
  • A.Its colour only
  • B.Its distance from Earth
  • C.How long you look at it
8.What does that torch model show about stars?
  • A.Torches are stars
  • B.Distance changes how bright a light looks
  • C.Stars are torches

LessonPrint · 5-ESS1-1 · Set 11 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Bright Because It Is Close

Set 11. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.It looks dimmer
  2. 2.The nearer one looks much brighter
  3. 3.It is far away, or it gives out less light, or both
  4. 4.It is very much closer to Earth than the other stars
  5. 5.Its closeness explains the brightness without any claim about size
  6. 6.How bright a star looks from Earth
  7. 7.Its distance from Earth
  8. 8.Distance changes how bright a light looks

More practice for 5-ESS1-1

Argue that stars look dimmer than the sun because they are much further away.

Teaching this next? Bright Because It Is Close is the 60-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 5-ESS1-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.