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

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

Answer key — Bright Because It Is Close

Set 5. Prints on its own sheet.

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