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Turning Once a Day is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on explaining day and night and the sun's daily path by Earth's spin, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 5-ESS1-2. 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 students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 12 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.

Turning Once a Day

5-ESS1-2

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.If Earth spun around faster, what would happen to the length of each day and night?
  • A.Days and nights would be shorter
  • B.Nothing would change
  • C.They would be longer
2.Why does a stick's shadow swing around during the day?
  • A.The sun's position in the sky changes as Earth turns
  • B.The stick bends in the heat
  • C.The ground moves under the stick
3.How long does Earth take to spin around once?
  • A.About a year
  • B.About a week
  • C.About 24 hours
4.The stars seem to move across the sky during the night. Why?
  • A.Earth is turning, so the stars appear to move
  • B.The stars are blown by wind
  • C.The stars orbit Earth every night
5.Early in the morning, which way does a stick's shadow point?
  • A.Toward the west, away from the rising sun
  • B.Straight down
  • C.Toward the east, at the sun
6.Why is a shadow shortest around the middle of the day?
  • A.The sun is at its highest in the sky
  • B.The sun is smallest then
  • C.The sun is furthest away
7.When it is noon on one side of Earth, what time is it on the opposite side?
  • A.Also noon
  • B.Early morning everywhere
  • C.About midnight
8.The sun rises earlier in a town far to the east than in a town far to the west. Why?
  • A.The eastern town is closer to the sun
  • B.The sun rises twice
  • C.Earth turns toward the east, so eastern places turn into sunlight first

LessonPrint · 5-ESS1-2 · Set 12 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Turning Once a Day

Set 12. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Days and nights would be shorter
  2. 2.The sun's position in the sky changes as Earth turns
  3. 3.About 24 hours
  4. 4.Earth is turning, so the stars appear to move
  5. 5.Toward the west, away from the rising sun
  6. 6.The sun is at its highest in the sky
  7. 7.About midnight
  8. 8.Earth turns toward the east, so eastern places turn into sunlight first

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 5-ESS1-2 of the Next Generation Science Standards.