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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 13 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.The sun rises earlier in a town far to the east than in a town far to the west. Why?
  • A.Earth turns toward the east, so eastern places turn into sunlight first
  • B.The eastern town is closer to the sun
  • C.The sun rises twice
2.Why is a shadow shortest around the middle of the day?
  • A.The sun is furthest away
  • B.The sun is at its highest in the sky
  • C.The sun is smallest then
3.Early in the morning, which way does a stick's shadow point?
  • A.Straight down
  • B.Toward the east, at the sun
  • C.Toward the west, away from the rising sun
4.In the evening, which way does a stick's shadow point?
  • A.Straight up
  • B.Toward the west, at the sun
  • C.Toward the east, away from the setting sun
5.The stars seem to move across the sky during the night. Why?
  • A.The stars are blown by wind
  • B.The stars orbit Earth every night
  • C.Earth is turning, so the stars appear to move
6.If Earth spun around faster, what would happen to the length of each day and night?
  • A.They would be longer
  • B.Nothing would change
  • C.Days and nights would be shorter
7.Why does the sun seem to cross the sky from east to west each day?
  • A.Clouds push the sun along
  • B.The sun travels around Earth each day
  • C.Earth spins toward the east, once about every 24 hours
8.How long does Earth take to spin around once?
  • A.About 24 hours
  • B.About a week
  • C.About a year

LessonPrint · 5-ESS1-2 · Set 13 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Turning Once a Day

Set 13. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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