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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 7 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.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
2.Why is it night in Australia while it is day in Britain?
  • A.The sun switches off over Australia
  • B.Australia is further from the sun
  • C.They are on opposite sides of the spinning Earth, so one faces the sun and one faces away
3.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
4.When it is noon on one side of Earth, what time is it on the opposite side?
  • A.Also noon
  • B.About midnight
  • C.Early morning everywhere
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.Why is a shadow shortest around the middle of the day?
  • A.The sun is smallest then
  • B.The sun is furthest away
  • C.The sun is at its highest in the sky
7.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 ground moves under the stick
  • C.The stick bends in the heat
8.In the evening, which way does a stick's shadow point?
  • A.Toward the west, at the sun
  • B.Straight up
  • C.Toward the east, away from the setting sun

LessonPrint · 5-ESS1-2 · Set 7 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Turning Once a Day

Set 7. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Toward the west, away from the rising sun
  2. 2.They are on opposite sides of the spinning Earth, so one faces the sun and one faces away
  3. 3.Days and nights would be shorter
  4. 4.About midnight
  5. 5.Earth is turning, so the stars appear to move
  6. 6.The sun is at its highest in the sky
  7. 7.The sun's position in the sky changes as Earth turns
  8. 8.Toward the east, away from the setting sun

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