NAME _________________________________ DATE ______________ PERIOD ________
Earth in Space Worksheets
Complete the following worksheets about the Earth in space. If you can’t find the
answers in your book or notes, you may have to do some research.
True or False
Write “T” if the statement is true or “F” if the statement is false.
_____ 1. Earth is the only planet in the solar system known to have liquid water.
_____ 2. All objects in the solar system have gravitational attraction to each other.
_____ 3. If you look at Earth from the North Pole, the planet spins in a clockwise
direction.
_____ 4. The moon appears to rise in the east because Earth rotates from east to west.
_____ 5. Earth tilts about 3 degrees on its axis.
_____ 6. Winter begins in the Southern Hemisphere on June 21.
_____ 7. The longest day in the Northern Hemisphere occurs on June 21.
_____ 8. To make one complete rotation takes Earth 365.24 days.
_____ 9. Planets closer to the sun that Earth have shorter years.
_____ 10. The hemisphere that receives less direct rays of sunlight is cooler.
Critical Reading
Read this passage based on the text and answer the questions that follow.
Earth and the Other Planets
As you walk over Earth’s surface, the ground usually looks pretty flat. We have photos
of Earth taken from space showing that Earth is actually round. However, long before
we had photos of Earth from space, people knew that Earth was round. One way they
could tell was by watching tall ships sail off into the distance. As the ships sailed over
the horizon, the bottoms of the ships disappeared sooner than the tops. If Earth were
flat instead of round, ships would just appear to get smaller as they sailed farther away.
Earth can be divided into four different layers: the lithosphere, atmosphere,
hydrosphere, and biosphere.
 The lithosphere is the solid, rocky part of Earth. It includes both the continents and
ocean basins.

The atmosphere is the thin layer of gases that surrounds Earth. It consists mostly of
nitrogen and oxygen.

The hydrosphere consists of all the water on Earth. Most of Earth’s surface is
covered with water, and most of the water is salt water in the oceans. As far as we
know, Earth is the only planet in the solar system that has liquid water.

The biosphere is made up of all the living organisms on Earth. Earth appears to be
the only planet in the solar system with living creatures. The water and oxygen on
Earth are crucial to life as we know it.
In the solar system, Earth and the other planets orbit around the sun. Earth is the third
planet from the Sun. It is one of the inner planets. The other three inner planets are
Mercury, Venus, and Mars. Like Earth, the other inner planets are relatively small balls
of solid rock. Jupiter is an outer planet. It is the largest planet in the solar system at
about 1000 times the size of Earth. Jupiter and most of the outer planets are giant balls
of swirling gas.
Questions
1. How did people know that Earth was round long before there were photos of Earth
from space?
2. Identify the four layers of Earth.
3. Contrast the inner and outer planets of the solar system.
Multiple Choice
Circle the letter of the correct choice.
1. The outer planets of the solar system are giant balls of
a. solid ice.
b. dense rock.
c. liquid water.
d. swirling gas.
2. Without gravity, the moon would
a. drop to Earth’s surface.
b. start orbiting the sun.
c. fly off into space.
d. shrink in size.
3. The strength of the force of gravity between two objects depends on their
a. mass.
b. speed.
c. distance apart.
d. two of the above
4. Which statement about Earth’s magnetic field is false?
a. It extends into space.
b. It is caused by gravity.
c. It has north and south poles.
d. It shields Earth from harmful radiation.
5. Earth’s motions contribute to
a. tides.
b. seasons.
c. day and night.
d. all of the above
6. The side of Earth facing away from the sun is always
a. in the dark.
b. experiencing winter.
c. cooler than the other side.
d. two of the above
7. Earth has seasons because
a. it tilts on its axis.
b. its orbit is elliptical.
c. it rotates on its axis.
d. its distance from the sun varies.
Matching
Match each definition with the correct term.
Definitions
_____ 1. all of the water on Earth
_____ 2. half of a sphere
_____ 3. spinning motion around an axis
_____ 4. all of the living organisms on Earth
_____ 5. imaginary line passing through the poles of a planet
_____ 6. all of the solid rock of Earth
_____ 7. movement in an orbit around a larger body
Terms
a. axis
b. biosphere
c. hemisphere
d. hydrosphere
e. lithosphere
f. revolution
g. rotation
Fill in the Blank
Fill in the blank with the appropriate term.
1. The inner planets of the solar system include Earth, Venus, Mars, and ___________.
2. The largest planet in the solar system is ________________.
3. The four layers of Earth are the lithosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and
____________________.
4. Earth’s magnetic field is created by movements of molten metal in the
___________________.
5. Earth’s _______________ causes Earth’s surface to experience repeated cycles of
day and night.
6. During ______________ in the Northern Hemisphere, the north pole points away
from the sun.
7. It takes one ______________ for Earth to make a complete revolution around the
sun.