Grade 6 · Science · Unit 15 of 15
Stars & Constellations
Patterns in the night sky
What your child practises
Practises identifying constellations and comparing how different cultures have used the stars for planting, navigating and telling stories.
Prince Edward Island Curriculum curriculum outcome: Earth and Space Science: Space · identifying constellations and how cultures have used the stars
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
The Big Dipper looks most like a…
- pair of glasses
- pot with a long handle
- fish hook
- tall tree
pot with a long handle
Hint: A dipper is a kind of ladle.
Question 2
Which electronic source lets you point a device at the sky to name stars?
- a clock radio
- a flashlight
- a stargazing app
- a calculator
a stargazing app
Hint: It uses a map of the sky.
Question 3
How did some cultures use stars for farming?
- they shot arrows at stars
- they sold stars for seeds
- they watched for stars that signalled planting and harvest times
- they lit stars with fire
they watched for stars that signalled planting and harvest times
Hint: Stars appear in the same seasons each year.
Question 4
Which star stays nearly above the North Pole?
- Sirius
- Polaris, the North Star
- Venus
- Betelgeuse
Polaris, the North Star
Hint: It shows north.
Question 5
Why was Polaris useful to travellers in the north?
- it shows where north is
- it is a planet
- it is the Sun
- it moves fast around the sky
it shows where north is
Hint: It hardly moves in the sky.
Question 6
Compared with the stars, planets seem to…
- grow smaller each night
- blink on and off
- stay in exactly the same pattern
- slowly change position from night to night
slowly change position from night to night
Hint: Planets wander through the star patterns.