Year 9 Earth and Space Worksheet - Beginner

Year 9 Earth and Space worksheet for Year 9 (Key Stage 3 / Year 7-9 (Ages 11-14)). Beginner level science practice, aligned to the UK National Curriculum. Print-ready with answer key included.

Science•Key Stage 3 / Year 7-9 (Ages 11-14)•Earth and Spacebeginner

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Earth and Space: Our Place in the Universe

Year 9 Science | Ages 13–14 | Beginner

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Instructions: Explore how Earth works, how human activity affects its resources and climate, and how our planet fits into space. Read each prompt carefully, use the facts or data provided, and write your answers in the boxes. Show working where a question asks you to calculate.

Inside Earth and Around the Rock Cycle

Use the word bank to complete the sentences. Each word is used once. The rock-cycle changes can happen over very long timescales, and rocks do not follow just one fixed route.

Word bank: crust, mantle, outer core, inner core, cooling, weathering, sedimentary

1. The thin, solid outer layer of Earth is the ___.

2. Beneath the crust is the thick layer of hot rock called the ___.

3. Earth’s liquid iron-and-nickel layer is the ___.

4. At Earth’s centre is the solid ___.

5. Magma forms igneous rock when it solidifies by ___.

6. Rock is broken into smaller pieces at Earth’s surface by processes such as ___.

7. Layers of compacted and cemented sediment can form ___ rock.

Carbon, Climate and Human Choices

Use the word bank to complete each statement. Think about how carbon moves between the atmosphere, living things and fuels, and how burning fossil fuels changes the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Word bank: photosynthesis, respiration, combustion, carbon dioxide, fossil fuels

1. Plants take in ___ from the air during photosynthesis.

2. Carbon moves from plants into the air when organisms carry out ___.

3. Burning coal, oil or gas is called ___ and releases carbon dioxide.

4. Coal, oil and natural gas are examples of ___.

5. Name one action that can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from energy use.

Earth’s Resources: Use, Reuse, Recycle

Read the table, then answer the questions below it. A resource is renewable if it is replenished naturally on a human timescale; a finite resource is not replaced quickly enough to keep pace with use. Give a reason where asked.

Resource	Category	Example of use
Wind	Renewable	Generating electricity
Copper	Finite	Electrical wiring
Timber	Renewable	Building materials
Crude oil	Finite	Making fuels and plastics
Sunlight	Renewable	Heating and electricity

1. Name one renewable resource in the table that can generate electricity.

2. Which two listed resources are finite?

3. Give one reason recycling copper helps conserve Earth’s resources.

4. Is timber renewable or finite in this table?

Gravity, Seasons and Our Solar System

Choose the best answer for each question. Remember that gravity keeps planets in orbit, and Earth’s tilted axis—not its changing distance from the Sun—causes the seasons.

1. What force keeps Earth in orbit around the Sun?

2. What is the main cause of Earth’s seasons?

3. Which planet is nearest to the Sun?

4. What is one complete orbit of Earth around the Sun called?

Stars and Galaxies Beyond the Solar System

Use the word bank to complete the sentences. A light-year is a unit of distance, not time. The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our Solar System.

Word bank: galaxy, Milky Way, light-year, star, billions

1. A huge collection of stars, gas and dust held together by gravity is a ___.

2. Our Solar System is in the ___ galaxy.

3. The distance light travels in one year is called a ___.

4. The Sun is a ___.

5. A galaxy can contain many millions or even ___ of stars.

Answer Key

Activity 1: crust ; mantle ; outer core ; inner core ; cooling ; weathering ; sedimentary

Activity 2: carbon dioxide ; respiration ; combustion ; fossil fuels ; Example: use less energy, improve energy efficiency, or use renewable electricity

Activity 3: Wind or sunlight ; Copper and crude oil ; Recycling copper reduces the need to extract new copper ore and uses fewer resources ; Renewable

Activity 4: Gravity ; Earth’s tilted axis as it orbits the Sun ; Mercury ; A year

Activity 5: galaxy ; Milky Way ; light-year ; star ; billions