According to NASA, how did the solar system form?NASA Science, Solar System: Facts. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-2
At any moment, how much of the Moon’s surface is in sunlight?NASA Science, Moon Phases. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-1
During a lunar eclipse, what falls across the Moon?NASA Science, Types of Solar Eclipses. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-1
During which phase is the Moon on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun, rising around sunset?NASA Science, Moon Phases. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-1
From one new Moon to the next, about how much time passes?NASA Science, Moon Phases. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-1
In a solar eclipse, what is the order of the Sun, the Moon and Earth?NASA Science, Types of Solar Eclipses. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-1
It is winter in the Northern Hemisphere in January. Where is Earth in its orbit then?NASA Space Place, What Causes the Seasons?. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-1
Show all 65 questions (58 more)
Earth, Sun and Moon, continued
The Moon passes near the Sun in the sky every month. Why is there not a solar eclipse every month?NASA Science, Types of Solar Eclipses. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-1
Most shorelines have two high tides each day. What causes them?NASA Science, Tides. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-2
The North Pole is tilted toward the Sun. What season is it in the Southern Hemisphere?NASA Space Place, What Causes the Seasons?. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-1
What causes day and night?NASA Space Place, What Causes the Seasons?. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-1
What force keeps the planets in orbit around the Sun?NASA Space Place, What Is Gravity?. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-2
What is the reason Earth has summer and winter each year?NASA Space Place, What Causes the Seasons?. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-1
Which statement about gravity is true?NASA Space Place, What Is Gravity?. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-2
Why does the Moon shine in the night sky?NASA Science, Moon Phases. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-1
Weather and Climate 15
A forecast gives a 70% chance of rain tomorrow. Why are forecasts given as chances?Next Generation Science Standards, middle school earth and space sciences (National Academies Press edition), MS-ESS2-5
According to NASA, what has raised the amount of carbon dioxide in the air over the last century?NASA Science, The Causes of Climate Change. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS3-5
At a cold front, why is the warm air pushed upward?NOAA JetStream, Air Masses. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-5
How do ocean currents affect climate?NOAA National Ocean Service, What is a current?. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-6
How does air pressure change as you climb a mountain?NOAA JetStream, Air Pressure. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-5
On a sunny afternoon at the beach, a cool breeze blows from the sea toward the land. Why?NOAA JetStream, The Sea Breeze. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-6
Weather maps track air masses. What is an air mass?NOAA JetStream, Air Masses. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-5
What do greenhouse gases do in Earth’s atmosphere?NASA Science, What is the greenhouse effect?. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS3-5
What drives the deep, slow ocean circulation called thermohaline circulation?NOAA National Ocean Service, What is a current?. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-6
What is a weather front?NOAA JetStream, Air Masses. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-5
What is the difference between weather and climate?NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, What’s the Difference Between Weather and Climate?. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-6
Which air mass forms over land at high latitudes and is cold and dry?NOAA JetStream, Air Masses. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-5
Which weather is typical along a cold front?NOAA JetStream, Air Masses. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-5
Which weather is usually linked with low air pressure?NOAA JetStream, Global Atmospheric Circulations. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-5
Why is the air near the Equator generally warmer than the air near the poles?NOAA JetStream, Global Atmospheric Circulations. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-6
The Water Cycle 10
After days of heavy rain the ground is soaked and cannot take in more water. What happens to the next rain that falls?NOAA JetStream, The Hydrologic Cycle. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-4
In the middle school science standards, which two things drive water through the water cycle?Next Generation Science Standards, middle school earth and space sciences (National Academies Press edition), MS-ESS2-4
Liquid water in a puddle turns into water vapor. What is this change called?NOAA Education, The water cycle. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-4
Much of the water a plant takes up through its roots later leaves through its leaves as vapor. What is this process called?NOAA Education, The water cycle. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-4
On a cold, sunny day, snow turns straight into water vapor without melting first. What is this called?NOAA Education, The water cycle. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-4
On a humid day, drops of water form on the outside of a cold drink can. Where does the water come from?NOAA JetStream, The Hydrologic Cycle. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-4
Only a small part of Earth’s water is fresh. Where is most of that fresh water?NOAA Education, The water cycle. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-4
Rain soaks into the soil and keeps moving down until it joins the water stored below ground. What is that stored water called?NOAA Education, The water cycle. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-4
Water vapor in the air turns into the tiny droplets that make a cloud. What is this change called?NOAA Education, The water cycle. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-4
Where is most of Earth’s water stored?NOAA Education, The water cycle. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-4
Rocks, Plates and Earth’s History 17
A deep ocean trench forms where one plate sinks under another. Which kind of plate boundary is this?USGS, This Dynamic Earth: Understanding plate motions. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-3
About how old is Earth, according to the U.S. Geological Survey?USGS, Geologic Time: Age of the Earth. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-4
An igneous rock has large crystals that are easy to see. What does this show about how it formed?National Park Service, Geology: Igneous Rocks. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-1
How did the Himalaya mountains form?USGS, This Dynamic Earth: Understanding plate motions. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-2
How do igneous rocks form?National Park Service, Geology: Igneous Rocks. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-1
How do sedimentary rocks form?National Park Service, Geology: Sedimentary Rocks. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-1
In a stack of rock layers that has not been bent or turned over, which layer is the oldest?USGS, Geologic Time: Relative Time Scale. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-4
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge spreads about 2.5 centimeters a year. What does this show about how Earth’s surface changes?USGS, This Dynamic Earth: Understanding plate motions. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-2
The same kinds of fossils are found in rock layers in two distant places. What can scientists conclude?USGS, Fossils, Rocks, and Time: Fossil Succession. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS1-4
Sandstone is made of pieces of older rocks. Which process loosened those pieces?National Park Service, Geology: Sedimentary Rocks. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-1
What changes an existing rock into a metamorphic rock?National Park Service, Geology: Metamorphic Rocks. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-1
What does the theory of plate tectonics say?USGS, This Dynamic Earth: Historical perspective. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-3
What happens at a transform plate boundary?USGS, This Dynamic Earth: Understanding plate motions. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-3
What kind of age do rock layers and the fossils in them give?Next Generation Science Standards, middle school earth and space sciences (National Academies Press edition), MS-ESS1-4
Which evidence did Alfred Wegener use to argue that South America and Africa were once joined?USGS, This Dynamic Earth: Historical perspective. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS2-3
Which natural hazard strikes suddenly, with no notice, and cannot yet be predicted?Next Generation Science Standards, middle school earth and space sciences (National Academies Press edition), MS-ESS3-2
Why are resources such as metal ores and petroleum found in some places and not in others?Next Generation Science Standards, middle school earth and space sciences (National Academies Press edition), MS-ESS3-1
Life and Physical Science 8
A ball is rolling across a smooth floor. According to Newton’s first law, what will change its motion?NASA Glenn Research Center, Newton’s Laws of Motion. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-PS2-2
A food web has an arrow that points from a small fish to a seal. What does the arrow show?NOAA Education, Aquatic food webs. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-LS2-3
A heat lamp keeps food warm without touching it, much as the Sun warms Earth across space. Which kind of heat transfer is this?NOAA JetStream, The Transfer of Heat Energy. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-PS3-3
Liquid water freezes into ice. What kind of change is this?NASA Glenn Research Center, Phases of Matter. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-PS1-4
Tissues and organs are built from one basic unit of life. What is it?NIH National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Cell. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-LS1-1
What do plants use to make sugar in photosynthesis?NOAA Education, Carbon cycle. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-LS1-6
Which phase of matter takes both the shape and the volume of its container?NASA Glenn Research Center, Phases of Matter. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-PS1-4
Which statement about living things and cells is true?NIH National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Cell. Outline: Next Generation Science Standards, MS-LS1-1
How this list was compiled: Our own questions. Outline: the Next Generation Science Standards, middle school earth and space sciences (performance expectations MS-ESS1-1 to MS-ESS3-5), with the life and physical science expectations for the mixed set, read 2026-10-10 in the publisher's online edition: Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States (National Academies Press, 2013), "Arranged by Topics", https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/18290/chapter/4. The standards' own site is https://www.nextgenscience.org/. Facts: each question names the public page its fact was read on (NASA, NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service, the National Institutes of Health), and every page was opened on 2026-10-10. Five questions rest on the wording of the standards themselves and say so. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the public pages named on each question. Nothing is copied or reworded from a state test, a released form, a sample item, a textbook or another practice test.
How it works
Unofficial sixth grade science practice: 65 questions written for this page, most on earth and space science. It follows no state's test, so no test length or pass mark is implied.
Read the full guide
What the 65 questions cover
Rocks, Plates and Earth's History has 17 questions, Earth, Sun and Moon 15, Weather and Climate 15, The Water Cycle 10, and a mixed set from life and physical science 8. The topics are the middle school earth and space expectations of the Next Generation Science Standards.
How each answer was checked
Every question names the public page its fact was read on: NASA for the seasons, the Moon and gravity; NOAA for weather, ocean currents and the water cycle; the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service for rocks, plates and geologic time.
Seasons come from the tilt of Earth's axis, not from its distance to the Sun.
In a rock question, look for how the rock formed: cooled, pressed from sediment, or changed by heat and pressure.
Questions and answers
Is there a 6th grade science practice test PDF?
Yes, by printing. The page prints as a paper test, and Save as PDF in the print window keeps it as a file. No sign-up is needed.
What do 6th graders learn in science?
It depends on the school. The Next Generation Science Standards set earth and space, life and physical science for grades 6 to 8 as one band. This page gathers the earth and space topics: space systems, weather and climate, the water cycle, and Earth's history.
Does this 6th grade science test come with answers?
Yes. Each answer has a short reason. On paper, the answer key is optional and prints after the questions, so the test can be handed out without it.
Is this the same as state testing in science?
No. It follows the national standards and no single test. For a state's own design, try the TCAP grade 6 science page, or the grade 8 pages for STAAR and MCAS.