Howardites

A printable worksheet for the lesson What is a meteorite? (KS2). It prints on A4 without the website around it. The answers are on a separate sheet for the teacher.

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KS2 · Ages 7 to 11 (Years 3 to 6)Howardites worksheet

What is a meteorite?

Name:Class:Date:

Key words

Meteorite
A meteorite is a piece of space rock that has survived its fall through the air and landed on Earth.
Planet
A planet is a large, round body orbiting a star that has cleared its path of most other material.
Meteoroid
A meteoroid is a small piece of rock or metal travelling through space.
Asteroid
A rocky or metal-rich object, smaller than a planet, that goes around the Sun.
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, a cold, rocky world with ancient river valleys; some meteorites come from it.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System, whose gravity shapes the asteroid belt and steers meteoroids towards Earth.

Choose the right answer

Circle the letter of the right answer.

  1. What are asteroids made of?
    • APieces of broken stars
    • BMostly gas
    • COnly ice
    • DRock or metal
  2. Why can a meteorite be called a 'free sample' of another world?
    • AIt arrives without anyone flying a mission
    • BAnyone may keep any meteorite
    • CShops give them away
    • DIt is made of the same rock as Earth
  3. Why is 'shooting star' a misleading name for a meteor?
    • AMeteors are really small planets
    • BMeteors move too slowly to shoot
    • CMeteors only happen in the daytime
    • DMeteors have nothing to do with stars
  4. Why can we not find rocks on Earth's surface as old as most meteorites?
    • AEarth keeps recycling its own rocks
    • BMeteorites have destroyed them all
    • CThe oldest rocks floated away
    • DEarth's rocks are too soft to last

True or false?

Is the answer given right? Tick True or False.

  1. About how old are most meteorites?

    Answer given: About 45 million years TrueFalse

  2. A lump of rock is drifting through space, far from Earth. What is it called?

    Answer given: A meteor TrueFalse

Write your answer

Answer in a word or a short sentence.

  1. Which list follows one rock from space down to the ground?
  2. How did the meteorites from Mars get to Earth?

Task

Make three cards that say meteoroid, meteor and meteorite. On the back of each, draw where the rock is: out in space, glowing in the sky, or resting on the ground. Shuffle them and ask someone at home to put them in the right order, then explain why.

Howardites · free to copy for use in your classroom · answers are on the separate teacher's answer sheet