A Day on the Station: teacher key

Astronauts and Space Travel, grade 5 edition, written for 5th grade. Astronauts live and work in a home above Earth. Read how they float, sleep, eat, train and head out on spacewalks.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. Why do astronauts float on the station?
   • They and the station are falling around Earth together (answer)
   • There is no gravity in space
   • The station is very light
2. Where do astronauts sleep?
   • In beds like at home
   • On the floor
   • In sleeping bags (answer)
3. How long does one circuit of Earth take the station?
   • About 92 minutes (answer)
   • About one day
   • About 16 minutes
4. Why do astronauts practice spacewalks in a pool?
   • Spacesuits need water to work
   • Water is the closest thing on Earth to microgravity (answer)
   • Spacewalks happen under the sea
5. Who flew in space earlier, Valentina Tereshkova or Sally Ride?
   • Sally Ride
   • They flew together
   • Valentina Tereshkova (answer)
6. What does weightless mean in the station is weightless inside?
   • Floating, with no weight (answer)
   • Very heavy
   • Very bright

Words

• orbits: circles around
• weightless: floating, no weight
• microgravity: almost no weight
• laboratory: science workplace
• radiation: harmful space rays