Free printable science worksheets and charts

Solar System Worksheet

Label the planets, put them in order or sort them — make a printable solar system worksheet with an answer key in seconds.

This free solar system worksheet generator makes printable planet and space worksheets in your web browser, with no sign-up. Tick the activities you want, and the printable pages update as you change them. It suits a solar system printable for class, a planets worksheet for homework, or kindergarten solar system worksheets with coloring pictures.

The tool offers two topics: the eight planets, and Sun, Earth and Moon. The Sun, Earth and Moon topic includes a moon phases worksheet with the eight Moon phases to order. Nothing you make is uploaded or sent to a server. Each sheet can be downloaded as a PDF, printed, or shared as a link.

How to make a solar system worksheet

  1. Open the Worksheet menu and choose The eight planets or Sun, Earth and Moon.
  2. Tick the activities you want: Label the diagram, Labeled picture to color, Put the stages in order, Fill in the blanks, Vocabulary matching, Sort into columns, Short answer questions, or Draw and label. Only activities that fit the topic are offered.
  3. Set the options: Word bank, Answer key pages, Color pictures, Name and date line, Worksheet title, Items per activity (4, 6, 8, 10 or 12), and Paper size (US Letter or A4).
  4. Check the pages on the right. They update live as you change each setting.
  5. Click New version to shuffle the word bank, matching letters and order, so each student can get a different copy.
  6. Click Download PDF, Print, or Copy link.

Turning the word bank off makes the sheet harder. Color pictures off gives black line art that children can color and saves ink. Print opens the print dialog with only the worksheet pages. Download PDF builds a vector file that prints sharply at true size. Copy link reopens the same worksheet, including the version you chose.

For younger children, the labeled picture to color makes a friendly first page before the labeling activity.

What is the order of the planets from the Sun?

The order from the Sun is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. A common memory aid is “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos,” where each word starts with the same letter as a planet name.

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, and Neptune is the farthest. On the eight planets sheet, the Sun sits at the left with the planets in order along a line. The sizes are stylized and the distances are not to scale, so use the order rather than the spacing when you teach it. The Put the stages in order activity asks students to put the eight planets in this sequence.

Which planets are inner and outer planets?

The inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. They are rocky planets. Beyond Mars is the asteroid belt, and after it come the outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. These four are giant planets.

Some facts help students remember them. Venus is the hottest planet. Mars is the Red Planet. Jupiter is the largest. Saturn has the biggest, brightest rings, although all four giant planets have rings.

The Sort activity asks students to place items into three groups: inner planet, outer planet, and not a planet. The not-a-planet group includes the Sun, the Moon and Pluto. This makes the sort a good check on the difference between planets and other objects.

Pluto, the Sun and the Moon are in the sort on purpose, because students often call them planets.

Why does Earth have day and night?

Earth spins, or rotates, on its axis once every 24 hours. The side facing the Sun has day, and the side facing away has night. At the same time Earth travels around the Sun once a year. The Sun, Earth and Moon worksheet labels Earth’s axis and the Moon’s orbit, and its fill-in sentences cover rotation, orbit and moon phases.

Frequently asked questions

What are the phases of the Moon?

The Moon has eight phases in a cycle: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter and waning crescent. The Moon shines by reflecting sunlight, so the lit part we see changes as it orbits Earth in about a month. The Sun, Earth and Moon worksheet includes a Put the stages in order activity for these phases.

Why is Pluto not a planet?

Pluto has been classed as a dwarf planet since 2006 because it shares its orbital path with other objects. A dwarf planet is a separate category from the eight planets. On the worksheet, Pluto appears in the not-a-planet group of the Sort activity.

Is there an answer key?

Yes. Turn on Answer key pages to add pages with the answers filled in. The answers appear in blue, so they are easy to find on the key pages.

Can I make a different version for each student?

Yes. Click New version to shuffle the word bank, matching letters and order. The version is kept in the link, so Copy link reopens that same copy.

Can I use these for kindergarten solar system worksheets?

Yes. Keep the word bank on, since it makes the sheet easier, and choose 4 items per activity. Turn Color pictures off to get black line art that young children can color.

Why is Venus hotter than Mercury?

Mercury is closer to the Sun, but Venus is the hottest planet because its thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide traps the Sun’s heat. Mercury has almost no atmosphere, so its heat escapes into space at night. “Which planet is the hottest?” is one of the short answer questions.