Study Guides

Unit Summary

This unit covers the movement of the Earth, moon, and planets, describing them as spherical bodies. It explains Earth's rotation, causing day and night, and the sun's apparent movement. Emphasis is on recording complex data, presenting findings, and evaluating scientific evidence.

Lesson Summary

You can explain how we see the Moon from Earth.

Key Notes

• The Moon is nearly 240,000 miles away from the Earth, yet we can see it without binoculars and telescopes
• The Moon is a dusty ball of rock, it does not produce its own light
• Light is reflected when it hits a surface and bounces off in a different direction
• We see the Moon because it reflects light from the Sun

Vocabulary To Learn

• Moon: Our Moon is an object that travels around planet Earth
• Sun: The Sun is a star and the centre of our solar system
• light source: Something that is a light source produces its own light
• reflect: To reflect light is when light hits a surface and bounces off in another direction

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Pupils often think that the Moon produces its own light, or that the Moon only comes out at night

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• More about the Sun (non-statutory) Study Guide
• Observing the Moon Study Guide
• Scientific theories from the past (non-statutory) Study Guide
• The movement of the Moon Study Guide
• The movement of the planets around the Sun Study Guide
• The planets in our solar system (non-statutory) Study Guide
• The relative sizes of the Earth, Sun and Moon (non-statutory) Study Guide
• The shape of Earth Study Guide
• The shape of objects in space Study Guide
• Why the Sun appears to move across the sky Study Guide
• Why we have day and night Study Guide