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 make and record observations of the Moon over time.

Key Notes

• The Moon is made mostly of rock. The surface has dark spots and thousands of holes called craters.
• The Moon is far away from the Earth, and can be observed more closely using telescopes and binoculars.
• A scientist who observes the night sky is called an astronomer.
• The shape of the moon appears to change throughout each month.
• Observations of the moon can be recorded in different ways.

Vocabulary To Learn

• Moon: Our Moon is an object that travels around planet Earth.
• crater: A crater is a circular-shaped hole caused by impact in space.
• telescope: A telescope helps us to see much further into space.
• astronomer: An astronomer is a scientist who observes objects in space.
• observe: To observe is to look very closely and use other senses too.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Pupils often think that the Moon changes shape.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• How we see the Moon from Earth Study Guide
• More about the Sun (non-statutory) 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