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 will learn to describe how scientists from the past have helped us to learn about the solar system.

Key Notes

• Ideas about the solar system have developed over time
• The geocentric model is the idea that the Earth is the centre of the universe and other objects go around it
• The heliocentric model is the idea that Earth and other planets move around the fixed Sun

Vocabulary To Learn

• evidence: Evidence is information that helps us to prove that something is true or not true.
• theory: A theory is a carefully thought-out explanation for something about our world that is based on learning from scientific enquiry.
• solar system: The solar system is the name for our Sun and the planets that orbit it.
• geocentric: The geocentric model of the solar system has the Earth at the centre and the Sun and planets orbiting it.
• heliocentric: The heliocentric model of the solar system has the Sun at the centre and the planets orbiting it.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Pupils may think that a theory is just a guess or prediction that has not yet or cannot be proven.

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
• Observing the Moon 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