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1 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Days, years and seasons 2 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 The rotation of the Earth 3 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 What time is it? It is 4 am in London. Casablanca What is the time in the rest of the world? place GMT time Casablanca -1 hr 3 am Pretoria +2 hr 6 am Antananarivo +3 hr 7 am Philippines 4 of 40 +8 hr 12 pm Pretoria Philippines Antananarivo © Boardworks Ltd 2007 What are hemispheres? The Earth is divided into two hemispheres, separated by the equator. Why do the hemispheres have different seasons at different times of the year? northern hemisphere equator southern hemisphere 5 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 What causes seasons to change? When the North Pole tilts towards the Sun, it is summer in the northern hemisphere. At the same time the South Pole is tilted away from the Sun. If it is mid-summer in the UK, what season will it be in the southern hemisphere? Winter Six months later the Earth will be on the other side of the Sun. How does this affect the seasons? 6 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 The seasons spring in the UK summer in the UK winter in the UK autumn in the UK 7 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 What is the season? 8 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 The Moon 9 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 The Moon The Sun and the Moon look about the same size from Earth, but they are not. The Sun is about 400 times wider than the Moon but is 400 times further away! sunlight The Moon takes just over 27 days to orbit the Earth. 10 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 The phases of the Moon 11 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Phases of the Moon activity 12 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Questions about the Moon 1. The Moon does not produce its own light – how can we see it? 2. How long does it take the Moon to orbit the Earth? 3. Why do we always see the same side of the Moon? 4. Why do we only see a full Moon once a month? 5. What is a new Moon? 6. What force keeps the Moon in orbit around the Earth? 7. Why is there very little atmosphere on the Moon? 8. How does the Moon cause tides? 13 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Eclipses A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, casting a shadow over the Earth. The last solar eclipse over the UK was on 11th August 1999. Solar eclipses are rare. A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, casting a shadow over the Moon. Lunar eclipses happen in most years. 14 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 What happens during a solar eclipse? Where must the Moon be for a solar eclipse to take place? During a solar eclipse the Moon moves directly between the Sun and the Earth, blocking the Sun’s rays from reaching part of the Earth. 15 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 What happens during a lunar eclipse? Where must the Moon be for a lunar eclipse to take place? During a lunar eclipse the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth to the Sun, blocking the Sun’s light from reaching the Moon. 16 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Questions about eclipses 1. Why do eclipses only last a few minutes? 2. Why do you think ancient people were frightened of eclipses? 3. What causes an eclipse of the Sun (a solar eclipse)? 4. What causes an eclipse of the Moon (a lunar eclipse)? 5. What would a lunar eclipse look like if you were an astronaut standing on the Moon? 6. Draw simple ray diagrams of a: solar eclipse lunar eclipse 17 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 The Solar System 18 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Labelling the planets 19 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Data on the Solar System 20 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Solar System timeline 21 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Temperature across the Solar System surface temperature (ºC) Using the information about the Solar System, you can plot a graph showing ‘surface temperature’ [y] against ‘distance from the Sun’ [x]: What happens 500 to the surface 400 temperature of 300 planets as they 200 get further away from the Sun? 100 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 -100 -200 -300 distance from the Sun (millions km) 22 of 40 Predict the surface temperature of a planet that is 7000 km away from the Sun. © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Planet postcards 1. Choose a planet that you would like to know more about. You cannot choose Earth. 2. Using books or any other sources of information find out five facts about that planet. 3. Design a postcard from that planet. You need to draw a front to the postcard that suits your planet. 4. Write a postcard to someone on Earth as if you are visiting the planet you have chosen. You must use your five facts in your postcard. 23 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Planet travel guides 1. Choose a planet that you would like to know more about. 2. Find out about that planet using books and other sources of information. 3. Design a travel brochure to encourage people to come and visit the planet. 4. You could tell people: the climate of the planet where they will stay what sights they can see on the planet how they can get there and how long it will take. 24 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 How many Earth years? 25 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Which planet? 26 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Solar System quiz 27 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Satellites and probes 28 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Satellites – science fiction to science fact For thousands of years, humans have been fascinated by the night sky and what lies beyond it. Science fiction writers first suggested the idea that artificial satellites could be put into orbit around the Earth. This only became reality in 1957 when the Soviet Union placed Sputnik I and Sputnik II into orbit – Sputnik II carried a live dog called Laika! Today, artificial satellites are frequently launched by space shuttles and unmanned rockets. Artificial satellites have many uses including communications, satellite TV, weather forecasting and navigation. 29 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Using satellites to view space Astronomical satellites, such as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), are large telescopes placed in a high orbit far away from the effects of the Earth’s atmosphere. This means that their images of the Universe are much more detailed than images observed from Earth. These satellites can ‘see’ much further into space and give us images of stars and galaxies many light years away, like this, the Eagle Nebula. 30 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Exploring space – mission to Mars Our search for answers and clues to the origin of the Solar System and the possibility of life elsewhere led to the development of unmanned space probes. For years, science fiction had brought us stories of Martians – but could they really exist or have existed? On 4th December 1996, NASA launched the ‘Pathfinder’ Discovery Mission to Mars. It cost $150 million and took 7 months to reach Mars. When it had landed, the ‘Sojourner Rover’ buggy tested Mars’ atmosphere, surface and weather, amongst other things. 31 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Mission to Mars – tests on Mars The tests carried out by the Rover showed that Mars is much more like the Earth than was expected. Was Mars like the Earth until something catastrophic happened? The tests also showed that the crust of Mars is very similar to continental crust on Earth and that volcanoes had played a part in Mars’ formation. Why did the volcanoes stop? Did the gases they gave out kill any Martian life? 32 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Mission to Mars – erosion on Mars The surface of Mars has undergone intense erosion by massive floods and by strong winds. Did it rain on Mars? How much water was there on Mars? Was there life in the water? 33 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Questions about satellites and probes 1. Give two uses of artificial satellites. 2. Why can the Hubble Space Telescope ‘see’ much further into space and produce much clearer images than telescopes on Earth? 3. Why didn’t NASA send astronauts to Mars instead of the unmanned ‘Pathfinder’ Discovery Mission? 4. Give two reasons why there is unlikely to be life on Mars. 34 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Is there life out there? Although many people believe that there is intelligent life on other planets, it is a great challenge to find this. Should we spend lots of money looking for aliens when there are still huge numbers of plants and animals on our planet that we know nothing about? 35 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Life on other planets? 36 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Summary activities 37 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Glossary axis – The line that the Earth rotates about, which is tilted at an angle of 23.5°. lunar eclipse – The blocking of the Moon’s light, when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon. luminous – An object that gives out light. orbit – The path of a planet around the Sun, or the path of a satellite around a planet. satellite – Any object that orbits another object. seasons – The different periods of a year caused by the tilt of Earth’s axis. solar system – The Sun and the collection of planets and other objects orbiting around it. solar eclipse – The blocking of the Sun’s light, when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. 38 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Anagrams 39 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007 Multiple-choice quiz 40 of 40 © Boardworks Ltd 2007