Download Natural Sciences Unit 1

I.E.S. LA ESCRIBANA
BILINGÜE
1º E.S.O. SECCIÓN
I.E.S LA ESCRIBANA
1º E.S.O. Sección Bilingüe
Lesson 1
The Universe and
the Solar System
I.E.S LA ESCRIBANA 1º E.S.O.
Lesson 1: The Universe and the Solar System
DEPARTAMENTO DE LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS: INGLÉS
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I.E.S. LA ESCRIBANA
BILINGÜE
1º E.S.O. SECCIÓN
COMPONENTS AND ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE
The Universe is formed of galaxies. Galaxies are separated by huge distances and
the space between them is empty. Galaxies are formed of thousands of millions of stars
and dust or gas clouds; these clouds are called nebulas. Our galaxy is the Milky Way
Galaxy.
There are planets in many galaxies which form planet systems. Our system is the
Solar System.Some planets have satellites going round them. The Earth's satellite is the
Moon.
THE UNIVERSE
THE MILKY WAY GALAXY
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
THE MOON
ACTIVITY 1: Use the Internet and look for other galaxies that are
part of the universe. Make a list.
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ACTIVITY 2: Use the Internet again and answer the following
questions:
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Have all the galaxies got planet systems?
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Have all the planets in our solar system got satellites? Can you
name them?
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What's the name of the main star of our planet system?
When we watch the sky at night, we can see that stars have different shapes (they
look like humans or animals) These shapes are called constellations.
In the past, people believed that constellations had an influence on their lives
(horoscopes) This belief is called astrology and nowadays it has not got any
scientific foundation. So, it cannot be confused with astromony, which is the
science that studies the universe and its components.
ACTIVITY 3: Look for information on the current constellations and
make a poster of the main constellations, for example: the names of
the horoscopes, the Minor and Major Ursa, and so on.
UNIVERSE UNITS OF MEASURE
Due to the huge distances between the different elements of the universe, we
cannot use the usual units of measure we know. We need to use special units, for
example:
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Astronomic unit: this is the distance from the Sun to the Earth. It is about 150
million kilometres
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Light year: this is the distance that light travels in one year. In just one year, it
travels about 9,5 billion Kilometres.
ACTIVITY 4: The distance between the Sun and the Earth is one
Astronomic unit, and the distance between the Sun and Pluto is 39'4
Astronomic units. Calculate how many kilometres are there between
Pluto and the Earth.
ACTIVITY 5: The Milky Way Galaxy has a diameter of 100.000 light
years. Calculate the diameter in kilometres.
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
It is formed of the Sun (our star), the planets and small bodies such as asteroids
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and comets. The Sun in the centre of the Solar System, and it is composed of hydrogen
and helium. The planets in the Solar System are:
MERCURY
VENUS
THE EARTH
MARS
JUPITER
SATURN
U
R
A
N
U
S
NEPTUNE
There are other bodies such as dwarf planets. They are bodies with spheric shape
that turn around the Sun and in their orbits, there are other stars with similar sizes. Pluto
is one of them.
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Pluto is placed after Neptune and it was considered as a planet until 2006
There also are little or rocky bodies such as the rest of the stars that turn around
the Sun: asteroids and comets or around the planets: satellites.
Stars have two types of movement:
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Rotation movement: stars move around their own axis.
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Revolution movement: stars move around other stars.
The way which stars follow moving one around each other is the orbit.
ACTIVITY 6: Are the sentences true or false?

The planets move around their satellites. ____

The moon moves around the Sun. ____

The star of our solar system is called Alpha Centauri. ____

The Sun moves around the Earth. ____

The Earth's movement around the Sun is called rotation. ____
ACTIVITY 7: Now, rewrite the false sentences correctly.
ACTIVITY 8: Label the different bodies from this picture.
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ACTIVITY 9: Complete the table.
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Definitions
Stars / stars groups.
They move around stars and don't have their own light.
Little rocky bodies moving around the Sun.
Stars giving energy continuously
Group of stars
Group of galaxies
Stars moving around some planets
ACTIVITY 10: What is your galaxy direction? To find out, say the
planet you live on, the stars' system where your planet belongs, and the
galaxy where your star system is.
ACTIVITY 11: Look at this table and study the information about the
solar system. Tick the correct sentences.
Characteristics and movements of the planets in the solar system
Planet
Distance to
the Sun (AU)
Mass
(Earth=1)
Radio
(Earth=1)
Rotation
time
Trans.
time
Mercury
0,39
0,06
0,38
58,65 days
88 days
Venus
0,72
0,82
0,95
243 days
224,6
days
Earth
1,00
1
1
23h 56min
365,25
days
Mars
1,52
0,11
0,53
24h 37min
1,88
years
Jupiter
5,20
318
11,21
9h 55min
11,86
years
Saturn
9,54
95
9,42
10h 40min
29,46
years
Uranus
19,19
14,6
4,01
17h 14min
84,07
years
Neptune
30,06
17,2
3,89
16h 7min
164,82
years
A)The distance between Venus and the Earth is bigger than the
distance between Saturn and the Sun.
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B)The distance between Venus and the Earth is bigger than the distance
between Mars and the Earth.
C)The farthest planet from the Sun is 40 times the distance between
the Earth and the sun.
D)One astronomic unit is the distance between the Sun and the Earth.
So the distance between them is exactly 1 AU.
E)The fastest planet turning around itself is Saturn.
F)The fastest planet turning around the Sun is Mars.
GLOSSARY
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1º E.S.O. SECCIÓN
Universe: universo.
Galaxy: galaxia.
Star: estrella.
Nebula: nebulosa.
Milky Way Galaxy: Vía Láctea.
Solar System: sistema solar.
Planet: planeta.
Dwarf planets: planetas enanos.
Satellite: satélite.
Sun: sol.
Moon: luna.
The Earth: la Tierra.
Constellation: constelación.
Astrology: astrología.
Astronomy: astronomía.
Astronomic unit: unidad astronómica.
Light Year: año luz.
Comet: cometa.
Asteroid: asteroide.
Rotation movement: movimiento de rotación.
Translation movement: movimiento de traslación.
Orbit: órbita.
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