The spinning Earth

Science

Our solar system

Gravity

Stars, galaxies and the universe

Heating by the Sun

Earth's tilt

Seasons on Earth

Changing ideas about Earth

In the Gravity in space unit, they will build on this knowledge to learn to how gravitational forces cause orbital motion and about stellar evolution and cosmology, including red-shift and the big bang. 

In primary science, pupils learnt about the cause of day and night, the movement of Earth orbiting the Sun and the Moon orbiting Earth, and about stars and planets we can see in the night sky.

This unit explores gravity as the force between masses, including weight calculation using gravitational field strength. It covers the relationship between Earth, the Moon, and the Sun, the concept of light years, and seasonal changes due to Earth’s tilt.

Our solar system and beyond

A star is an extremely large sphere of hot gas that emits light.

A planet is a very large sphere of rock or gas that orbits a star.

A dwarf planet is a large, round object that orbits a star but is not big enough to clear its orbital path of other debris.

An asteroid is a small, rocky object that orbits the Sun.

Our solar system includes the Sun and all the objects in orbit around the Sun.

Gravitational forces pull objects towards large objects like planets, moons and stars.

An attraction is a force that acts to pull one object towards another.

A star is an extremely hot sphere of gas that emits light.

A light-year is the distance light travels in one year.

1 billion = 1 000 000 000 (one thousand million).

A galaxy is a group of billions of stars.

The name for the whole of space and everything in it is the universe.

Anything that raises the temperature of an object is heating the object.

Rays are straight lines with arrowheads, drawn to represent light.

An angle measures the difference between two directions, in degrees.

A thermometer is used to measure temperature in degrees Celsius.

Summer is the warmest season, when the Sun is highest in the sky and there are more hours of daylight.

Winter is the coldest season, when the Sun is lowest in the sky and there are fewer hours of daylight.

The axis of a spinning object is the imaginary line around which it spins.

Something is tilted if it is at an angle to the horizontal or vertical.

An orbit is the path one object takes around another object.

An object that is shaped like a ball is a sphere.

In the geocentric model of the universe (which is incorrect), Earth is at the centre of everything.

In the heliocentric model, Earth and the other planets orbit the Sun.

A telescope is able to magnify distant objects so they can be seen in more detail.

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Our solar system and beyond

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