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Astrophysicist

I can understand how maths is used by astrophysicists.

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Lesson 3 of 18

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Year 9

Astrophysicist

I can understand how maths is used by astrophysicists.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

It may not be practical to physically land on different planets
It is possible to use trigonometry to determine terrain features
This is done by using the position of the sun and the length of the shadows cast by different objects

Keywords

Astrophysicist - An astrophysicist tries to understand the universe and its contents by applying the laws of physics.

Common misconception

Pupils may not be convinced that a right angled triangle is formed.

For the model, we assume that the terrain feature is perpendicular to the surface.

If pupils wish to explore further, they could look at 'The Big Earth Data Project' (MEI) which explores real data from satellites used in different Earth observation studies. For more examples of where maths can take you, check out the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences website.

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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Starting with the planet closest to the Sun, put these planets in order.

1 - Mercury

2 - Venus

3 - Earth

4 - Mars

5 - Jupiter

6 - Saturn

7 - Neptune

Q2.
Select the values written correctly in standard form.

Correct answer: $$6.782 \times 10^{7}$$

$$0.782 \times 10^{7}$$

Correct answer: $$6.782 \times 10^{-7}$$

$$67.82 \times 10^{6}$$

Q3.
Select the correct way of writing 8300 in standard form.

$$8300 \times 10^{0}$$

$$83 \times 10^{2}$$

Correct answer: $$8.3 \times 10^{3}$$

$$0.83 \times 10^{4}$$

Q4.
$$2.8 \times 10^{4}$$ as an ordinary number is .

Correct Answer: 28 000

Q5.
$$2.913694 \times 10^{5}$$ as an ordinary number is .

Correct Answer: 291 369.4

Q6.
$$2.91 \times 10^{-5}$$ as an ordinary number is .

Correct Answer: 0.0000291

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
An astrophysicist tries to understand the universe and its contents by applying the laws of .

Correct Answer: physics

Q2.
The first moon landing took place in...

1959

Correct answer: 1969

1979

1989

Q3.
Calculating the height of various features (such as mountains) is often done using a laser...

Correct answer: altimeter

metre rule

pointer

tape measure

Q4.
The wall of a crater on Mars is 0.6 km tall. When the wall casts a shadow with length 557 m, what angle (to 1 d.p.) is the Sun at?

21.8°

42.9°

Correct answer: 47.1°

68.2°

Q5.
The wall of a crater on Mars is 6 km tall. When the wall casts a shadow with length 557 m, what angle (to 1 d.p.) is the Sun at?

Correct Answer: 84.7°, 84.7

Q6.
A crater on Mars has a wall which casts a shadow of length 2.1 km. This occurs when the Sun is at an angle of 67°. What is the height (to 2 d.p.) of this wall in kilometres?

Correct Answer: 4.95 km, 4.95

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Maths

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Astrophysicist

Astrophysicist

Lesson slides

Lesson details

Key learning points

Keywords

Common misconception

Equipment

Licence

Lesson video

Worksheet

Prior knowledge starter quiz

6 Questions

Q1.Starting with the planet closest to the Sun, put these planets in order.

Q2.Select the values written correctly in standard form.

Q3.Select the correct way of writing 8300 in standard form.

Q4.$$2.8 \times 10^{4}$$ as an ordinary number is .

Q5.$$2.913694 \times 10^{5}$$ as an ordinary number is .

Q6.$$2.91 \times 10^{-5}$$ as an ordinary number is .

Assessment exit quiz

6 Questions

Q1.An astrophysicist tries to understand the universe and its contents by applying the laws of .

Q2.The first moon landing took place in...

Q3.Calculating the height of various features (such as mountains) is often done using a laser...

Q4.The wall of a crater on Mars is 0.6 km tall. When the wall casts a shadow with length 557 m, what angle (to 1 d.p.) is the Sun at?

Q5.The wall of a crater on Mars is 6 km tall. When the wall casts a shadow with length 557 m, what angle (to 1 d.p.) is the Sun at?

Q6.A crater on Mars has a wall which casts a shadow of length 2.1 km. This occurs when the Sun is at an angle of 67°. What is the height (to 2 d.p.) of this wall in kilometres?

Lesson appears in

UnitMaths / Maths in the workplace

Maths

Q1.
Starting with the planet closest to the Sun, put these planets in order.

Q2.
Select the values written correctly in standard form.

Q3.
Select the correct way of writing 8300 in standard form.

Q4.
$$2.8 \times 10^{4}$$ as an ordinary number is .

Q5.
$$2.913694 \times 10^{5}$$ as an ordinary number is .

Q6.
$$2.91 \times 10^{-5}$$ as an ordinary number is .

Q1.
An astrophysicist tries to understand the universe and its contents by applying the laws of .

Q2.
The first moon landing took place in...

Q3.
Calculating the height of various features (such as mountains) is often done using a laser...

Q4.
The wall of a crater on Mars is 0.6 km tall. When the wall casts a shadow with length 557 m, what angle (to 1 d.p.) is the Sun at?

Q5.
The wall of a crater on Mars is 6 km tall. When the wall casts a shadow with length 557 m, what angle (to 1 d.p.) is the Sun at?

Q6.
A crater on Mars has a wall which casts a shadow of length 2.1 km. This occurs when the Sun is at an angle of 67°. What is the height (to 2 d.p.) of this wall in kilometres?