KS3 Physics

1. KS3 Physics 7L The Solar System and Beyond

2. Contents 7L The Solar System and Beyond Days, years and seasons The Moon The Solar System Satellites and probes Summary activities

3. The rotation of the Earth

4. Day and night How long is one day? 24 hours How long is one year? 365¼ days The Earth spins on its axis, which is tilted at an angle of 23.5°, and also orbits the Sun. This causes day and night and the seasons.

5. Day and night n i g h t d a y sunlight It take the Earth 24 hours to complete one rotation about its axis.

6. What time is it?  It is 04:00 in London. What time is it in other parts of the Earth? Casablanca Philippines Antanarivo Pretoria

7. The seasons spring in the UK summer in the UK winter in the UK autumn in the UK

8. What is the season?

9. The position of the Sun and the seasons west east summer autumn winter Copy the diagram above and add two ‘sun lines’ – one line for summer and one line for winter.

10. Contents 7L The Solar System and Beyond Days, years and seasons The Moon The Solar System Satellites and probes Summary activities

11. 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! The Moon takes just over 27 days to orbit the Earth. sunlight

12. The Phases of the Moon These are called the phases of the Moon sunlight These are the views of the Moon from Earth.

13. The Phases of the Moon – new Moon new Moon This is the view of the Moon from Earth.

14. The Phases of the Moon – crescent Moon crescent Moon This is the view of the Moon from Earth.

15. The Phases of the Moon – half Moon half Moon This is the view of the Moon from Earth.

16. The Phases of the Moon – gibbous Moon gibbous Moon This is the view of the Moon from Earth.

17. The Phases of the Moon – full Moon full Moon This is the view of the Moon from Earth.

18. The Phases of the Moon – gibbous Moon gibbous Moon This is the view of the Moon from Earth.

19. The Phases of the Moon – half Moon half Moon This is the view of the Moon from Earth.

20. The Phases of the Moon – crescent Moon crescent Moon This is the view of the Moon from Earth.

21. Phases of the Moon activity

22. 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? Homework: Find out how the Moon causes tides.

23. Eclipses A solar eclipsehappens when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth. This casts a shadow over the Earth. The last solar eclipse over the UK was on 11th August 1999. Solar eclipses do not occur very often. A lunar eclipsehappens when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon. This casts a shadow over the Moon. Lunar eclipses happen in most years.

24. What happens during a solar eclipse? During a solar eclipse the Moon moves directly between the Sun and the Earth. During a solar eclipse the Moon blocks the Sun’s rays from reaching part of the Earth. Where must the Moon be for a solar eclipse to take place?

25. Viewing a solar eclipse Always use eclipse viewers, NEVER look directly at the sun. The Earth

26. What happens during a lunar eclipse? During a lunar eclipse the Earth blocks the Sun’s light from reaching the Moon. During a lunar eclipse the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth to the Sun. Where must the Moon be for a lunar eclipse to take place?

27. 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: a) solar eclipse b) lunar eclipse

28. Contents 7L The Solar System and Beyond Days, years and seasons The Moon The Solar System Satellites and probes Summary activities

29. The Solar System Click on the Sun and each planet to learn more. gaseous planets rocky planets Skip all planet slides

30. The Solar System – the Sun Sun viewed in ‘soft’ X ray return to Solar System

31. The Solar System – Mercury return to Solar System

32. The Solar System – Venus return to Solar System

33. The Solar System – Earth return to Solar System

34. The Solar System – Mars return to Solar System

35. The Solar system – Jupiter return to Solar System

36. The Solar System – Saturn return to Solar System

37. The Solar System – Uranus return to Solar System

38. The Solar System – Neptune return to Solar System

39. The Solar System – Pluto return to Solar System

40. Which planet?

41. Temperature in the Solar System Using the information about the Solar System, plot a graph of ‘surface temperature’ [y] against ‘distance from the Sun’ [x]: What happens to the surface temperature of planets as they get further away from the Sun? Predict the surface temperature of a planet that is 7000 km away from the Sun.

42. Planet postcards 1. Choose a planet 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.

43. Planet travel guides 1. Choose a planet 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. You could tell people: - how they can get there and how long it will take; - the climate of the planet; - where they will stay; - what sights they can see on the planet.

44. Contents 7L The Solar System and Beyond Days, years and seasons The Moon The Solar System Satellites and probes Summary activities

45. Beyond the Solar System For thousands of years, humans have been fascinated by the night sky and what lays beyond it.

46. Satellites – science fiction to science fact 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 frequentlylaunched by space shuttles and unmanned rockets. Artificial satellites have many uses including communications, satellite TV, weather forecasting and navigation.

47. Using satellites to view space These satellites can ‘see’ much further into space and give us images of stars and galaxies many light years away, like this cartwheel galaxy. Astronomical satellites, such as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), are large telescopes placed in a high orbit far from the effects of the Earth’s atmosphere.

48. 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.

49. Mission to Mars – about the planet

50. Mission to Mars – the Sojourner Rover The Sojourner Rover