OCR Twenty First Century Science P7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy Oxford Spires Academy

Scheme of workP7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy

The big picture for this unit

Since ancient times people have studied ‘the heavens’, first with the naked eye and later through telescopes; they have identified, and attempted to explain, repeating patterns and one-off events. From an understanding of the motions of the Earth, Moon and planets, to the universal expansion deduced from observing distant galaxies, astronomy has informed our perception of the Universe and our place in it.

The module begins with naked eye astronomy and explains some observations of the Moon, stars and planets, including eclipses (shadows) and twinkling stars (refraction). Attention then turns to telescopes, to the formation of images by a pinhole, by lenses and by curved mirrors, and to the use of prisms and gratings to produce spectra. A study of modern observatories explores the scientific reasons for building large telescopes (to collect a lot of radiation and minimise diffraction) and for placing them at high, remote sites (to minimise atmospheric absorption and to avoid ‘noise’ from Earth based sources), and highlights other factors that influence the siting of observatories and the ways astronomers work.

The module will go on to look at the how telescopes work and how their use has enabled us to discover much more about the more distant and dim parts of the universe. It will then look at the methods for estimating distances to stars and galaxies before finishing by considering the composition and lifecycle of stars and the behaviour of hot gases.

Module Map

OCR Twenty First Century Science P7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy Oxford Spires Academy

Key Supporting documentation

1. This overview2. Outline for the remaining sequence of lessons3. Introductory lesson plan4. Key words glossary5. Past paper questions

Key questions to ask students whilst teaching this unit

What can we find out about the solar system from looking into the sky?

What different objects can we see in the sky?

In what ways does the Earth move?

Why does the moon change in appearance?

Why do planets sometimes appear to move backwards?

How can we locate stars in the sky?

Why do stars move throughout the night?

What causes eclipses?

Why are eclipses so rare?

Common misconceptions

We can only see stars when we look into space – We also see planets, comets, meteors.

The moon emits light – It only reflects light from the sun.

Shooting stars are evidence that stars move – They are meteors burning up as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

We always see the same stars – The stars we see vary throughout the year as the Earth faces different directions into space as it orbits the Sun.

Stars move throughout the night – Stars only appear to move due to the rotation of Earth on its axis.

The phases of the moon are caused by the Earth blocking the Sun’s light – The Sun always illuminates half the moon, the phases are a result of how much of that half is visible to us.

OCR Twenty First Century Science P7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy Oxford Spires Academy

Specification

1. recall that the Sun appears to travel east-west across the sky once every 24 hours, that the stars appear to travel east-west across the sky once in a very slightly shorter time period, and that the Moon appears to travel east-west across the sky once in a slightly longer time period

2. explain why a sidereal day, a rotation of 360° of the Earth, is different from a solar day due to the orbital movement of the Earth and that a sidereal day is 4 minutes less than a solar day

3. understand that the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn can be seen with the naked-eye and that all the planets appear to move with the stars but also to change their position relative to the fixed stars

4. explain the apparent motions of the Sun, stars, Moon and planets in terms of rotation of the Earth and the orbits of the Earth, Moon and planets

5. explain the phases of the Moon in terms of the relative positions of the Sun, Moon and Earth

6. explain both solar and lunar eclipses in terms of the positions of the Sun and Moon and explain the low frequency of eclipses in terms of the relative tilt of the orbits of the Moon about the Earth and the Earth about the Sun

7. explain why different stars are seen in the night sky at different times of the year, in terms of the movement of the Earth round the Sun

8. recall that, and explain why, planets sometimes appear to move with retrograde motion relative to the ‘fixed’ stars

9. understand that the positions of astronomical objects are described in terms of two angles (e.g. right ascension and declination) and understand how the angles relate to the celestial sphere.

OCR Twenty First Century Science P7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy Oxford Spires AcademyUnit 7.1 – Outline lesson sequence

Lesson Main focus of lesson

Main LOs Key activities Assessment Resources Link to specification

1 Introductory lesson

1. recall and explain the apparent motions of Sun and Moon in terms of the rotation of the Earth and the orbits of the Earth and Moon

2. explain the phases of the Moon in terms of the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth

Discussing the movements of the sun and moonModelling the phases of the moon

Mini-whiteboard plenary. Past exam question 1

Ping pong balls, torches, cameras, black marker

P7.1.1P7.1.4P7.1.5

2 Daily motions

1. H: explain why a sidereal day, a rotation of 360° of the Earth, is different from a solar day due to the orbital movement of the Earth and that a sidereal day is 4 minutes less than a solar day

2. explain why the moon takes slightly longer to return to the same position

Modelling the orbits of the Earth and the sun – ‘walking them out’Find appropriate animation from youtube (if able)

Past exam question 1

N/A P7.1.1P7.1.2P7.1.4

3 Motion of stars

1. explain why different stars are seen in the night sky at different times of the year, in terms of the movement of the Earth round the Sun

2. explain that the positions of astronomical objects are measured in terms of two angles as seen from Earth

3. H: explain how the angles relate to the celestial sphere

Use an appropriate diagram and consider acting out the direction the Earth faces throughout the year.

Past exam question 2bce

N/A P7.1.7P7.1.9

4 Motion of planets

1. recall that the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn can be seen with the naked eye

2. H: describe how the planets appear to move with the stars but also to change their position relative to the fixed stars

3. recall that planets appear to move with retrograde motion (H: explain why)

Stick post it notes to the ceiling and get pupils to rotate underneath them.‘Walk through’ the paths that the Earth and Mars travel in retrograde motion.

Past exam question 2a

N/A P7.1.3P7.1.8

5 Eclipses 1. explain both solar and lunar eclipses in terms of the positions of the Earth, Sun and Moon

2. H: explain the low frequency of eclipses in terms of the relative tilt of the orbits of the Moon about the Earth and the Earth about the Sun

BBC ‘wonders of the solar’ system clip showing a solar eclipse (youtube)Diagrams showing the position of eclipses

Opportunity for long answer explanation questions.

N/A P7.1.6

H: Bold – means that the learning objective is for higher tier only

Based on a lesson length of 1 hour

OCR Twenty First Century Science P7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy Oxford Spires Academy

Lesson Title: P7L1.1 – Introductory Lesson

Resources:8x[pong ball, black markers, a torch]

Links to Specification:P7.1.1; P7.1.4; P7.1.5

Learning Outcomes:1. recall and explain the apparent motions of Sun and Moon in terms of the rotation of

the Earth and the orbits of the Earth and Moon2. explain the phases of the Moon in terms of the relative positions of the Sun, Moon,

and Earth

Starter:Show pupils the brain teaser on the accompanying ppt and give them time to work out how many different ways that the ball is moving.

Ask pupils to consider the four ways in which the Earth moves.Rally Robin: pupils share initial ideas about how phases of the moon, and seasons can be explained.[A rally robin is where pupils talk in pairs about a provided subject for 30 seconds]

Explain that for the rest of the lesson the pupils are going to explore different ways of explaining the phases of the moon.

Pupils are challenged to explain the phases of the moon using a ping pong ball, black markers, and a torch. If appropriate they could place their mobile phone (or digital camera if phones are allowed in the school context) in place of the earth and use the camera to show the appearance of the moon in different positions.[See teacher crib sheet on the next page]

Get pupils to line up in order of how well they think that they could explain the phases of the moon. Pair them off one from each end so the least confident are paired with the most confident. Then get them to do a sage and scribe activity where the more confident pupil explains and coaches the less confident pupil who acts as a scribe for a written answer.

Plenary:Use the final slide of the accompanying ppt and get pupils draw on mini whiteboards, the phase of the moon at different parts of the moon’s orbit.

Homework:Begin an astronomy diaryPast exam questions

PPT:

OCR Twenty First Century Science P7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy Oxford Spires Academy

Key words glossary

Sidereal

Lunar

Eclipse

Angle of declination

Right Ascension

Solar

Constellation

Orbit

Celestial

Phase

Axes

Rotate

OCR Twenty First Century Science P7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy Oxford Spires Academy

Past paper questions1

OCR Twenty First Century Science P7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy Oxford Spires Academy

OCR Twenty First Century Science P7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy Oxford Spires Academy

OCR Twenty First Century Science P7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy Oxford Spires Academy