1. 7L The Solar System and Beyond
KS3 Physics
7L The Solar System and Beyond

2. 7L The Solar System and Beyond
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 24 hours How long is one day? 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. sunlight n i g h t d a y Day and night
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
Place
GMT
Time
Casablanca +1
Pretoria +2
Antanarivo +3
Philippines +8
Antanarivo
05:00
06:00
07:00
12:00
Pretoria

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

8. What is the season?

9. 7L The Solar System and Beyond
Contents
7L The Solar System and Beyond
Days, years and seasons
The Moon
The Solar System
Satellites and probes
Summary activities

10. 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

11. The phases of the Moon

12. Phases of the Moon activity

13. 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?
8. How does the Moon cause tides?

14. Eclipses
A solar eclipse happens 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 Solar eclipses do not occur very often.
A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon. This casts a shadow over the Moon.
Lunar eclipses happen in most years.

15. 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?

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

17. 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?

18. 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

19. 7L The Solar System and Beyond
Contents
7L The Solar System and Beyond
Days, years and seasons
The Moon
The Solar System
Satellites and probes
Summary activities

20. Labelling the planets

21. Data on the Solar System

22. Solar System timeline

23. 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?
surface temperature (ºC)
Predict the surface temperature of a planet that is 7000 km away from the Sun.
distance from the Sun (millions Km)

24. 2. Using books or any other sources
Planet postcards
1. Choose a planet that 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.

25. 1. Choose a planet that you would like
Planet travel guides
1. Choose a planet that 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.

26. How many Earth years?

27. Which planet?

28. Solar System quiz

29. 7L The Solar System and Beyond
Contents
7L The Solar System and Beyond
Days, years and seasons
The Moon
The Solar System
Satellites and probes
Summary activities

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

31. 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 frequently launched by space shuttles and unmanned rockets.
Artificial satellites have many uses including communications, satellite TV, weather forecasting and navigation.

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

33. 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.

34. Mission to Mars – the Sojourner Rover

35. Mission to Mars – tests on Mars
The tests carried out by the Rover showed that Mars is much more like the Earth than was expected.
Was Mars like the Earth until something catastrophic happened?

36. Mission to Mars – volcanoes on Mars
The tests also showed that the crust of Mars is very similar to continental crust on Earth and that volcanoes had played a part in Mars’ formation.
Why did the volcanoes stop?
Did the gases they gave out kill any Martian life?

37. Mission to Mars – erosion on Mars
The surface of Mars has undergone intense erosion by massive floods and by strong winds.
Did it rain on Mars?
How much water was there on Mars?
Was there life in
the water?

38. Questions about satellites and probes
1. Give two uses of artificial satellites.
2. Why can the Hubble Space Telescope ‘see’ much further into space and produce much clearer images than telescopes on Earth?
3. Why didn’t NASA send astronauts to Mars instead of spending millions of dollars on the ‘Pathfinder’ Discovery Mission?
4. Give two reasons why there is unlikely to be life on Mars.

39. Is there life out there?
Many people believe that we are not the only intelligent life in the Universe.
The challenge for scientists is to find evidence of other life.

40. Life on other planets?

41. 7L The Solar System and Beyond
Contents
7L The Solar System and Beyond
Days, years and seasons
The Moon
The Solar System
Satellites and probes
Summary activities

42. luminous – An object that gives out light.
Glossary
axis – The line that the Earth rotates about, which is tilted at an angle of 23.5°.
lunar eclipse – The blocking of the Moon’s light, when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon.
luminous – An object that gives out light.
orbit – The path of a planet around the Sun, or the path of a satellite around a planet.
satellite – Any object that orbits another object.
seasons – The different periods of a year caused by the tilt of Earth’s axis.
solar system – The Sun and the collection of planets and other objects orbiting around it.
solar eclipse – The blocking of the Sun’s light, when the
Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun.

43. Anagrams

44. Multiple-choice quiz