Good Science Victorian Curriculum Year 7
Digital sample of Matilda's newest publication, Good Science Victorian Curriculum Year, authored by Emma Craven and Aaron Elias. For more information visit www.matildaeducation.com.au or email Katrina Tucker, katrinatucker@matildaed.com.au
Digital sample of Matilda's newest publication, Good Science Victorian Curriculum Year, authored by Emma Craven and Aaron Elias. For more information visit www.matildaeducation.com.au or email Katrina Tucker, katrinatucker@matildaed.com.au
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EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCES<br />
6.1<br />
DAY AND NIGHT<br />
LEARNING INTENTION<br />
At the end of this lesson I will be<br />
able to explain that predictable<br />
phenomena on Earth, including<br />
day and night, are caused by the<br />
relative positions of the Sun, Earth<br />
and the Moon.<br />
KEY TERMS<br />
axis<br />
a real or imaginary line through<br />
the centre of an object<br />
orbit<br />
the curved path a smaller object<br />
takes around another object<br />
revolve<br />
to move in a circular path around<br />
another object<br />
rotate<br />
to spin on an axis<br />
1<br />
Humans have always wondered about the stars. The Sun and<br />
the Moon stood out in the sky and people wondered about<br />
them as well.<br />
Little by little our understanding increased. By observing and<br />
exploring, scientists worked out what causes day and night.<br />
The Sun is at the centre of our solar system<br />
The Sun is the star at the centre of our solar system. It is an enormous,<br />
dense ball of gas that produces light and heat. The nuclear reactions<br />
inside the core of the Sun are so powerful that the energy produced can<br />
light and heat Earth. This light takes about eight minutes to reach Earth.<br />
Earth is one of the planets that revolves around the Sun. Earth’s orbit is<br />
roughly the shape of a squashed circle. Earth takes one year to revolve<br />
around the Sun.<br />
What star is at the centre of our solar system?<br />
LITERACY LINK<br />
READING<br />
Summarise this section into a<br />
single paragraph. When you’re<br />
finished, give yourself one point<br />
(for each point below) if your<br />
paragraph:<br />
• is easy to understand<br />
• is written in your own words<br />
• includes at least one example<br />
• is written formally and<br />
scientifically<br />
• includes a simple diagram<br />
or image.<br />
NUMERACY LINK<br />
GRAPHING<br />
Look up the average number<br />
of daylight hours in Melbourne<br />
for each month of the year.<br />
Display this data as a bar chart.<br />
2<br />
Figure 6.1 The planets in our<br />
solar system revolve around<br />
the Sun (not to scale).<br />
Earth rotates on its axis<br />
Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is roughly a sphere, and<br />
it rotates on its own axis. A full day is 24 hours because Earth takes<br />
24 hours to complete one full rotation on its axis.<br />
Viewed from the north pole, Earth rotates in an anticlockwise direction,<br />
so the Sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west. At any one<br />
time, half of Earth is in daylight and half is in darkness. The side of<br />
Earth facing the Sun has day, and the side facing away from the Sun<br />
has night.<br />
How long does Earth take to rotate once on its own axis?<br />
90 GOOD SCIENCE VICTORIAN CURRICULUM 7
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