Day and night/seasons
Eclipses
Solar systems models
Technology & Culture
Graphing skills
100
What causes day and night on Earth?
Earth’s rotation on its axis.
100
A solar eclipse happens when the ______ blocks the Sun.
Moon.
100
What does the geocentric model place at the centre of the solar system?
Earth.
100
Which culture used constellations like the Emu in the Sky for navigation?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
100
What information goes on the x-axis of a graph?
The independent variable (the factor that we change in the experiment)
200
Why does Australia experience summer when the Northern Hemisphere has winter?
Because Earth’s axis is tilted, so different hemispheres receive different angles of sunlight.
200
Which eclipse happens when Earth blocks sunlight from reaching the Moon?
Lunar eclipse.
200
What does the heliocentric model place at the centre of the solar system?
The Sun.
200
Name one piece of technology that has helped us understand the solar system.
Telescope, space probe, satellite, or spacecraft.
200
What information goes on the y-axis of a graph?
The dependent variable (the results)
300
True or false: The Earth is closer to the Sun in summer than in winter.
False – seasons are caused by Earth’s tilt, not its distance from the Sun.
300
What are the two different shadow regions called during an eclipse?
The darkest shadow and the lightest shadow
300
Which famous astronomer strongly supported the heliocentric model:
a) Albert Einstein
b) Nicolaus Copernicus
c) Ptolemy
d) Galileo
b) Nicolaus Copernicus
300
Explain how telescopes improved our understanding of the solar system.
They let us see planets, moons, and stars in detail, proving the heliocentric model and discovering new objects.
300
Why is it important to label the axes of a graph?
So we know what the data represents and can interpret the graph correctly.
400
Explain why Earth’s tilt is important for seasons.
The tilt changes the angle and intensity of sunlight, creating warmer or cooler temperatures in each hemisphere.
400
Explain why we don’t see an eclipse every month.
The Moon’s orbit is tilted, so the Sun, Moon, and Earth don’t line up perfectly every month.
400
Why was the geocentric model widely believed for so long?
Because it matched observations of the time and was supported by the church and cultural beliefs.
400
Describe one way Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples used astronomy.
Navigation, seasonal calendars for food, storytelling, or cultural ceremonies.
400
Why should you draw a smooth line (or best-fit line) instead of joining the points with a zigzag?
Because the line shows the overall trend/pattern of the data, not just the individual points.
500
Use a diagram or description to explain how sunlight angles affect temperature in different seasons.
In summer, sunlight hits more directly (higher angle), producing more concentrated heat; in winter, sunlight is spread out (lower angle), producing less heat.
500
Look at a diagram of an eclipse. Identify whether it is solar or lunar and justify your choice.
Lunar eclipse- sun, Earth, moon
500
Which model of the solar system does the picture below represent?
Heliocentric model
500
How have space probes or satellites changed our understanding compared to older methods of observation?
They give direct data from space (e.g. photos, measurements, surface composition), allowing more accurate knowledge than Earth-based observations.
500
A student’s line graph has all the correct points plotted but no title. Why is a title important, and what should a good graph title include?
A title tells the reader what the graph is about. A good title should describe both variables (e.g. “Effect of Time of Day on Temperature”).