OCR Twenty First Century Science
P7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy
Oxford Spires Academy
Scheme of work
P7.1 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.
2.
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4.
5.
This overview
Outline for the remaining sequence of lessons
Introductory lesson plan
Key words glossary
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
Unit 7.1 – Outline lesson sequence
Lesson
1
Main focus Main LOs
of lesson
Introductory 1. recall and explain the apparent motions of Sun and
lesson
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
2
Daily
motions
3
Motion of
stars
4
Motion of
planets
5
Eclipses
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
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
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)
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
H: Bold – means that the learning objective is for higher tier only
Based on a lesson length of 1 hour
Oxford Spires Academy
Key activities
Assessment
Resources
Link to
specification
P7.1.1
P7.1.4
P7.1.5
Discussing the movements
of the sun and moon
Modelling the phases of the
moon
Miniwhiteboard
plenary.
Past exam
question 1
Ping pong
balls,
torches,
cameras,
black marker
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
P7.1.1
P7.1.2
P7.1.4
Use an appropriate diagram
and consider acting out the
direction the Earth faces
throughout the year.
Past exam
question
2bce
N/A
P7.1.7
P7.1.9
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
P7.1.3
P7.1.8
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
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 Moon
2. 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 diary
Past exam questions
PPT:
P7L1.1 Introductory
Lesson.pptx
OCR Twenty First Century Science
P7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy
Key words glossary
Sidereal
Lunar
Eclipse
Angle of
declination
Right Ascension
Solar
Constellation
Orbit
Celestial
Phase
Axes
Rotate
Oxford Spires Academy
OCR Twenty First Century Science
P7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy
Past paper questions
1
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
OCR Twenty First Century Science
P7.1 Naked Eye Astronomy
Oxford Spires Academy