Learning Objectives

1. Have an awareness of the geological age of the Earth, and when different organisms, including humans, appeared.
2. Draw a cross-section of the Earth; name and describe the nature of the crust, mantle, outer core and inner core.
3. Recognise factors that provide evidence for the movement of the Earth’s crust, as described by Tectonic Plate Theory.
4. Identify the three ways that tectonic plates move past each other, and the effects of this movement.
5. Explain how igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic rocks are formed and link them through the rock cycle.
6. Name the constituents of the solar system i.e. sun, 8 planets, moons, asteroids, 3 dwarf planets.
7. Relate the position of the Earth’s orbit to the presence of life on Earth.
8. Explain why the Earth experiences day and night.
9. Explain variations in seasons.
10. Relate the relative positions of the Sun, Earth and Moon to tides.
11. Understand that the Sun is a star, and that stars have a life cycle.
12. Understand that distances in space are huge, and the unit of distance in space is the light year.
13. Recognise some common features of the night sky e.g. single stars (Alpha Centauri), constellations (the Southern Cross, Orion), a galaxy (the Milky Way).