ScienceSpace Systems & Earth's HistoryAges 12–13
Galaxies and the universe
Describe the scale of the universe, including the structure of galaxies, the position of the Sun in the Milky Way, and the use of light years as a unit of distance, and appreciate why space exploration requires enormous timescales
Learning resources
Reviewed external links that reinforce this concept. They do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
No reviewed resources for this concept yet.
The teaching approach above still stands. Curated practice links will appear here as the shelf fills.
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This concept
Galaxies and the universeConceptual concept
Check understanding
- Defines a light year as the distance light travels in one year
- Describes the structure of a galaxy and states that the Sun is a star in the Milky Way galaxy
- Compares the distances within the solar system with the distances between stars and between galaxies, expressing them in appropriate units
“If your child heard that a star is 400 light years away, could they explain what a light year means, roughly how far that is, and why we will never be able to visit it with current spacecraft?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Space Systems & Earth's History
- Age range
- Ages 12–13
Standards
ngss-ms:MS-ESS1-2uk-nc-2013:KS3.Sci.Phys.SpacePhysics.5