Changing Ideas About Space
Understand that ideas about the solar system changed over time: ancient people believed Earth was at the centre (geocentric model, Ptolemy), until Copernicus proposed the Sun was at the centre (heliocentric model), later confirmed by Galileo’s telescope observations
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Can your child tell you that people used to think the Sun went around the Earth, and explain how scientists like Copernicus and Galileo changed our understanding?
Understand that ideas about the solar system changed over time: ancient people believed Earth was at the centre (geocentric model, Ptolemy), until Copernicus proposed the Sun was at the centre (heliocentric model), later confirmed by Galileo’s telescope observations
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Check understanding
- Describe the geocentric model (Earth at the centre) and name Ptolemy as its main proponent
- Describe the heliocentric model (Sun at the centre) and name Copernicus as the person who proposed it
- Explain that Galileo used a telescope to find evidence supporting the heliocentric model (e.g. moons orbiting Jupiter)
“Can your child tell you that people used to think the Sun went around the Earth, and explain how scientists like Copernicus and Galileo changed our understanding?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Space Exploration
- Age range
- Ages 9–11