6 mistakes learners make with earth and space, each one named and explained.
The Earth spins once a day and goes round the Sun once a year, and almost everything we see in the sky follows from those two motions.
You say there is no gravity on the space station, when gravity there is nearly as strong as it is on the ground.
The word weightless says it plainly, and everything on screen floats.
Question. Why do astronauts float on the space station?
A common answer. There is no gravity that far out
The answer. They are falling round the Earth, and everything around them is falling at the same rate
Why. Gravity is what keeps them in orbit. Without it they would fly off in a straight line.
Ask what is holding them in their circle.
You say we have night when the Earth is on the far side of its orbit, which would make a night six months long.
Both motions are real and both are taught in the same lesson, so the one that causes day and night gets mixed up with the one that causes the year.
Question. What causes day and night?
A common answer. The Earth going round the Sun
The answer. The Earth spinning on its own axis
Why. The orbit takes a year. Day and night change every few hours, so it must be the spin.
Match the motion to how long the change takes.
You say the Moon is a crescent because the Earth is blocking part of the sunlight.
The Earth's shadow does fall on the Moon sometimes, and a crescent looks exactly like something being covered up.
Question. Why is the Moon sometimes a crescent?
A common answer. The Earth's shadow covers part of it
The answer. We see only part of the lit half, because of where the Moon is in its orbit
Why. The Earth's shadow on the Moon is a lunar eclipse, which happens rarely, not every month.
Phases are about which part of the lit half faces us.
You say it is summer because the Earth has moved nearer to the Sun.
Nearer means hotter is true of a fire or a radiator, so it is a reasonable thing to reach for.
Question. Why is it warmer in summer?
A common answer. The Earth is closer to the Sun in summer
The answer. That half of the Earth is tilted towards the Sun, so the light hits it more directly and for longer
Why. If distance caused the seasons, the whole planet would have summer at once.
Check your explanation against the other hemisphere before you believe it.
You list the Moon as a light source alongside the Sun and a lamp.
The Moon is plainly bright in a dark sky, and everything else that bright is making its own light.
Question. Is the Moon a light source?
A common answer. Yes, the Moon gives out light
The answer. No, the Moon reflects light from the Sun
Why. A light source makes its own light. The Moon only sends back the Sun's.
Ask where the light was made, not where it came from last.
You explain day and night by the Sun moving across the sky and round to the other side.
The Sun really does appear to move across the sky, and nothing you can feel tells you that the ground is turning.
Question. Why do we have day and night?
A common answer. The Sun goes round the Earth once a day
The answer. The Earth spins on its axis once a day
Why. The Sun looks as though it moves because you are being carried round by the spin.
Ask what is moving: the thing you are standing on, or everything else in the universe.
WAJD spots these patterns in your child's answers and names the one behind their wrong answers, instead of just marking them wrong.