Year 7 Science · Unit 4 · Lesson 7
Foundation Worksheet
Learning Goals
Match each term to its meaning
Write the letter of the correct meaning in the middle column. Each letter is used once.
| Term | Letter | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Geocentric model | A. The Sun-centred model, with the Earth and planets orbiting the Sun | |
| Heliocentric model | B. Wrote down the Earth-centred model around 150 CE | |
| Scientific model | C. Published the Sun-centred model in 1543 | |
| Ptolemy | D. The Earth-centred model, with the Sun and stars moving around a still Earth | |
| Copernicus | E. Used a telescope around 1610 to see Jupiter’s moons and the phases of Venus | |
| Galileo | F. A simplified picture of how something works, which we keep, modify or reject as new evidence appears |
True or false? Fix the false ones
Circle T or F. If a statement is false, correct it on the line.
1. Copernicus published the geocentric, Earth-centred model in 1543.
Correct it:
2. “Geo” means Earth, so a geocentric model has the Earth at the centre.
Correct it:
3. One reason people trusted the geocentric model is that we do not feel the Earth moving.
Correct it:
4. Scientists change a model when a famous person tells them to, not because of new evidence.
Correct it:
5. Kepler worked out that the planets travel around the Sun in perfect circles.
Correct it:
Sort it: which model?
Write each feature in the box for the model it belongs to. The boxes do not hold the same number of items.
Geocentric model
Heliocentric model
1. Explain the difference between the geocentric model and the heliocentric model in your own words.
2. The geocentric model was trusted for more than fourteen hundred years. Give two things people saw or felt every day that made it seem right.
Read the data: a telescope notebook
Scenario: watching Jupiter
Around 1610 Galileo pointed his telescope at Jupiter on many nights. Next to Jupiter he saw tiny points of light. Table 1 is a simplified record of the kind of thing he saw. On some nights a point of light could not be seen at all.
| Night | Points on the east side of Jupiter | Points on the west side of Jupiter | Did the points stay close to Jupiter? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 1 | Yes |
| 2 | 0 | 3 | Yes |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | Yes |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | Yes |
| 5 | 1 | 2 | Yes |
Source: made-up, simplified record for this worksheet.
3. Describe two patterns you can see in Table 1.
4. Galileo decided the points of light were moons orbiting Jupiter. Explain why this was a problem for the geocentric model.
5. Was the geocentric model kept, modified or rejected? Explain what happened to it over time, and why.
Match each term to its meaning
Geocentric model → D; Heliocentric model → A; Scientific model → F; Ptolemy → B; Copernicus → C; Galileo → E.
True or false
1. False: Copernicus published the heliocentric model. 2. True. 3. True. 4. False: a model changes when new evidence no longer fits it. 5. False: elliptical orbits (stretched ovals), not circles.
Sort it: which model?
Geocentric (3): still Earth at the centre; Sun and stars circle the Earth; Ptolemy. Heliocentric (5): Sun near the centre; Earth and planets orbit the Sun; Copernicus; the Earth spins; phases of Venus.
Question 1
Geocentric: a still Earth at the centre, everything moves around it (1). Heliocentric: the Sun near the centre, the Earth and planets orbit it (1). [2 marks]
Question 2
Any two (1 each): the Sun seems to cross the sky; the stars seem to wheel across the sky; we do not feel the Earth move. [2 marks]
Read the data: a telescope notebook
3. Any two (1 each): they change sides night to night; they always stay close to Jupiter; never more than four are seen. [2 marks]
4. The geocentric model said everything moves around the Earth (1). These moons move around Jupiter (1), so not everything orbits the Earth: evidence the old model could not explain (1). [3 marks]
Question 5
Marking guide: 1 kept for centuries because it matched what people saw with their eyes; 1 each for two pieces of evidence with the scientist (Galileo: Jupiter’s moons, phases of Venus; Kepler: elliptical orbits); 1 modified, then rejected and replaced by the heliocentric model; 1 models change because evidence no longer fits, not popularity. [5 marks]
Model answer: It was kept for centuries because it matched what people saw, such as the Sun crossing the sky. Then Galileo saw moons orbiting Jupiter, and Kepler showed orbits are elliptical. This evidence did not fit, so the model was modified, then rejected and replaced by the heliocentric model.
Common error: mixing up geo (Earth) and helio (Sun).