Year 7 Science · Unit 4 · Lesson 11
Master Worksheet
Learning Goals
1. (a) Name the Nation, and the region of its Country, that the lesson describes as holding Knowledge linking the Moon to the tides, and the three ways this Knowledge is passed on. (b) Give one other example of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander astronomy from the lesson, the Peoples who hold it, and what it is used for.
Order the steps: from Moon phase to spring tide
These steps give the scientific account of a spring tide. Number them from 1 (first) to 5 (last).
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| The bulges of ocean water are at their largest. | |
| The Moon reaches new Moon or full Moon. | |
| As Earth rotates, places move into the bulges and get the highest high tides: spring tides. | |
| The pulls of the Sun and the Moon on the oceans add together. | |
| The Sun, the Earth and the Moon line up. |
2. Evaluate this claim: “The link between the Moon and the tides was only discovered by modern science.”
Read the data: testing a tide rule
Scenario
For six months at a jetty, Ari tested a rule: the highest water of each fortnight arrives within 48 hours of the Sun, Earth and Moon lining up.
| Month | Line-ups (new or full Moon) | Yes | No | Not recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| February | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| March | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| April | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| May | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Source: made-up sample results.
3. (a) How many new and full Moons were there in the six months? (b) What percentage of the recorded ones fitted the rule? Show your working.
(b) Fitted the rule: %
4. Ari says: “My table proves the rule will always work.” Evaluate this, using Table 1 and the idea of observation repeated over a long time.
5. Extended response. A museum is making a panel titled “Two ways of knowing the Moon and the tides”. Write the panel text, following the checklist below.
Question 1
(a) The Yolngu People of north-east Arnhem Land, Northern Territory (1); story, song and Lore (1). (b) e.g. the Emu in the Sky (many Aboriginal Nations; linked to when emus lay eggs); Tagai (Torres Strait Islander Peoples; seasons, planting, fishing, sailing). Example and Peoples (1); use (1). [4 marks]
Order the steps: from Moon phase to spring tide
Reading down the table as printed, the correct step numbers are 4, 1, 5, 3, 2. In order: The Moon reaches new Moon or full Moon; The Sun, the Earth and the Moon line up; The pulls of the Sun and the Moon on the oceans add together; The bulges of ocean water are at their largest; As Earth rotates, places move into the bulges and get the highest high tides: spring tides. All 5 = 3; 3 or 4 = 2; 2 = 1. [3 marks]
Question 2
Wrong (1). The Yolngu People observed over thousands of years that the tides match the Moon’s phase and position (1). Science explains the same link with gravity: complementary (1). [3 marks]
Read the data: testing a tide rule
3. (a) 13 (1). (b) 12 of 12 recorded = 100% (1). [2 marks]
4. Every recorded case fitted: strong support (1). But “always” is too far: six months, one place, one case missing (1). Repeats over a far longer time, as over generations, would make it more reliable (1). [3 marks]
Question 5
Marking guide: 1 names the Yolngu People of north-east Arnhem Land, present tense; 1 they observe that the tides match the Moon’s position and phase, passed on through story, song and Lore; 1 spring tides: at new and full Moon the Sun and Moon line up, pulls add, largest tides; 1 neap tides: at the quarter Moons they pull at right angles, smallest tides; 1 a similarity and a difference (e.g. both see a real, predictable link; story, song and Lore versus written down); 1 both reliable, from careful, repeated observation. [6 marks]
Model answer: The Yolngu People of north-east Arnhem Land hold Knowledge, passed on through story, song and Lore, that the tides match the Moon’s position and phase. Science explains the tides with the Moon’s gravity: at new and full Moon the Sun and Moon line up and their pulls add (spring tides); at the quarter Moons they pull at right angles, so their pulls partly cancel and the tides are smallest (neap tides). Both see one real link; one is held in Culture, one written down; both rest on long observation.
Common error: writing about the Knowledge in the past tense.