Year 7 Science · Unit 4 · Lesson 12
Foundation Worksheet
Learning Goals
Match each term to its meaning
Write the letter of the correct meaning next to each term. Each letter is used once.
| Term | Letter | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Seven Sisters | A. The scientific name for the shimmering of starlight in unsettled, moving air. | |
| Emu in the Sky | B. The Pleiades star cluster, whose appearance many Nations use to mark a change of season. | |
| Tagai | C. The Wiradjuri name for the Emu in the Sky. | |
| Gugurmin | D. Brings the largest tides, useful for fishing and gathering shellfish. | |
| Scintillation | E. A shape of dark dust clouds in the Milky Way whose changing position signals when emus are nesting. | |
| Full or new Moon | F. A figure of stars standing in a canoe, central to Torres Strait Islander seasonal and navigational knowledge. |
Fill the gap: why stars twinkle
Choose the correct word from the word bank. Each word is used at most once. Two words are not needed: cross them out.
Starlight travels down through layers of moving before it reaches your eye. When that air is very unsettled, a star seems to and flicker strongly. When the air is calm, the star shines more . Scientists call this shimmering . Careful observers read how much stars twinkle as a sign of changing winds and coming .
True or false? Fix the false ones
Circle T or F. If a statement is false, correct it on the line.
1. The same stars rise at about the same times each year, so a star’s position can work like a calendar.
Correct it:
2. The Emu in the Sky is made by joining up a line of bright stars.
Correct it:
3. Every Aboriginal Nation reads the sky in exactly the same way.
Correct it:
4. For Torres Strait Islander Peoples, the position of Tagai through the year guides when to plant gardens and when to fish.
Correct it:
5. Stars twinkle most strongly when the air is calm.
Correct it:
1. What does the Emu in the Sky seem to do as the year turns, what does that tell people about wild emus, and how does this help them care for the emus?
Read the data: Mia’s twinkle diary
Scenario
On five nights, Mia rated how much one bright star twinkled, from 1 (steady) to 5 (strong shimmer). She compared her ratings with a weather report on how settled the air was high in the atmosphere.
| Night | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twinkle rating | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Air high up | Calm | Very unsettled | A little unsettled | Very unsettled | Calm |
Source: made-up sample diary.
2. (a) Describe the pattern in Table 1. (b) On which night was the twinkling strongest, and what was the air like that night?
3. Mia’s friend says the star itself keeps getting brighter and dimmer. Use Table 1 and the lesson to explain what really causes the twinkling.
4. Extended response. Write a paragraph for a class display on reading the stars. Give one example of a star or constellation that marks a season or the weather, and one example of using the stars or the Moon to predict an animal, plant or tidal event. Then explain why this counts as careful, repeated science.
Match each term to its meaning
Seven Sisters → B; Emu in the Sky → E; Tagai → F; Gugurmin → C; Scintillation → A; Full or new Moon → D. 1 mark for every two correct. [3 marks]
Fill the gap: why stars twinkle
air; shimmer; steadily; scintillation; weather (1 each). Not used: gravity, dust. [5 marks]
True or false
1. True. 2. False: it is a shape of dark, dusty clouds in the Milky Way. 3. False: each Nation watches its own local sky and holds its own Cultural Knowledges. 4. True. 5. False: they twinkle most when the air is unsettled. (1 each) [5 marks]
Question 1
Through the year the Emu appears to change position, looking as though it is running and later sitting (1). This signals when wild emus are nesting and when to collect their eggs (1). Knowing when not to collect eggs helps protect the emus (1). [3 marks]
Read the data: Mia’s twinkle diary
2. The more unsettled the air high up, the more the star twinkled; calm air gave steady light (1). (b) Night 4; the air was very unsettled (1). [2 marks]
3. The twinkling follows the air, not the star: strong twinkling only on unsettled nights (1). Starlight passes through moving air, which makes it shimmer: scintillation, caused by turbulent air high in the atmosphere (1). [2 marks]
Question 4
Marking guide: 1 a season or weather example named (e.g. the Seven Sisters, twinkling stars, Tagai); 1 what it signals and why useful; 1 a prediction example named (e.g. the Emu in the Sky, a star and a plant flowering, a full or new Moon and the largest tides); 1 what it predicts and why useful; 1 careful observation, kept in story, song and Lore, checked over generations; 1 a pattern holding for thousands of years is well tested: observe, repeat, predict. [6 marks]
Model answer: Many Aboriginal Nations use the time of year the Seven Sisters (the Pleiades) appears to mark a change of season, often the coming of cooler weather, and to know which foods will soon be ready. The Emu in the Sky, which the Wiradjuri people of central New South Wales know as Gugurmin and many other Nations also recognise, changes position through the year, signalling when wild emus are nesting, so people know when to collect eggs and when to leave them. This is science: people observed, kept the links in story, song and Lore, and checked them over generations.
Common error: calling it one single “Aboriginal belief”.