Year 7 Science · Unit 4 · Lesson 13

A Recent Advance in Understanding the Universe

Master Worksheet

Name
Date
Class

Learning Goals

Warm Up

Recent advances timeline

Study the timeline of recent advances below. Then answer the question that follows by writing in the last column.

Timeline of three recent advances: 2015, 2019 and 2022 2015 Gravitational waves (LIGO) 2019 First black hole image (EHT) 2022 JWST first images
AdvanceInstrument usedNew knowledge it gave us
Gravitational waves, 2015LIGO detectors
Black hole image, 2019Event Horizon Telescope
JWST first images, 2022James Webb Space Telescope

Go Deeper

Explain a recent advance

Scenario

Your task is to write a clear explanation of how the James Webb Space Telescope, a recent advance in science, increased our knowledge of the Universe. A strong answer shows the full chain: the new instrument and what makes it special, the new observations it can make, and the new knowledge those observations build. Use the correct facts: JWST was launched in December 2021, released its first images in July 2022, sees in infrared light, and sits about 1.5 million kilometres from Earth.

(a) Describe what makes JWST a powerful new instrument. Include the kind of light it uses and where it sits.

Challenge 3 marks

(b) Outline the chain of new instrument, then new observations, then new knowledge, using two real examples of what JWST has observed.

Challenge 4 marks

(c) Evaluate this statement: "The James Webb Space Telescope was worth building because it advanced our knowledge of the Universe." Do you agree? Justify your answer using what the telescope observed, and mention how Australia's radio telescopes also help build knowledge.

Challenge 4 marks

Wrap Up

In one sentence, what was the main idea of this lesson?

HSCScience · Year 7 Science · Unit 4 · Lesson 13 · Master Worksheet