AS 92046 · 5 credits · External
Sun-Earth-Moon system
Demonstrate understanding of the effect on the Earth of interactions between the Sun and the Earth-Moon system
Study with Coach
Save your actual school result to count your credits.
This standard is about how the positions and movements of the Sun, Earth, and Moon cause things we observe on Earth — like seasons, tides, day and night, Moon phases, and eclipses. Students sit a written exam at the end of the year worth 5 credits. The exam has three questions with diagrams and data, and asks students to describe, explain, and analyse these astronomical interactions.
What to do, grades and common mistakes
- ·Learn how the Earth's tilt and orbit around the Sun cause the four seasons and changes in temperature throughout the year
- ·Understand how the Earth spinning on its axis causes day and night, and how the Sun's height in the sky changes with season
- ·Study how the Moon's orbit around the Earth creates Moon phases, tides, lunar eclipses, and solar eclipses
- ·Understand how a super full moon occurs and why it doesn't happen every month
- ·Explore how latitude affects daylength and shadow length — for example, comparing Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, and the Equator
- ·Sit a written exam with three questions that include diagrams you may need to label or annotate, and written explanations
You can name the seasons in order, describe that summer is warmer than winter, explain day and night, name most Moon phases, state how long the Moon takes to orbit Earth, and define terms like equinox and solstice. You describe what happens but may not fully explain why.