Assessment Tasks Year 11 Preliminary Physics
Assessment Tasks
Research Report – Models of the Universe
Research Report – Models of the Universe
Date Due: Friday 31st Agust
Weighting: 15%
Abstract
The Universe is where everything exists, matter and energy. There are two main models of the universe: the geocentric model and the heliocentric model. The geocentric model is where the Sun and other planets, moons and stars revolve around the Earth. The heliocentric model states that the Earth and other planets rotate around the Sun. Scientists such as Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton were vital in proving that heliocentrism is true. This includes Galileo studies of the moons of Jupiter, Kepler’s Law of Planetary Motion and Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation.
Kepler’s 3 laws of planetary motion were the: * Laws of Ellipses * Laws of Areas * Laws of Periods
The major fault in Kepler’s model of the universe and any astronomers during his time was that their model was too “brief” and is only a small part out of the whole universe. We now know that the universe extends beyond the Solar System and that it is expanding. Kepler however, did not know this due to the lack of technological advances such as advance telescopes, satellites and space probes that stopped them from investigating further. The Roman Church however, had adopted the geocentric model of the universe for thousands of years. They see people who supported the heliocentric model as a crime and must be punished. The church had lots of influences in the society as the geocentric model was widely accepted while the heliocentric model was still trying to be proven.
The Universe
The Universe was a term used throughout history that is meant to define everything that can exist or that we know exists. The Universe was huge and is now known that it is expanding. Throughout history, different models of the Universe were made by
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