Course Details

GCSE Course Revision Resources for Candidates

This is a suggested plan for guided self study of the Edexcel specification points covered in Paper 1 Naked-eye Astronomy

Paper 1 Naked-eye Astronomy Edexcel GCSE Astronomy Learning Plan

This is a suggested plan for guided self study of the Edexcel specification points covered in Paper 2 Telescopic Astronomy

Paper 2 Telescopic Astronomy Edexcel GCSE Astronomy Learning Plan

Royal Greenwich Observatory GCSE Astronomy Resources:

https://www.rmg.co.uk/schools-communities/teacher-resources/gcse-astronomy-resources

Mickledore Publishing textbook and other resources for sale:

Astronomy Learning Resources For Students and Teachers

A lovely image of the half moon by one of the John Mason School GCSE Astronomy pupils

Analysis of a star trail photograph to calculate the length of a sidereal day

Photograph of Ursa Minor by a John Mason School student

Determination of the longitude of Abingdon to within 0.03° by a John Mason School student

Ursa Minor by Henry, John Mason School

Venus and The Pleiades

The Moon’s Terminator

Very low spring tides during the early April Supermoon in 2020

Arcturus in Bootes

Vega, Lyra, Deneb and part of Cygnus

Scorpio emerging from behind the rooftops

A satellite travelling above the constellation of Ophiucus

Ursa Major and Ursa Minor with Draco between them

Ursa Minor showing the red star Kochab and blue Pherkad sometimes known as ‘Keepers of the Pole’ as they circle Polaris to the right,

Cassiopeia and nacreous clouds above Portsmouth.

A4 Estimate a Celestial Property Using Drawings

A9 Longitude from a Shadow Stick

A10 Assess the accuracy of a sundial

Some example work by GCSE Astronomy students:

Determination of the longitude of Abingdon using the shadow stick method by Henry, John Mason School

Topic 1 - Planet Earth

Topic 2 - The lunar disc

Topic 3 - The Earth-Moon-Sun system

Topic 4 - Time and the Earth-Moon-Sun cycles

Topic 5 - Solar System observation

Topic 6 - Celestial observation

Topic 7 - Early models of the Solar System

Topic 8 - Planetary motion and gravity

Topic 8 Presentation 8.Planetary Motion and Gravity

Example Edexcel questions Topic 8

Mark scheme Topic 8

Model answers video https://youtu.be/87R–zHVbsY

Topic 9 - Exploring the Moon

Topic 10 - Solar astronomy

Topic 10 Solar Astronomy

Here are some suggested Solar Astronomy self-study exercises Topic 10 Solar Astronomy – Sunspots and Structure Exercises

NASA/SOHO Sunspot Tracking Exercise Sunspot Exercise

Print this off to carry out the sunspots exercise Sunspot Grid 

If you are a registered user of the National Schools Observatory then you can access and carry out their Sunspots and Solar Cycles activity here https://www.schoolsobservatory.org/discover/activities/sunspots_workshop

Topic 11 - Exploring the Solar system

Topic 13 - Exploring starlight

Topic 13 Part 1 Presentation Topic 13 Exploring Starlight Part 1

Written answers to NASA GSFC Inverse Squared Law Quiz questions in Part 1 (NASA Inverse Squared Law Quiz ):Inverse Square Law Solutions

Topic 14 - Stellar evolution

Topic 14 Presentation – Topic 14 Stellar Evolution

Topic 15 - Our place in the Galaxy

Topic 15 Presentation Topic 15 Our place in the galaxy

Useful resources

  • Stellarium: an excellent, free to download, planetarium package. It runs on various platforms and allows you to find your way around the night sky in real time, the past and the future. We hope to post some simple Stellarium tutorials before too long. (The app version may not be free of charge and other planetarium packages are available, but you can also use the web version without any download here Web version of Stellarium)
  • National Schools’ Observatory: many online resources, simulations and access to real, astronomical imagery for many topics in the GCSE course.