11 Earth and Space Science (Half year course)

NOTE: This course cannot be selected alone - you need to choose either 2 or 4 half year courses.

This course covers the fourth strand of the New Zealand science curriculum - Planet Earth and Beyond - exploring aspects of Earth Science and Astronomy.

Course content: 
This is a half year course with two main topics:

• Plate tectonics and the formation of surface features in New Zealand
• Astronomy and the effects of astronomical cycles on the Earth.

For the first part of the course we will be looking at: earth’s internal structure, plate tectonics and moving continents, how New Zealand formed from Gondwana and how the landscape of New Zealand, and in particular Auckland, has been affected by geological and other events. We will also take a trip up Maungawhau, Mt Eden during our investigation into the origin of Auckland’s volcanoes and how they have changed over time.

The Astronomy part of the course explores: stars and planets, astronomical discoveries, space exploration and astronomical cycles. Earth is affected by many different astronomical cycles including the rotation of the earth on its axis, our orbit around the sun and the moon’s orbit around the earth. These cycles result in: day and night, the seasons, the phases of the moon, eclipses and the tides.