Space and Astronomy

This page contains a wide range of resources to help teachers and students get to grips with an area of GCSE Physics where it is often difficult to find appropriate practical activities and to show the relevance to everyday life. There are resources that will help teachers who are new to delivering GCSE Physics as well as materials that will appeal to established practitioners.

You will find

Resources related to the history of stars and the origins of the universe, astronomical measurement, planetary and satellite motion and gravity. These include:
- revision materials that help students understand underlying concepts and applications
- quizzes
- resources to support practical work/demonstrations
- interactive teaching materials

examples of real-life implications and applications.

Links to websites and resources matched to GCSE Physics specifications and produced by the Institute of Physics and other organisations including NASA, the BBC and Antonine Education UK.

Specification links: AQA P3 13.3 and 13.10, OCR Gateway P5, OCR 21st Century Science P1, WJEC P3.6.

If you cannot find what you want in the listed resources, enter keywords from your specification in the Search box on the right. Reduce the number of ‘hits’ by using inverted commas to search for phrases.

Useful links/resources

Show all materials for this page

AQA (Showing 3 of 6 available)

Origins of the Universe
Web link
AQA 13.10, OCR Twenty First Century P7.3. Webpage from the Antonine Education UK website on the orgins of the universe which include specification statements, diagrams and a topic quiz with answers. S...
Satellites and Planets in Orbit
Web link
AQA 13.3, OCR Gateway P5a, OCR Twenty First Century P7.1, WJEC P3.6. Webpage from the Antonine Education UK website on Satellites and Planets in orbit, including specification statements, diagrams and...
The History of Stars
Web link
AQA 13.10. Webpage from the Antonine Education UK website on the history of stars, including specification statements, diagrams and a topic quiz with answers. Suitable for teachers and as a revision t...

OCR 21st Century Science (Showing 2 of 6 available)

Origins of the Universe
Web link
AQA 13.10, OCR Twenty First Century P7.3. Webpage from the Antonine Education UK website on the orgins of the universe which include specification statements, diagrams and a topic quiz with answers. S...
Satellites and Planets in Orbit
Web link
AQA 13.3, OCR Gateway P5a, OCR Twenty First Century P7.1, WJEC P3.6. Webpage from the Antonine Education UK website on Satellites and Planets in orbit, including specification statements, diagrams and...

OCR Gateway (Showing 1 of 2 available)

Satellites and Planets in Orbit
Web link
AQA 13.3, OCR Gateway P5a, OCR Twenty First Century P7.1, WJEC P3.6. Webpage from the Antonine Education UK website on Satellites and Planets in orbit, including specification statements, diagrams and...

WJEC (Showing 2 of 3 available)

How do sling shot orbits work?
Web link
WJEC P3.6 Description of how sling shot orbits work from the astronomy cafe.
Satellites and Planets in Orbit
Web link
AQA 13.3, OCR Gateway P5a, OCR Twenty First Century P7.1, WJEC P3.6. Webpage from the Antonine Education UK website on Satellites and Planets in orbit, including specification statements, diagrams and...

Activity Resources (Showing 3 of 8 available)

Origins of the Universe
Web link
AQA 13.10, OCR Twenty First Century P7.3. Webpage from the Antonine Education UK website on the orgins of the universe which include specification statements, diagrams and a topic quiz with answers. S...
Satellites and Planets in Orbit
Web link
AQA 13.3, OCR Gateway P5a, OCR Twenty First Century P7.1, WJEC P3.6. Webpage from the Antonine Education UK website on Satellites and Planets in orbit, including specification statements, diagrams and...
The History of Stars
Web link
AQA 13.10. Webpage from the Antonine Education UK website on the history of stars, including specification statements, diagrams and a topic quiz with answers. Suitable for teachers and as a revision t...

Image (Showing 1 of 1 available)

BBC: Exploring Space
Web link
AQA 13.10, OCR Twenty First Century P7.1. Interactive file from the BBC in which learners can explore space, from Earth and its Moon, to the Milky Way and other galaxies. May be used as a teaching de...

Learning Resource (Showing 5 of 12 available)

Exploring the universe day - Science Learning Centre (127 KB)
Downloadable file
Exploring the Universe day for KS3 and KS4: find out How Science Works in space.The universe contains over 100 billion galaxies and can be defined as everything that physically exists – but how was it...
Origins of the Universe
Web link
AQA 13.10, OCR Twenty First Century P7.3. Webpage from the Antonine Education UK website on the orgins of the universe which include specification statements, diagrams and a topic quiz with answers. S...
Satellites and Planets in Orbit
Web link
AQA 13.3, OCR Gateway P5a, OCR Twenty First Century P7.1, WJEC P3.6. Webpage from the Antonine Education UK website on Satellites and Planets in orbit, including specification statements, diagrams and...
How do sling shot orbits work?
Web link
WJEC P3.6 Description of how sling shot orbits work from the astronomy cafe.
The History of Stars
Web link
AQA 13.10. Webpage from the Antonine Education UK website on the history of stars, including specification statements, diagrams and a topic quiz with answers. Suitable for teachers and as a revision t...

News/Meetings/Conferences (Showing 1 of 1 available)

Exploring the universe day - Science Learning Centre (127 KB)
Downloadable file
Exploring the Universe day for KS3 and KS4: find out How Science Works in space.The universe contains over 100 billion galaxies and can be defined as everything that physically exists – but how was it...

Publications / Correspondence (Showing 1 of 1 available)

The British National Space Centre
Web link
OCR Twenty First Century P7.1. Website from the British national Space Centre (BNSC) with links to factsheets on astronomical topics such as the solar system, big bang and satellite technology. Other ...