Led by Georges Lemaître Simulacrum
About this course
Questions about where we are and where we came from have been asked for thousands of years. In the past century astronomers and cosmologists have made extraordinary progress. We know the size and structure of the solar system and of our galaxy. We understand how stars are born and how they die. We have discovered that the universe is expanding, that it had a beginning, and that since 1998 we have observed its expansion accelerating — driven by something we call dark energy, about which we know almost nothing. This is where physics becomes philosophy, and the frontier of what we do not yet know is closer to the spec than in any other topic.
This course follows AQA specification 8463, section 4.8 in full. Section 4.8 is physics-only (triple science), and this course is therefore intended for students taking the triple-science GCSE Physics qualification. Four simulacra take the modules in turn. Sagan opens with our solar system — his voice on the cosmic perspective is the one that launched a generation of students toward astronomy. Herschel takes the life cycle of stars — he classified the stars and nebulae of the northern sky and worked out their structure long before modern spectroscopy. Kepler takes orbits and satellites — his three laws of planetary motion are the foundation of orbital mechanics. Lemaître closes the course with red-shift and the Big Bang — it is his theory you are about to meet.
Higher-Tier content is flagged inline within Module 3 on circular orbits. The spec's acknowledgement that there is still much about the universe that is not understood — dark matter, dark energy — is treated directly in Module 4, where the course closes by pointing to the frontier.
Led by Carl Sagan Simulacrum
The question
What is in our solar system, where did it come from, and what is our place in the universe?
Outcome
The student can name the structure of the solar system (Sun, planets, dwarf planets, moons) and its place in the Milky Way, explain that stars form by gravitational collapse of a nebula, and describe the equilibrium between gravitational collapse and fusion-driven expansion that defines a star's main-sequence life. (AQA 4.8.1.1)
Led by William Herschel Simulacrum
The question
How does a star end, and where did the atoms in your body come from?
Outcome
The student can describe the life cycle of a Sun-sized star and of a much more massive star with all the spec-named stages, explain how fusion processes form the naturally occurring elements, and explain why heavier-than-iron elements exist only because earlier stars died in supernovae. (AQA 4.8.1.2)
Led by Johannes Kepler Simulacrum
The question
Why does the Moon not fall onto the Earth, and why does the International Space Station need to travel at 28,000 km/h?
Outcome
The student can describe how gravity provides the force for orbits, distinguish natural from artificial satellites, and (Higher Tier) explain that in a circular orbit the force of gravity changes velocity but not speed, and that a change in orbital speed requires a change in orbital radius. (AQA 4.8.1.3)
Led by Georges Lemaître Simulacrum
The question
The universe is expanding, and it began. How do we know these two things, and what does it mean that there is still so much we do not understand?
Outcome
The student can explain qualitatively the red-shift of light from receding galaxies, describe the relationship between a galaxy's speed and its distance as evidence of expansion, explain how red-shift provides evidence for the Big Bang model, and articulate the open questions about dark mass and dark energy. (AQA 4.8.2)