ScienceYears 10–11Physics — Space

Space physics

Describe the life cycle of stars, the solar system, orbital motion, red-shift and evidence for the Big Bang

What you'll learn

  1. 1

    Imagine you're holding a ball on a string. The string pulls the ball towards your hand — that's a bit like gravity pulling planets towards the Sun!

  2. 2

    What does gravity do?

  3. 3

    Drag the planet closer to the star to feel gravity getting stronger.

  4. 4

    Why does Earth orbit the Sun? Let's break it down together.

  5. 5

    What keeps Earth from flying off into space?

  6. 6

    Use the slider to change the planet's speed and see what happens to its orbit.

  7. 7

    If a planet moves too slowly, what happens?

Practise Space physics with Whizlo

Free AI-tutored lessons, unlimited practice questions, and progress tracking for ages 14–16. Aligned to the UK National Curriculum.