Our Home: Earth, a Unique Life Sustaining Planet: common misconceptions

If your child says… “Earth follows a long, narrow loop.”

Ask together

How would stretching Earth's orbit change its nearest and farthest distances from the Sun?

What’s true

Earth travels in a near-circle; its tilted axis mainly explains seasons.

If your child says… “Earth's magnetic field holds the air down.”

Ask together

Which panel shows a pull towards Earth rather than paths bending around it?

What’s true

Gravity retains air, while the magnetic field redirects many incoming charged particles.

If your child says… “Greenhouse gases keep sunlight off the ground.”

Ask together

Where does the sunlight arrow end before the heat radiation arrows begin?

What’s true

Sunlight warms the ground before greenhouse gases absorb some outgoing heat.

If your child says… “The crust reaches almost to Earth's centre.”

Ask together

How much of the cutaway lies beneath its thin outer rim?

What’s true

The crust is a thin outer layer above the mantle and core.

If your child says… “Plants only release oxygen; they never use it.”

Ask together

How does a plant release energy from its food?

What’s true

Plants also use oxygen in respiration to release energy from food.

If your child says… “Every new plant must start from a seed.”

Ask together

Is this sprout attached to a seed or to the potato?

What’s true

A new plant can develop from a parent's stem without any seed.

If your child says… “A flower must be either male or female.”

Ask together

Can you find both kinds of reproductive part in this flower?

What’s true

Many flowers contain both stamens and carpels, providing male and female reproductive cells.

If your child says… “The three crises are all names for warming.”

Ask together

Is polluted water the same problem as disappearing wildlife?

What’s true

Climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss are distinct problems that affect one another.