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Planes and Axes - Spec-Mandated Worked Examples

Analyse movement like an examiner. Learn the three planes and three axes of the body, the fixed pairings between them, and the worked examples - somersault, cartwheel and spin - that show each one.

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What you'll cover

Analyse the movement 🏃

To analyse how an athlete moves, PE uses **planes** (imaginary surfaces the body moves along) and **axes** (imaginary lines the body rotates around). There are three of each, and they pair up in fixed ways. This module drills those pairings with the worked examples the exam expects: a somersault, a cartwheel and a spin.

The words you need 🔑

Four terms unlock movement analysis:

Match each term to what it describes 🔗

  • Sagittal plane
  • Frontal plane
  • Transverse plane
  • Vertical axis
  • Divides the body into left and right
  • Divides the body into front and back
  • Divides the body into top and bottom
  • The line running top to bottom that the body spins around

Read the somersault 🤸

A gymnast performs a front somersault. Which plane is this movement in?

  • The sagittal plane
  • The frontal plane
  • The transverse plane
  • The lateral plane

The three pairings 📐

Each plane pairs with one axis, and each pairing has a classic worked example: - **Sagittal plane + frontal axis** -> a front somersault or forward roll - **Frontal plane + sagittal axis** -> a cartwheel or star jump - **Transverse plane + vertical axis** -> a pirouette or spinning throw Learn the pairs together - naming one should remind you of the other.

Which are true? ✅

Select the TWO correct statements about planes and axes.

  • A somersault happens in the sagittal plane, around the frontal axis
  • A pirouette happens in the transverse plane, around the vertical axis
  • A cartwheel happens in the sagittal plane
  • There are five planes of movement

Somersault versus cartwheel 🆚

Two rotations, two different plane-and-axis pairs.

Read the spin 💫

An ice skater performs a flat spin on the spot. Which axis do they rotate around?

  • The vertical axis
  • The frontal axis
  • The sagittal axis
  • The diagonal axis

Put it together 🧱

The body moves in three _____ and rotates around three _____. A front somersault happens in the _____ plane. A cartwheel happens in the _____ plane. A spinning skater rotates around the _____ axis.

planes axes sagittal frontal vertical transverse muscles five bones joints

Analyse a movement 🪜

An interactive activity.

Match each movement term to its meaning 🧩

  • Flexion
  • Extension
  • Abduction
  • Adduction
  • Decreasing the angle at a joint, bending it
  • Increasing the angle at a joint, straightening it
  • Moving a limb away from the midline of the body
  • Moving a limb towards the midline of the body

Name the plane and axis 🧭

An interactive activity.

Analyse a movement ✍️

An interactive activity.

The grade-9 habit 🌟

The exam almost always wants **both** halves of the pair. Never write just the plane - name the plane **and** its paired axis: sagittal with frontal, frontal with sagittal, transverse with vertical. Then **justify** it from the direction of movement: forward or backward rotation is sagittal-frontal, sideways is frontal-sagittal, spinning on the spot is transverse-vertical. Plane plus axis plus reason - top band.