The Environment (Movement of the earth)

WALT: We are learning to:

(i) Describe earth’s movement
(ii) Define rotation and revolution of the earth’s movement
(iii) State two effects of earth’s movement.

The Movement of the Earth

The earth is made up of several elements such as land, air, water, and gas. The
earth is the third planet from the sun. It takes the earth 365 days to revolve
around the sun.
Actually 70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water. Mercury is the closest
planet to the sun while the farthest planet away from the earth is Neptune.
The space around the Earth is called the atmosphere and it is made up of different
kinds of gases such as nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide. The earth has a
protective layer called the ozone layer, which protects us from the dangerous rays
of the sun.

Earth’s Rotation
As the earth moves around the sun, it spins or rotates from west to east. The
earth rotates on its axis. The earth’s axis is an imaginary line that runs between
the North and South poles. Rotation brings about day and night, as it is daylight
on the half of the earth facing the sun and night on the other.

Earth’s Revolution
As the earth spins on its axis, it also revolves around the sun. The movement of
the earth around the sun is known as a revolution. It takes 365 and one quarter
days to complete a revolution. This is because we have a leap year every 4 years.
Each quarter is added up and an extra day is added to the month of February.
The revolution of the earth and tilting of the earth causes the seasons to change.

The Earth’s Season

A season is a period of the year that is distinguished by special climate
conditions.
The four earth’s seasons are: summer, winter, autumn and spring.
The spring- (begins 21st March),
The summer- (begins 21st of June).
The autumn (begins 23rd of September) and
The winter (begins on 22nd of December).

Locating the Places: Longitude and Latitude

Any location on the earth can be described by two numbers. These numbers are
called longitude and latitude.

Lines of Latitude
On a map, lines of latitude are drawn around the earth to measure the position
of a place north or south of the equator. Latitude lines are parallel to each
other; therefore they are also called parallels. The largest latitude is the equator.
It divides the earth into two equal halves called hemispheres.

Lines of Longitude
On a map, lines of longitude are drawn from north to south to measure the
position of a place east or west around the earth. All line of longitude meets at
the North and South poles. Lines of longitude are also called meridians. Unlike
lines of latitude there is no natural starting point to measure zero degrees
longitude.
Activity:
Draw a globe and indicate line of latitude, longitude and equator on
it.

Evaluation
1. Define earth’s rotation.
2. State the effect of earth’s rotation.
3. Explain the meaning of earth’s revolution and the effect?
4. What is the difference between meridian and an equator?