PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARTH

Shape of the earth

The earth was at first thought to be flat but was later proved to be round or spherical. To
people on earth, planets appear to be flat generally but in reality, the surface of the earth
is a spherical slight curve. Its shape is actually slightly flattened on the poles.

Proofs of the earth’s spherical shape are as follows;

 The circumnavigation journey around the earth

 The convex curve of the horizon
 The shape of other planetary bodies like moon which are spherical
 The images taken from space; satellites also reveal that the earth is rather curved
than flat
 The study of other characteristics of the earth such as curvature, oblateness and
Geoid. (spherical)

THE SIZE OF THE EARTH

This is expressed in terms of a radius of approximately 4000 miles is equivalent to

12756km diameter is 7926miles equivalent to 31512km or its circumference, distance
around the earth at the equator which is approximate to 40,075 km equivalent to 24901
miles.

Attempts to estimate the size of the earth can be traced from the work of Aristotle and
Archimedes and other Greek scholars such as Eratosthenes who talked about the
spherical shape of the earth. The worked-out figure of the circumference of the earth that
was within 80km of that accepted as the correct one today.

THE GEOGRAPHY GRID

These are arbitrary graph like lines (grids) imposed on the earth. The most common grid is
Latitude that runs east to West, and Longitude which is North to South. The basis of Latitude
and Longitude is the rotation of the spherical earth with two located poles, North and South
(N/S) of the Equator.

THE EQUATOR

The equator is a great circle which divides the earth in to halves. It is the 00 Latitude of origin
that marks the centre of the earth. It is also known as the circle of illumination while there are
other latitudes namely the tropic of Cancer and tropic of Capricorn, and the arctic circle, and the
Antarctica circle
Latitude is distance measured 90‫ﹾ‬N and 90‫ﹾ‬S of the equator. It is a parallel line connecting all
points of the same latitude.

They are measured in degrees, minutes and seconds. Any where North of the equator is North
Latitudes while any where south of the equator is South latitude

LONGITUDES: A longitude is distance measured 80 degrees E and 180 degrees W from the
arbitrally Meridian called Greenwich. A Meridian is the line of longitude. The prime meridian
or 0‫ﹾ‬Longitude passes through Greenwich in England. All meridians are great circles that pass
through both poles. They are measured in degrees, minutes and seconds East and West of
Greenwich.

BASIC EARTH MOVEMENTS

There are two vital movements of the Earth with relation to the sun namely the earth’s rotation
on its axis and the earth’s revolution around the sun.

EARTH REVOLUTION AROUND THE SUN

The earth revolves around the sun in a counter clockwise orbit taking a year or about 365 days to
make one revolution. The orbit is an eclipse so the sun is slightly off Centre.

AN ILLUTRATION OF THE EARTH REVOLVING AROUND THE SUN

The above is the earth orbiting the sun. The average distance from the sun is 149,597, 890 km or
92955,820 miles. The distance is so great that it takes light about 8 minutes to reach the earth
form the sun. The effect of the earth’s revolution around the sun is seasonality experienced on
the earth spin.

EARTH SPIN/ ROTATION ON ITS AXIS

The earth rotates or spins on its axis in a counter clockwise motion as viewed above the North
Pole. It makes one rotation in 24 hours. The spinning of the earth on its axis is what causes the
sun to appear to move across the sky.
TILT EFFECTS
The earth axis also tilts with respect to the sun causing the changes of the seasons. In summer,
the earth is tilted so that the sun falls more directly while in winter the sun looks lower in the
horizon and the light comes at a glancing angle. The tilt of the earth also causes the summer days
to be longer than the nights, while in the winter the days are shorter than the nights and there is
less light to hit the ground.

The further north you go, the more apparent the effect of the tilt on the earth. Above the Arctic
circle, day light can be seen for a full 24 hours in summer or night can be 24 hours in winter; The
reason why they call the area “the land of midnight sun”.

THE MAIN CONSTITUENTS OF THE EARTH’S ENVIRONMENT

Constituents of the earth can be considered in four groups i.e.

Atmosphere, this envelope the earth, Lithosphere or rocky crust of the earth, Hydrosphere or
world of the water and Biosphere or the world of living things.

Not all the planets of the solar system have the above four groups of constituents. Some have no
atmosphere, water or life. Some are too hot and others too cold to support life. The earth is the
most fortunate of the planets because all the elements needed to support life are present.
 COMPONENETS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Planet Equatorial Density Surface Solar heat Surface Atmospheric Reflective
Diameter Gravity received Temps Composition power
Min Mean Max
Mercury 0.37 5.70 0.41 6.67 -270 NA None 0.07
+410

Venus 0.956 5.12 0.88 1.91 NA NA NA CO2 0.62

Earth 1 5.33 1 1 -88 +10 +58 N2 02 0.39

Moon 0.272 3.34 0.166 1 -170 +10 +10 None 0.07

Jupiter 11.20 1.33 2.33 0.037 NA -140 -138 He H,NH3 0.42

Saturn 9.05 0.685 1.06 0.011 NA -160 -153 He,H,NH3 0.45

Mars 0.532 3.95 0.37 0.43 -70 NA +10 Negligible 0.15

Uranus 3.7 1.6 0.92 0.003 NA -70 -18 4 CH4 H 0.48

Neptune 3.5 2.2 0.95 0.001 NA -210 -200 CH4 H 0.52

Pluto NA NA NA 0.00065 NA -220 -220 NA 0.07

The earth is the most fortunate of all the planets since all the elements that support life are
present there.

MAJOR CONSTITUENTS OF THE EARTH AND THEIR PROPOTIONS

CONSTITUENT MEAN THICKNESS RELATIVE MASS/million metric

DENSITY tones

Atmosphere 300.000 0-0.0013 5200

Lithosphere: crust 17,000 2.8 24.000.000

:Mantle 2.883.000 4.50 4.075.000.000

3.469.000 10.71 1,876.000.000

 ;Core

Hydrosphere: Ocean 2.630 1.04 1,360.000

Biosphere: living 0.1 1.00 2.0

things

The components of the earth’s physical environment are subdivided in terms of the physical state
as solids, liquid and gas.

The biosphere / living world of the environment (biotic) is concentrated between three abiotic
environments e.g., atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere as illustrated below;

Drawing

GAS
--------------- Solid hence: Atmosphere
-------------------- Lithosphere
Liquid hydrosphere

It extends through the full depth of oceans but is confined to the lower layers of atmosphere at
the ocean top and on the earth’s surface, it extends upwards over 110 meters equivalent to 360
feet and down many meters in the micro organisms in the soil or in deep caves in rock fractures.