UNIT 1.

EARTH AND THE UNIVERSE

5 primary/ Social Science

Pedro Antonio López Hernández
Colegio La Presentación de Granada
 THE MILKY WAY
THE UNIVERSE -
-
1. It is the millions of other stars that form part of our Galaxy.
2. If we continued travelling even further and further out into
space, we would see even more galaxies.

The Sun and all of its orbiting bodies are called the Solar system. “All of these galaxies together form our universe”.

THE SUN The Big Bang Theory

What is a light year?
About 14 billion years ago, the
- 1. It is our star. It is the distance a ray of light universe was compressed into a
- 2. It is 100 times bigger than Earth. travels in one year. single point in space and then a
- 3. It has a lots of energy inside that reaches our planet in vast, sudden expansion took
the form or heat and light. We use the light year to measure place.
- 4. It is constantly changing and no star lasts forever. huge distances in the universe.
The universe is still expanding.
 - They are celestial bodies that orbit around the Sun.

THE SOLAR SYSTEM Planets

-
-
The ecliptic path each planet travels is called its orbit.
They are non-luminous because they don´t emit their own light.
- Some planets have satellites.

8. Despite its bright blue

OUTER PLANETS colour, it has no water.
INNER PLANETS -197 ºC
1. They are located closest to the 1. They are located furthest
Sun. from the Sun. 7. It spins
2. They are also the smallest planets. 2. They are made mostly of gas, almost
3. They are made mostly of rocks they are also the largest completely on
and metals. planets. its side.
3. The have many satellites. -200 ºc

4. The iron in its rocky

surface makes it look red. 6. It is the second largest planet. It
60 ºC has rings around it made of ice and
dust.
2. Its surface is covered -148 ºC
by a thick layer of
clouds. 457 ºC

5. It is the largest planet. It has over 60

satellites.
-108 ºc

3. It is rocky, but most of its surface is covered

by water.
1. It is the smallest planet.
Its rocky surface has lots It´s surrounded by an atmosphere. 15 ºC
of crater. 166 ºC
 EARTH´S MOVEMENTS
A day: when the Sun´s rays
reach the planet.

Earth´s rotation

1. Earth spins on its axis.

2. Earth´s rotation causes our Earth takes 24 hours
days and nights.
to completely spin
around its axis.

A night: when Sun´s rays don´t

reach the planet.

* Axis: It is an imaginary line that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole.
 EARTH´S MOVEMENTS

Earth´s revolution

THE SEASONS
1. Earth orbit around the Sun.
2. Earth takes one year to orbit The Sun´s rays reach Earth at different angles
completely around the Sun. as it moves around its orbit

This causes “ THE SEASONS ”.

Winter
Spring
It is very cold
It is warmer Summer Autumn because the Sun´s
GLOSSARY
and the days rays reach you less
*Hemisphere: get longer. There are strong The days are shorter. directly.
One half of a Sun´s rays because
sphere. they reach you It begins to get The days are short.
directly. It is very hot. colder.
* Tilted: Inclined.
 THE MOON These changes depending on:

• The position of the Moon during its rotation

and revolution.
Phases of the Moon
• The light shining on it from the Sun during
each of its movements.
The Moon orbits

• It is Earth´s only
natural satellite.

• Its rotation and

revolution last 28
days.

• Its light is a
reflection of the
Sun´s rays shining on
it.
 LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE

It is the layer of gases that surrounds Earth and make life possible on it. The atmosphere protects livings things from the Sun´s
radiation and keeps temperatures stable. The most abundant components are nitrogen, oxygen and water vapour.

1. TROPOSPHERE

It is the closest layer to Earth. It has the most

oxygen which allows life on the planet. It 3. MESOSPHERE
also has the most water vapour, which later
becomes rain. It is the coldest layer. We can see
falling stars when they reach this layer.
1 4. THERMOSPHERE

3 It is where falling stars

and the aurora borealis
are formed.

5
2 4

2. STRATOSPHERE 5. EXOSPHERE

It has the ozone layer that protects Earth It separates Earth from outer spaces. It helps protect Earth from
from most of the Sun´s radiation. meteorites and other celestial bodies from reaching its surface.
 THE HYDROSPHERE

It is the layer of water that covers Earth´s surface. Although there is always the same amount of water in the hydrosphere, it has three
different states.

LIQUID
SOLID GASEOUS
All the fresh water we find in rivers, lakes and underground water are continental
waters.
Ice and snow in the coldest Water vapour and clouds
areas of the planet. in the atmosphere. Oceanic water is the salt water in the seas an oceans.
 THE GEOSPHERE

It is the layer of rocks and minerals inside the Earth from its centre to its surface.

THE MANTLE
THE CRUST
It is the middle layer. It is the thickest one and its
It is the thinnest and outermost layer. high temperatures melt the rocks, turning them
It forms the continents and islands. into magma that volcanoes expel.

It is made up a series of larges plates Sometimes, the movement of these rocks cause
called tectonic plates. earthquakes.

The Earth´s radius is 6,371 km.

THE CORE

It is a sphere made up of heavy,

dense materials like iron.

This layer has the highest

temperatures.
 EARTH´S VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS

A GLOBE is a more physically accurate representation of our planet A MAP represent Earth, or part of it, on a flat
surface.
They use the cardinal points and colours and
symbols that are explained in a legend.

TYPES OF MAPS AND N

GLOBES

• Physical maps: They

represent relief.

• Political maps: They

represent the political
distribution of the planet

• Thematic maps: They tell

us data about the
countries, like its
economy.
 The equator GEOGRAPHIC COORDINATES
It is the imaginary circumference that divides Earth into two
hemispheres: north and south. It is the starting point from which we The Greenwich Meridian
measure the Earth´s latitude. North Pole
It is the imaginary line that connects the poles. It is
the starting point from which we measure the
Earth´s longitude and the world's time zones.

Time zones

Earth is divided into 24 imaginary vertical bands

called time zones. All times start from the
Greenwich Meridian and add one hour as it moves
to the east or subtracts one hour as it moves to the
west.

Meridians
Parallels
They are the lines of longitude that are parallel to the South Pole
Greenwich Meridian. They measure a point (coordinate) on They are the lines of latitude that are parallel to the equator. They
a map or globe that is to the west or east of the Greenwich measure a point (coordinate) on a map or globe that is to the
Meridian. north or south of the equator.