Unit V: Our Environment and Universe bea « Our Plamae—The Barta hs eee ‘ * Understand the formation of the earth + Learn about the various movements of the earth + Know about the shape of the earth Warm-Up 1. The diagram below shows the sun shining on the earth. Use a yellow crayon to colour the part of the earth that will have day. Use a black crayon to colour the part of the earth that will have night. eae i Rn S jus = a ans Earth is the third planet from the sun. Of all the planets, earth is the only planet to have life on it. It has water, air and sunlight, which help us to live. Water covers about 70% of the earth’s surface. This makes it appear blue from the sky. That is why, the earth is also known as the blue planet. : HOW WAS THE EARTH FORMED? Scientists believe that the earth was formed billions of years ago from clouds of dust and gases. In the beginning, the earth was very hot and it was surrounded by hot gases. It took millions of years for it to cool down. The hot gases turnedinto clouds. These clouds caused rain. The rainwater collected and formed oceans. Slowly, life began to appear on earth. Life first appeared in water and then on land. SHAPE OF THE EARTH People earlier believed that the earth was flat. They thought if something goes beyond its edge, it would fall down. eG him what happens when you watch a ship sailing beyond the horizon. Which part of the ship disappears first — the top or the bottom? ‘He would tell you that the bottom of the ship disappears first. This would only happen if earth was round and not fiat. Sailors had found this out hundreds of years ago. Some adventurous sailors also took off on a journey around the globe. They went beyond the horizon and never fell over the edge. They went on and on and reached the same point from where they had started. So, they were convinced that the earth was round. Now, photographs taken from space have shown that the earth is indeed round. If the earth is round, why does it appear flat to us? Imagine an ant sitting on top of a huge football. The ant is like a tiny dot on the football. It will be able to see only a small part of such a huge football. This visible part of the football would appear flat to the ant. So, it might think that the football is flat. What would the football look like if the ant saw it from a distance? In the same way, we occupy a tiny space on the huge ball, called earth. The limited part of the earth’s surface that we are able to see appears flat to us. MOVEMENTS OF THE EARTH ‘The earth is moving all the time. It shows two kinds of movement—rotation __ and revolution.Rotation North Pole Push a knitting needle through the centre of a ball of wool. Now, spin the ball slowly using, the needle. The earth also spins like this ball. It spins around an imaginary line running from the NOHEEPGle to the SOEHEPEIe. This line is called the axis. The spinning movement of the fee nee South Pole earth on its axis is called rotation. The earth rd spins from west to east and its axis is slightly A Rotation tilted. Day and night The rotation of the earth causes day and night. One complete rotation causes one day and one night. The earth completes one rotation on its axis in 24 hours So, one day and night are of 24 hours. This activity shows that rotation of earth causes day and night. Ina dark room, shine a torch on a ball. One-half of the ball is Facing the torch. This half gets the 1, light and becomes bright. The other half of the ball is away from the torch. This half gets no | light and appears dark. Now, stowly rotate the ball. The part of the ball that was bright earlier | | starts moving away from the torch. After some time, this part becomes completely dark. At | i the same time, the part of the ball that was dark earlier is slowly moving towards the torch. It. |. starts getting light from the torch and becomes bright. ' ! This is exactly what happens when the earth rotates on its ; taxis. The half of the earth facing the sun gets the light and ——-)! has day. The other half of the earth doesn’t get any light. It : 1 is night on this half of the earth. ' Since the earth never stops rotating, we see continuous cycles of day and night. Revolution While rotating on its axis, the earth also goes around the sun. This movement of the earth is called revolution. The earth follows a fixed path during its journey around the sun. This path is called the orbit of the earth. ‘BERAWBHe: the northernmost point of the earth 8 Point of the earthThe earth takes 3654 days to complete one revolution. This period is called ayear. The revolution of the earth and the tilt in its axis cause change of seasons. We experience summer, winter, spring and autumn, depending on the amount of sunlight that we get at different times of the year. The part of the earth that faces the sun and receives direct sunlight has summer, while the part that is away from the sun and receives slanting rays has winter. A Revolution WORD BYTES Axis: an imaginary line around which the Revolution: the movement of the earth earth spins around the sun Rotation: the spinning movement of the ‘Year: the period in which the earth earth on its axis completes one revolution around the sun RECAP ZONE= view Zone. Tick (V) the correct answer. 1. How would you describe the shape of the earth? irc . Flat Round TReenedan ecemcrcdas 72 Flat 2. Which of the following is the earth made up of? vy) : a. A layer of gases b. Land c. Water All of these 3. The axis of the earth is horizontal b. circular c. slightly tilted d. none of these 4. The rotation of the earth causes .. i Uday andnight — d. change of seasons a. only day b. only night 5. The earth takes ..3.6.5......... days to complete one revolution around the sun. 1365 b. 365 €. 366 ed Fill in the blanks using the words given in the box. 1. Earthis the ... AMSA... planet from the sun. 2. The axis of the earth runs from the Neth Poteto the SOUTH... pote 3, An imaginary line around which the earth spins is called the .A/ACL2. 4. Earth completes one rotation in .... 5. The earth follows a .. hours. _.. path during its journey around the sun. State TRUE or FALSE. 1. The earth is flat. . The spinning movement of the earth on its axis is called rotation. 2. 3. The earth spins from east to west. 4 . The part of the earth that tilts away from the sun and receives slanting rays has the rainy season. 5. The part of the earth that receives direct sunlight and faces the sun has summer. §] With the help of the clues given, unscramble the letters to form the correct words. 1, RYAE (the period in which the earth completes one revolution around the sun)HOTS ... 1. Enhance Your Life Skills. a AYD (this is caused by the rotation of the earth) TITOARNO (the spinning movement of the earth on its axis) . ELITRUNOVO (the movement of the earth around the sun) Answer the following questions. 1. Whyis earth the only planet to have life? ny What was the earth like when it was formed? Why does the earth appear flat to us? is Differentiate between rotation and revolution. . How are day and night caused? 6. What is the difference between axis and orbit? Whet causes change of seasons? Do you know when it is day in India, it is night in America? Why is this so’ n't rotate for th At -4 o'clock in the morning, the earth suddenly stops rotating. It doesn’t rotate for next 6 hours. Will it make any difference? Riya had written the story of the earth, but some words got erased in it. Fill in the mi information to complete the story. Story of the Earth Earth is the only planet known to have was formed billions of years ago from clouds of beginning, the earth was very ....- OM it. Tt is enseeennee in Shape. It and .. In the ‘The imaginary line that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole is called the earths _.. This axis is slightly Earth shows two kinds of movement—...... and : oe ning the earth on its axis CAUSES «renee ANG. ~~» The earth also goes arou the __.. The revolution of earth around the sun and the tilt in the € cause change of .. rth’s axis % ilevery y Jebrated to remind people » is celebrated on 22nd April every year. It is cel peor eats na care for the Mother Earth. We can take care of our earth in the foll ways. 105