Earth
The Earth
The Earth is the third planet from the Sun. It revolves around the Sun and it also rotates about its axis. It is surrounded by a layer called atmosphere which is mainly composed by oxygen and nitrogen. The Earth has a satellite around: the Moon. |
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Solstice: It is the time of the year when the Earth's Poles are most extremely inclined towards or away from the Sun. | Equinox: It's the time of the year when the Sun is exactly over the Equator. Consequently, the hours of daylight and darkness are almost the same everywhere in the Earth. | |
Axis of rotation:It is an imaginary line that passes through the North and South Poles of the Earth. | Axial tilt: It is the inclination or obliquity of the Earth's rotational axis. | Revolution: It is the movement of the Earth around the Sun. A complete orbit takes 365.2 days. |
Rotation: It is the movement of the Earth on its axis. A complete turn takes 23 hours and 56 minutes. | Seasons: Periods of the year with different exposure to Sun's rays due to the Earth's 23º tilt in its axis. This obliquity implies that the Southern Hemisphere is more exposed to the Sun's rays while the Northern Hemisphere is less exposed and vice versa. | Leap year: It is a year that contains an extra day in February because the Earth completes one revolution around the Sun in about 365 days and 6 hours. Over a period of 4 years, the extra 6 hours become a day. |
Orbital relations of the Solstice, Equinox & Intervening Seasons. Colivine. Pixabay. (CCO) |
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Star trails. PTNorbert. Pixabay. (Licencia Pixabay) |
Activity 1
Activity 2
Activity 3
Activity 4
Extra activity
Astronomical Models
Projects
PROJECT 1 | PROJECT 2 | PROJECT 3 |
Make a model of the Earth and explain facts about it to the rest of students. Quantity of water, oceans, continents, capes, the coldest/hottest place, the biggest island, the poles, hemispheres, tropics, etc. |
Search the Internet to find answers for these questions:
- When do equinoxes occur? - When do solstices occur? - What is the elliptic plane of the Earth? - Why seasons are different in the Northern and Southern hemispheres? When you have all the information, make a poster and present the information to the rest of students. |
The Earth and Maths. Compare the radius and diameter of the Earth to distances around you. Create a slideshow and present the facts to the rest of students. |
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