6

SCIENCE 6

 Demonstrate rotation and revolution of the Earth using a globe to explain day and
night and the sequence of season (S6ES-IVe-f-5)
Name: ________________________ Date: ______________
Grade/ Section: _________________ Score:
_____________
General Biology II
Science VI
Fourth Quarter, Week 6

Rotation and Revolution

of the Earth
Key Concepts

”
Rotation is the spinning of the Earth on its axis. The time for one rotation is 24 hours.
It causes day and night.

Earth’s rotation and revolution result to different amount of solar energy received by
different parts of the world. The parts of Earth facing directly the sun receive vertical
rays.

YOUR TARGET/S
At the end of the lesson you should be able to:
 Demonstrate rotation and revolution of the Earth using a globe to
explain day and night and the sequence of season (S6ES-IVe-f-5)

LET’S TRY THIS

Let’s check how much you know about this topic. Find and encircle the 8 words
related to the movement of the earth in the given crossword puzzle.
 LET US EXPLORE & DISCOVER

Earth’s Rotation

The solar system is not simply a collection of stationary planets, moons, and other
bodies around the sun. Each planet rotates, or spins, on its axis.
The rotation of the Earth on its axis causes day and night. As the Earth rotates, only
one-half of the Earth faces the sun at any given time. The half facing the sun is light
(day) and the half facing away from the sun is dark (night). The animation below
shows the Earth's rotation.

Source: 
Earth on rotation on its axis, 
Best Animations

When viewed above the North Pole, the Earth rotates counterclockwise, from west to
east. This is also called a prograde rotation. Because of this direction of rotation, we
see the sun rising every day in the east and setting in the west. If a planet spins in a
clockwise direction, it is said to have a retrograde rotation. Venus is an example of a
planet with a retrograde rotation.
The Earth rotates on its axis once every 23 hours and 56 minutes. So does that
mean that all places on Earth experience 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark each
day? If you think about it, you know that that is not true. During certain times of the
year we have more hours of daylight than at other times. Why is this? The answer is
that the Earth's axis is not at a right angle with the sun. It is tilted slightly at an angle
of 23.5°. The diagram below shows Earth's tilt in relation to the sun.

 Sources:
 Earth, PSDGraphics
  Sun, ClipartPal

Source: Earth on its Axis, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Penn State
University

Earth’s Revolution

In addition to rotating on its axis, the Earth also travels around the sun in a path
called an orbit. The motion around the sun along its orbit is called a revolution. The
amount of time it takes for a single trip around the sun is called a  period of
revolution. The period for the Earth to revolve around the sun is 365.24 days or one
year. The .24 days is why every four years February has 29 days.
Earth's orbit is not a perfect circle. Instead Earth's orbit is slightly elliptical in shape.
The picture below shows the Earth's revolution around the sun.

Source: Earth on Revolution Around the Sun, Palomar College

Source: Earth on its Axis, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Penn

State University
A common misconception many people have is that the seasons are caused by the
distance of the Earth from the sun. This is not true. Because Earth's orbit around the
sun is slightly elliptical, Earth is actually slightly closer to the sun in the winter than it
is in the summer.

Remember that in this lesson we discussed that Earth's axis was tilted about 23.5
degrees. It is the tilt of Earth's axis that causes the seasons.

The following diagram shows Earth's revolution during different times of the year.
Pay close attention to the direction of the Earth's titled axis.

 Sources:
 Earth, PSDPGraphics
 Sun, ClipartPal

An imaginary line, the equator, runs horizontally around the center of the Earth
dividing Earth into two hemispheres. The area above the equator is referred to as the
Northern Hemisphere while the area below the equator is called the Southern
Hemisphere.

Source: Earth with the Equator, Cburnett, Wikispaces

Philippines is in the Northern Hemisphere. During our summer we have warmer
temperatures and longer days because the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the
sun and receives more solar energy. However, the Southern Hemisphere has colder
temperatures and shorter days because it is tilted away from the sun. This would be
the Southern Hemisphere's winter

When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun the temperatures are
lower and the days are shorter because thus receiving less solar energy. However
the Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun causing higher temperatures and
longer days. This would be the Southern Hemisphere's summer.

LET’S DEEPEN

Globule wonders...
Why is the sky clear in the day and dark at night?
Experiment: Day and night
 Hypotheses: Ask children to explain what causes day and night. What brings us the
light of day? Where does the sun go during the night?
 
Material:
 A globe
 A table lamp without a lamp-shade or a flashlight
 A sticker which can be used to identify the country you live in on the globe
Manipulation:
1. This experiment is a demonstration done by your parents or learning facilitator
at home.

2. With your family members, observe the globe and try to identify the country
you live in. Put a sticker on it. Can you name other countries? Try to identify
as many as possible.

3. Make the room as dark as possible. Turn the lights off and close the curtains.
The only light present must be the light of the table lamp or flashlight. This
light must be fixed. It mustn't be moved throughout the experiment.

4. Your learning facilitator at home places the globe approximately one meter
from the light source, with your country facing the light. Do you think this
represents the day or night?

5. Next, your learning facilitator at home turns the globe 180⁰ on its axis (without
moving it transversally) so that the identified location is plunged into darkness.
It is night-time.

6. Continue to turn the globe, always in the same direction, to observe a few
cycles of night and day. In real life, how long do you think it takes the Earth to
complete a full turn?
Explanation: I am sure you have already heard someone say that the sun rises in
the morning and sets in the evening. Often, it seems as if the sun moves across the
sky but this is just an illusion. The sun does not move! In fact, it is the Earth which
turns on its axis nonstop. The sun always shines. When it is night-time where we
live, it is daytime in faraway countries located on the other side of the Earth (in China
or Australia for example). It takes the Earth approximately 24 hours to complete a full
rotation. This explains why our days last 24 hours!

LET’S PRACTICE
Season chasers...
Eventually, humans figured out that the varying seasons were caused by the earth’s
tilt in combination with its orbit around the sun. You might have learned that the
Earth spins like a top. It does not spin straight up and down, though—it spins at a 23
½ degree tilt. The imaginary line that the earth is spinning around on is called its
axis. When the top of the Earth is tilted towards the sun, it is summer in the
northern hemisphere. Since the bottom half of the Earth (the southern
hemisphere) is tilted away from the sun, it’s winter there. 
On around June 21st, the northern hemisphere is at its max tilt towards the sun. This
is called the summer solstice. This is also the longest period of daylight of the year
in the northern hemisphere. On around December 21 st, the Northern hemisphere is
at its max tilt away from the Sun, which is known as the winter solstice and the
shortest period of daylight. June 21 st is the winter solstice for the southern
hemisphere, and December 21st is its summer solstice. Just think about it: kids in
Australia get to enjoy long summer days and winter holidays at the same time!

In addition to solstices, our planet also experiences equinoxes. During its journey
around the sun, the Earth reaches two points in its orbit where the tilt isn’t towards or
away from the sun. The length of day and night are equal. These are called the
equinoxes. On about March 21st, it is the spring equinox in the northern
hemisphere, and the fall equinox in the southern hemisphere. On about September
21st, it is the spring equinox in the southern hemisphere and fall equinox in the
northern hemisphere.  
The tilt correctly predicts the seasons, but how does the tilt cause warmer or colder
temperatures? You can see for yourself!

Problem
How does the tilt of the Earth cause the seasons?
Materials
 Partner
 Globe
 Tape
 Graph paper
 Protractor
 Flashlight
 Room you can make dark
 Pencil
Procedure
1. Tape a piece of graph paper over the Northern hemisphere of your globe.
2. Tape another piece of graph paper over the Southern hemisphere of your
globe.
3. Using the protractor, have you partner tilt the Northern hemisphere of your
globe toward you 23 ½ degrees (Note: some globes might already be tilted on
the correct axis).  
4. Have your partner continue to hold the globe in position.
5. Standing about one foot away from the globe, shine the flashlight at a point
just above the equator. 
6. Congratulations! You just modelled the way Earth and Sun are positioned
during the summer solstice in the Northern hemisphere, which occurs on June
21st.
7. Now, make the room dark.
8. Ask your partner to trace the circle of light made by the flashlight.  He or she
should be tracing on the paper, not the globe itself.
9. Next, ask your partner to lower the tilted globe (without changing its tilt) so
that circle of light is now on the middle of the Northern hemisphere of the
globe. Keep the flashlight in the same position.
10. Ask your partner to trace the circle of light made by the flashlight in this
region. Do you notice anything about how the brightness and shape of the
circle of light changes?
11. Next, ask your partner to lower the tilted globe so that circle of light is now on
the upper part of the northern hemisphere of the globe. Again, describe how
the shape of the light circle has changed.
12. Next, ask your partner to raise the tilted globe so that the circle of light is now
just below the equator. Make sure that this hemisphere is still tilted away from
the flashlight.
13. Ask your partner to trace the circle of light made by the flashlight.
14. Next, ask your partner to raise the tilted globe so that circle of light is now on
the middle of the southern hemisphere of the globe. Keep the flashlight in the
same position.
15. Again, ask your partner to trace the circle made by the flashlight.
16. Finally, ask your partner to raise the tilted globe so that the light is nearest to
bottom of the globe.  What do you notice about the light circle?
 17. Have your partner do his or her best to draw the shape of light on the graph
paper.
18. Turn on the lights.  
19. Compare the number of squares in the light tracings your partner drew.
Results
The number of squares you count will vary depending on the size of your globe,
graph paper squares, and flashlight. When you moved the flashlight over the surface
of the globe, you probably noticed that the circle of light emitted by the flashlight was
brighter and rounder near the equator. The circle of light became bigger and not as
bright as you moved it towards the poles. There should be more graph paper
squares in those circles.  The light tracings also should start to look less like circles
and more like stretched-out ovals. When you moved the flashlight along the middle
part of your globe’s southern hemisphere, you were likely to notice that the circle of
light was not as bright as it was in the northern hemisphere. When you got to the
bottom of the globe, the light from the flashlight shouldn’t have reached the globe’s
South Pole at all.
Why?
In addition to demonstrating how seasons are caused, this experiment shows why
some parts of the earth are warmer than others year-round. Remember that the
flashlight always emits the same amount of light. When the light shines on the
equator, the circle is bright and small, meaning lots of sunlight is concentrated in a
small area. This is why the parts of the Earth near the equator are hot and have
tropical vegetation. As you moved the light along the curve of the Earth towards the
middle of either hemisphere, the same amount of light was spread out over a larger
area. These parts of Earth’s surface get only a medium amount of light energy,
explaining why these parts of the Earth are not as warm as parts located near the
equator. Your light tracings near the poles were the biggest, meaning the sun’s light
was spread very thin. That is why the North and South Poles are so much colder
than the equator.  
The Earth’s tilt creates seasonal differences in light intensity. Since the northern part
of the Earth was tilted towards the sun, the light circles were smaller and brighter.
This causes these parts of the Earth to be warmer during the summer. By the time
your light reached the North Pole, the light circle was bigger (meaning the light is
more spread out), but since the pole was tilted toward the light, it can still experience
daylight in the summer. When you shined the light toward the South Pole, it probably
didn’t reach the South Pole at all because this pole is tilted away from the sun during
the winter. This is why the poles experience almost total darkness in the winter.

LET’S THINK & REFLECT

LET’S ASSESS
Let’s check how much you’ve learned about this topic.
Answer the test on a piece of paper.
1. Rotation of the Earth causes ______
I. Day and night
II. Wind deflection
III. Climate changes
IV. Differences of time in different places
A. I only C. I, II, III
B. I and II D. I, II, IV
2. Which of the following is true?
A. Earth rotates on its axis as it revolves around the sun.
B. The sun revolves around the Earth while Earth is rotating.
C. Earth rotates once a month as it revolves around the sun.
D. Earth completes one rotation in 365 days.
3. The time between today’s sunrise and Tomorrow’s sunrise is about ______.
A. 12 hours
B. 36 hours
C. 24 hours
D. 48 hours
4. Which of these is strongly responsible for the changes of the season on Earth?
A. position of the moon
B. tilt of Earth on its axis
C. temperature of the sun
D. distance to Mars
5. What is the season in the Northern Hemisphere when Earth’s axis is tilted toward
the sun?
A. summer
B. spring
C. autumn
D. winter

GLOSSARY

ANSWER KEY

REFERENCESS
https://www.texasgateway.org/resource/earth-rotation-and-revolution
https://www.educatall.com/page/297/Day-and-night.html
https://www.education.com/science-fair/article/hot1/

Writer/s: Nolie De lara Castillo

Editors: _____________________
Reviewers: ______________________
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Telephone No. (02) 863-14070
Email Address: lrmds.mimaroparegion@deped.gov.ph