UNIT 1 : OUR WORLD

Chapter 3. Rotation and revolution

A. Answer the following questions :

1. What is meant by the inclination of the

Earth's axis?
• The earth spins on an imaginary line called Axis . The North of this line is called North Pole
90°N of equator and South of this axis is called South pole, 90°S of the equator . It is tilted 23
1/2° from a line perpendicular to that plane.
2. Name an effect of the earth's rotation.
• Day and night is an effect of the earth's rotation
3. State two effects of west to east rotation
Of the earth.
• Two effects of west to east rotation of the earth are :
• Cyclones and anti cyclones
• Coriolis force or the Ferrell's law
4. What causes slight flattening of the earth
at two poles?
• Speed of rotation causes slight flattening of the earth at two poles
5. What is meant by the revolution of the
Earth? What are its effects?
• The motion of the earth along its elliptical orbit around the Sun in approximately 365 1/4 days
(365.25 days) or 365 days and 6 hours is termed as revolution.
Effects of revolution :
• Changing altitude of the mid-day sun at different times of the year
• Varying length of day and night
• Change in seasons
6. Explain the meaning of the terms
'Solstice' and 'Equinox'.
• SOLSTICE: when the sun is overhead over tropic of cancer or tropic of capricon ,then it is
termed as Solstice. Solstice is a latin word which means sun standing still or reaching the
zenith point.
• EQUINOX: when the sun is standing over the equator, all places on earth have twelve halves of
day and twelve hours of night, then its is termed as equinox. Equinox is a latin word in which
'equi' means equal and 'nox' means night.
7. What causes the formation of day and
Night? Explain with the help of a neat
diagram.
• Rotation of the earth causes the formation of day and night.
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8. When do Summer solstice and winter

Solstice occur? How do they occur?
• Summer solstice occurs on 21st june and winter solstice occurs on 22nd December
9. Which is the longest day in the southern
Hemisphere?
• 22nd december is the longest day in the southern hemisphere.
10. Which is the longest day in the northern
Hemisphere?
• 21st june is the longest day in the northern hemisphere.
11. Name the path along which the earth
travels when moving round the sun. How
Long does this movement take place?
• Orbit is the path along which the earth travels when moving round the sun .
• This movement take place for 365 1/4 day or 365 days and 6 hours
12. On what date does the arctic circle
Experience 'Midnight sun'?
• On 21st June the arctic circle experiences 'midnight sun'.
13. What is a leap year?
• The period of revolution or year is the time required for the earth to complete one circle
around the sun. Every four years the extra one-fourth day difference between the tropical year
and the calender year of 365 days is taken as one whole day.
14. Give the dates when days and nights
are of equal duration on the equator?
• On March 21 and September 23 ,the days and nights are of equal duration on the equator.
15. Explain with the help of a diagram, the
Part played by the inclination of earth's
axis in causing day and night of varying
Duration, except at the equator.
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16. What do you mean by the Sidereal day?

• The period of rotation or the time required for the earth to turn through 360° is 23 hr, 56
minutes, 4.09 sec. This period is termed as the Sidereal day.
17. What is perihelion? Mention the date of
This phenomenon.
• The earth is said to be in perihelion (from the Greek word peri ---- around or near; hellion ------
the Sun) on january 3rd when distance is least or about 147 million km.
18. Why does the speed of Earth's
Revolution vary?
• The mean velocity of the speed of the earth is 1.07,000 km/hr or 30km/sec, but varies
according to the path of the orbit occupied. The velocity is greatest at Perihelion, and least at
Aphelion.
19. State the effect of speed of Earth's
 rotation.
• Cyclones and anticyclones
• Coriolis effect
• Shape of the earth----- bulges at the equator and flattens at the poles
20. State any two special features of
Summer solstice.
• The duration of day is longer than night
• Daylight lasts for the entire 24 hours beyond the Arctic circle towards the North pole.
21. What are the two motions of the earth?
• The two motions of the earth are rotation and revolution
22. What is an orbit?
• The imaginary line or the path along which the earth moves around the sun is called orbit.
B. Define the following:
1. Earth's axis : an imaginary line drawn from the North Pole to the South Pole through the
center of the earth.
2. Plane of ecliptic : the plane of ecliptic is the projection of the earth's orbit around the sun
along with its satellite moon. During this movement when the sun, moon and earth come in a
straight line then the eclipse occur and the line is called plane of ecliptic
3. Perihelion : the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is closet to the sun.
4. Aphelion : the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is farthest from the
sun.
5. Ferrell's law : the force created because of the rotation of the earth is the coriolis force . This
is called Ferrell's Law
6. Rotation : the action of rotating around an axis or centre of something
D. Give reasons.
1. Altitude of the sun varies at a place
according to seasons.
• Altitude of the sun varies at a place according to seasons because of the revolution of the
earth with its inclined plane
2. Seasons are reversed in northern and southern hemisphere.
• Seasons are reversed in northern and southern hemisphere because of the revolution of the
earth with its inclined plane
3. Days and nights are equal at all places on the earth on March 21.
• Days and nights are equal at all places on the earth on March 21 because the sun shines
vertically overhead over the equator and it is called the spring equinox
4. Winds get deflected from their normal path.
• Winds get deflected from their normal path because of the rotation of the earth that creates
coriolis force in which the winds get deflected from their normal path
5. The region beyond Arctic circle is known as the 'Land of Midnight Sun'.
• The region beyond Arctic circle is known as the 'land of midnight Sun' because at the Arctic
circle(66 1/2°N) during summer on june 21 the Sun never sets in mid-summer and there is
daylight for 24 hours as North pole is inclined towards the sun. This region is often referred to
as the land of the Midnight Sun.
6. The speed of rotation at Singapore is much faster than at Tokyo or Russia.
• The speed of rotation at Singapore is much faster than at Tokyo or Russia because Singapore
 lies on the equator but Tokyo or Russia lie near to the North pole or away from the equator
where the rotation speed is least.
7. Mid-day Sun can be seen overhead Chennai twice a year, but not even once in Delhi. Why?
• Mid-day Sun can be seen overhead Chennai twice a year, but not even once in Delhi because
Chennai lies between equator and tropic of cancer so it experiences mid-day sun during
Equinox and Summer solstics but delhi lies above Tropic of cancer. So not experiencing
mid-day sun
8. The poles experience six-month day and six-month night
• The poles experience six-month day and six-month night because of the revolution of the
earth with its inclined axis.
9. Noon is hotter than morning
• Noon is hotter than morning because during noon time we experience vertical sunrays while
morning we experience slanting sunrays so vertical sunrays have more heat than slanting
sunrays
10. The variation in the lengths of the day and night goes on increasing towards Poles
• The variation in the lengths of the day and night goes on increasing towards poles because of
revolution of the earth with its inclined axis.
11. The sun is never overhead beyond the Tropics.
• The sun is never overhead beyond the tropics because of the movement of the sun is confined
within its tropics.
12. The regions, near North Pole and South Pole, have six months of continuous day-light and
darkness.
• The regions, never North pole and South pole, have six months of continuous day-light and
darkness because of the revolution of the earth with its inclined axis.

D. Distinguish between :
1. Solstice and Equinox
• when the sun is overhead over tropic of cancer or tropic of capricon ,then it is termed as
Solstice. Solstice is a latin word which means sun standing still or reaching the zenith point
whereas when the sun is standing over the equator, all places on earth have twelve halves of
day and twelve hours of night, then its is termed as equinox. Equinox is a latin word in which
'equi' means equal and 'nox' means night.
2. Perihelion and aphelion
• the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is closet to the sun is called the
perihelion whereas the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is farthest
from the sun is called the aphelion
3. Rotation and revolution
• The action of rotating around an axis or centre of something is called rotation whereas the
movement of the earth around the sun in a fixed path is called revolution
4. Spring equinox and autumn equinox
• The equinox in spring, on about 20 March in the northern hemisphere and 22 September
in the southern hemisphere is the spring equinox whereas the equinox in autumn, on about
22 September in the northern hemisphere and 20 March in the southern hemisphere is the
autumn equinox