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Rotation and Revolution L-3

The Earth revolves around the sun in an elliptical orbit and rotates on its axis, which causes phenomena like day and night, seasons, winds, and ocean currents. The rotation occurs once every 24 hours, with the Earth tilted at an angle of 23.5°, affecting the duration of day and night across different locations. The speed of rotation is fastest at the equator and decreases towards the poles, influencing the occurrence of day and night based on the Earth's position relative to the sun.

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85 views3 pages

Rotation and Revolution L-3

The Earth revolves around the sun in an elliptical orbit and rotates on its axis, which causes phenomena like day and night, seasons, winds, and ocean currents. The rotation occurs once every 24 hours, with the Earth tilted at an angle of 23.5°, affecting the duration of day and night across different locations. The speed of rotation is fastest at the equator and decreases towards the poles, influencing the occurrence of day and night based on the Earth's position relative to the sun.

Uploaded by

progresrai7
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

The Earth, like all other planets in the Solar System

revolves around the sun in an elliptical orbit and it also


rotates on its axis. These two motions of the earth are
known as revolution and rotation, respectively. Many
phenomena on earth like day and night, seasons, winds
and ocean currents depend on these motions.

Rotation of the Earth


Rotation is the spinning of earth on its axis from west to
east once in 24 hours. The axis is the imaginary line
passing through the centre of the earth as it does on the
globe. The two end points through which the axis passes
are known as the North Pole and the South Pole. The axis
is tilted at an angle of 231/2° from the vertical. This means
that if a line were drawn parallel to the plane of the
earth’s orbit, the axis would make an angle of 661/2° to
this line.
Characteristics of Rotation
1. Direction: The earth completes one rotation from
west to east in 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4.09 seconds
(roughly in 24 hours).
2. Inclination of axis: The earth is always tilted in the
same direction (towards the pole star) as it moves
round the sun. The angle at which the earth is tilted
is known as the inclination of the earth’s axis.
3. Speed: The speed the earth’s rotation at the equator
is 1670km per hour (circumference of the earth is
40,075 km, which is covered in 24 hours). The speed
decreases towards the poles.
Effects and Rotation of the Earth
1. Occurrence of Day and Night is caused by the
rotation of the earth on its axis. This is because parts
of the earth which face the sun have day and the
parts which do not face the sun have night. This
happens with precision and progression and not
suddenly. The time when the sun begins to cast its
light in the sky is known as dawn. At noon, the sun is
overhead. At dust, it is twilight and the sun is seen
disappearing in the sky. Duration of the day and
night is not equal at all places on the earth because
of the inclined axis. The length of days varies with
respect to the seasons as well as latitude.

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