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Science 6 Week 5 LAS3
Science 6 Week 5 LAS3
Content
Effects of Earth’s Motion
The spinning of the Earth causes day to turn to night, while the full rotation/the revolution of the
Earth causes seasons.
Combined, the spinning and the revolution of the Earth causes our daily weather and global
climate by affecting wind direction, temperature, ocean currents and precipitation.
When the Earth rotates on its axis, it prevents air currents from moving in a straight line north and
south from the equator. This results to Coriolis Effect. It deflects winds to the right in the Northern
Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
Between 30 and 60 degrees latitude, the winds moving toward the poles curve east, forming the
prevailing westerlies, which are responsible for many of the weather movements across the United States
and Canada.
As the Earth revolves around the sun, its axis is tilted. It is on this axis that the earth rotates every
24 hours. Since the axis is tilted, the effects of revolution of the Earth is different for different parts of the
globe. Some areas are tipped towards, or away from, the sun at different times of the year. This causes the
four seasons of the year and creates opposite seasons in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
The Earth's seasons is caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis, not by the distance from the sun.
During summer, it is warmer than winter because the sun's rays shine more directly than during winter, and
because the days are longer than the nights. During the winter, the sun's rays hit the Earth at a steeper
angle, producing shorter days.
The equinoxes are days in which day and night are of equal duration, while the solstices are the
days when the sun reaches its farthest northern and southern declinations, creating both the shortest and
longest day of the year.
Activity
Encircle the letter of the correct answer.
1. Which of these is the most responsible for the changes of the seasons on Earth?
a. Position of the Moon b. Tilt of Earth on its axis
c. Temperature of the Sun d. Distance to Mars
3. Earth makes a complete revolution around the Sun about once every ______________.
a. day b. year c. season d. minute
4. Which of these describes rotation?
a. Mercury goes around the Sun every 88 days.
b. The Moon goes around Earth every 28 days.
c. Earth orbits the Sun about every 365 days.
d. Earth makes one turn on its axis every 24 hours.
5. The motion of Earth around the Sun affects most the ____________________
a. timing of tides b. length of a month c. cycle of the seasons d. phases of the Moon
6. The time between today’s sunrise and tomorrow’s sunrise would be about _________________.
a. 12 hours b. 24 hours c. 36 hours d. 48 hours
7. Which of these best shows that the Earth revolves around the sun as the moon revolves around the
Earth?