Chapter 1: Introduction to Earth
Revolution
The earths circle around the sun, takes 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds.
Solar Altitude
The height of the sun above the horizon.
Circle of Illumination
The line between the daylight half, and nighttime half of earth.
Atmosphere
Air that surrounds earth that contains the mixture of gases needed to sustain life.
Lithosphere
Comprises the rocks of earth's crust as well as the broken and unconsolidated particles of mineral matter that overlie a solid bedrock.
Hydrosphere
Comprises water in all its forms.
December Solstice
December 21st 23.5° S Season in North Hemisphere: Winter Season in South Hemisphere: Summer Light becomes longer in South, and darker in north
Inclination of Earth's axis
Earth is tilted at 23.5° away from the perpendicular.
Rotation
Earth rotates west to east on its axis, a 24 hour process.
Biosphere
Encompasses all the parts of earth where living organisms can exist
What happens to the hour when crossing a time zone boundary moving from west to east?
Gain an hour of time
Compare the size of Earth to that of its surface features and atmosphere.
Highest Point: Mt. Everest, 8850 meters Lowest Point: Mariana Trench, 11033 meters Difference: 19,883 meters Earth is huge compared to its surface features.
June Solstice
June 21st 23.5° N Season in North Hemisphere:Summer Season in South Hemisphere: Winter Light becomes longer in north, and darker in south
Longest Days of the year in terms of daylight
June and December sostices
Latitude ranges from _____° to _____° north and south, while longitude ranges from _____° to _____° east and west.
Latitude: 90 to 90 Longitude: 180 to 180
March equinox
March 20th 0° Season in North Hemisphere: Spring Season in South Hemisphere: Autumn No 24 hours of light or darkness
Vertical Rays of Sun
March/September Equinox: Equator June Solstice: Tropic of Cancer December Solstice: Tropic of Capricorn
Is Earth perfectly spherical? Explain.
No, if you cut the earth in half from pole to pole to would be more of an ellipse.
September Equinox
September 22nd 0° Season in North Hemisphere: Autumn Season in South Hemisphere: Spring No 24 hours of light or darkness
What happens to the day when crossing the International Date Line moving from east to west?
You go a day ahead in time.