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Chapter 1: Our World: The Earth As A Planet: Points To Remember

i. Several proofs support that the Earth is spherical, including Magellan's voyage, lunar eclipses, sunrise/sunset times, and aerial photographs. ii. The Earth's shape is described as an oblate spheroid or a geoid, with a circumference of approximately 40,000 km. iii. The Earth is unique for supporting life, with a temperature range allowing water as well as an atmosphere and lithosphere protecting and feeding organisms.

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72 views1 page

Chapter 1: Our World: The Earth As A Planet: Points To Remember

i. Several proofs support that the Earth is spherical, including Magellan's voyage, lunar eclipses, sunrise/sunset times, and aerial photographs. ii. The Earth's shape is described as an oblate spheroid or a geoid, with a circumference of approximately 40,000 km. iii. The Earth is unique for supporting life, with a temperature range allowing water as well as an atmosphere and lithosphere protecting and feeding organisms.

Uploaded by

Sakshi Jaiswal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter 1: Our World: The Earth as a Planet

Points to remember

• Astronomers and scientists provided several proofs to support that the earth was spherical in
shape:
i. Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage conclusively proved that the earth is spherical. Also, while
travelling round the world by land or sea, one does not come across an abrupt edge from where one
can fall off.
ii. The shadow of the earth on the moon during a lunar eclipse is circular.
iii. Sunrise and sunset do not occur at the same time all across the globe, people in the places in the
east can see the sun earlier than those in the west.
iv. The horizon seen from a very tall building or an aircraft appears to be circular.
v. If you were to observe a ship from a particular point on the land, you would not see the whole
vessel all at once. You would first see the smoke of the ship, then the funnels, then the mast, and
finally the hull.
vi. The Bedford Level Experiment by Alfred Russel Wallace also proved that the earth was
spherical.
vii. At the North Pole, the Pole Star can be seen at 90° in the sky, but as one moves to the equator
the Pole Star will be seen at the horizon.
viii. Aerial photographs show the earth to be spherical in shape.
• The shape of the earth can be described as being ‘oblate spheroid’. The precise word used to
describe the shape of the earth is ‘geoid’—meaning ‘earth-shaped’.
• Eratosthenes was the first to calculate the circumference of the earth. According to him, it was
roughly 40,320 km.
• Today we know the circumference of the earth to be about 40,000 km.
• The earth is a unique planet because it is the only planet that supports life:
i. The earth is neither too hot nor too cold.
ii. There is water on the earth.
iii. The earth is surrounded by the atmosphere that protects it from harmful ultraviolet rays and
meteors.
iv. The earth’s lithosphere has a soil layer that supports plant life.
v. It is possible for all living organisms to thrive in the earth’s environment, which is a unique
system interlinking land, water and air.
• The antipodal balance between land and water also contributes to the uniqueness of earth. The
word antipodal is usually used for land and water that exist on opposite sides of the earth.
• The moon is a natural satellite of the earth.
• The moon takes 27 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes to revolve around the earth once.
• The moon does not have light of its own and reflects the light received from the sun.

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