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Earth in Space Worksheet

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244 views2 pages

Earth in Space Worksheet

Uploaded by

chase silva
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Name____________________ Date______________ Class ______________

Earth, Moon, and Sun • Section Summary

Earth in Space Worksheet


Key Concepts
• How does Earth move in space?
• What causes the cycle of seasons on Earth?
The study of the moon, stars, and other objects in space is called astronomy. Ancient
astronomers studied the movements of the sun and moon. They thought Earth was standing
still and the sun and moon were moving. The sun and moon seem to move mainly because
Earth is rotating on its axis, the imaginary line that passes through Earth's center and the
North and South poles. The spinning of Earth on its axis is called its rotation.
Earth's rotation on its axis causes day and night. It takes Earth about 24 hours to
rotate once on its axis.
The movement of one object around another object is called revolution. Earth completes
one revolution around the sun once every year. Earth's path as it revolves around the sun is
called its orbit. Earth's orbit is a slightly elongated circle, or ellipse. Earth takes about 365
1/4 days to complete a revolution around the sun, and 12 moon cycles make up fewer days
than that revolution.
Sunlight hits Earth's surface most directly at the equator. Closer to the poles, sunlight hits
Earth's surface at an angle. That is why it is generally warmer near the equator than near the
poles.
Earth has seasons because its axis is tilted as it moves around the sun.
Earth's axis is tilted at an angle of 23.5° from vertical. As Earth revolves around the sun, its
axis is tilted away from the sun for part of the year and toward the sun for part of the year.
When the north end of Earth's axis is tilted toward the sun, the Northern Hemisphere has
summer. At the same time, the south end of Earth's axis is tilted away from the sun. As a
result, the Southern Hemisphere has winter. The hemisphere tilted toward the sun has more
daylight hours than the hemisphere tilted away from the sun. The combination of direct rays
and more hours of sunlight heats the surface more than at any other time of the year.
On two days each year, the sun reaches its greatest distance north or south of the
equator. Each of these days is known as a solstice. Halfway between the solstices, neither
hemisphere is tilted toward the sun. On those two days, the noon sun is directly overhead
at the equator. Each of these days is known as an equinox, meaning "equal night."
During an equinox, the length of nighttime and daytime are about the same.
Earth, Moon, and Sun - Review and Reinforce

Earth in Space
Understanding Main Ideas
Use the following figure to answer questions 1 through 3. Write your answers on a separate sheet of
paper.

North

South

1. In the diagram, what season is it in North America?


2. Would a person at each of the points A, B, and C see the sun? If so, where would the sun
be in the sky?
3. Which is a person standing at point B seeing, sunrise or sunset? Explain.

Building Vocabulary
Match each term with its definition by writing the letter of the correct definition in the right
column on the line beside the term in the left column.

a. The path of Earth as it revolves around the sun


4. astronomy
b. Line passing through Earth's center and poles
5. axis
c. The study of the moon, stars, and other objects in
space
6. rotation
d. The sun is farthest north or south of the equator at this
7. revolution time.

8. orbit e. Movement of Earth around the sun

f. Movement of Earth around its axis


9. equinox
g. The noon sun is directly overhead at the equator at this
10. solstice time.

© PBarson Education, Inc., publishing as Pecrson Prentice Hall. All lights reserved.
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