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Earth Rotation and Revolution - Difference Between Rotation and Revolution, FAQs

The document explains the concepts of rotation and revolution, highlighting their differences, particularly in relation to celestial bodies like Earth. It details Earth's rotation on its axis, which creates day and night, and its revolution around the Sun, which leads to seasons. Additionally, it provides information on the significance of these movements and their effects on various phenomena, including tides and the length of day and night.

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zelalema304
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27 views1 page

Earth Rotation and Revolution - Difference Between Rotation and Revolution, FAQs

The document explains the concepts of rotation and revolution, highlighting their differences, particularly in relation to celestial bodies like Earth. It details Earth's rotation on its axis, which creates day and night, and its revolution around the Sun, which leads to seasons. Additionally, it provides information on the significance of these movements and their effects on various phenomena, including tides and the length of day and night.

Uploaded by

zelalema304
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Rotation and Revolution

We have heard the terms rotation and


revolution associated with celestial objects.
Let us know more about rotation and
revolution and the difference between rotation
and revolution.

Table of Contents:

What is Rotation?
What is Revolution?
Rotation of the Earth
Importance of Earth Rotation
Revolution of the Earth
Rotation and Revolution of Planets
Difference Between Rotation and
Revolution
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

What is Rotation?

A rotation is a circular movement of an object


around a centre of rotation. If three-
dimensional objects like the earth, moon and
other planets always rotate around an
imaginary line, it is called a rotation axis. If the
axis passes through the body’s centre of
mass, the body is said to rotate upon itself or
spin.

What is Revolution?

Revolution is often used as a synonym for


rotation. However, in many fields like
astronomy and its related subjects, revolution
is referred to as an orbital revolution. It is used
when one body moves around another, while
rotation means moving around the axis. For
example, the Moon revolves around the Earth,
and the Earth revolves around the Sun.

Rotation of the Earth

Earth rotates on its axis from west to east, and


the Sun and the Moon appear to move from
east to west across the sky. The spinning of
the Earth around its axis is called ‘rotation’.
The axis has an angle of 23 1/2º and is
perpendicular to the plane of Earth’s orbit.
This means the Earth is tilted on its axis, and
because of this tilt, the northern and southern
hemispheres lean in a direction away from the
Sun. The rotation of the Earth divides it into a
lit-up half and a dark half, which gives rise to
day and night. The direction of the Earth’s
rotation depends on the direction of viewing.
When viewed looking down from the North
Pole, Earth spins counterclockwise. On the
contrary, when viewed looking down from the
south pole, the earth spins in the clockwise
direction.

Importance of Earth Rotation

Some of the importance of the rotation of the


Earth are listed below:

The Earth’s rotation creates the diurnal


cycle of lightness and darkness,
temperature and humidity changes.
The Earth’s rotation causes tides in the
oceans and seas.

Revolution of the Earth

The movement of the Earth around the Sun in


a fixed path is called a revolution. The Earth
revolves from west to east, i.e., in the
anticlockwise direction. The one revolution of
the Earth around the Sun takes around one
year or precisely 365.242 days. The revolution
speed of the earth is 30 km/s-1.

Importance of Revolution

Revolution causes seasons.


Revolution creates perihelion and
aphelion. Perihelion occurs when the
Earth is closest to the Sun. Aphelion
occurs when the Earth is far from the
Sun.
Revolution has a direct influence on the
varied length of day and night time. The
duration of days and nights are the same
at the equator. This is known as the
equinox. The duration of days and nights
vary in the Northern and Southern
hemispheres. This is known as solstices.

Test your Knowledge on Force!

Put your understanding of this concept to test


by answering a few MCQs. Click ‘Start Quiz’ to
begin!

Select the correct answer and click on the


“Finish” button
Check your score and answers at the end of
the quiz

Rotation and Revolution of Planets

Mean
distance Period
Period of
Planets from the Sun of
Revolution
in millions Rotation
of kilometres

Mercury 57.9 88 days 59 days

243
Venus 108.2 224.7 days
days

23 hr, 56
Earth 149.6 365.2 days min, 4
sec

24 hr, 37
Mars 227.9 687 days
min

9 hr, 55
Jupiter 778.3 11.86 years min, 30
sec

10 hr, 40
29.46
Saturn 1,427 min, 24
years
sec

16.8
Uranus 2,870 84 years
hours

16 hr, 11
Neptune 4,497 165 years
min

Difference Between Rotation and


Revolution

The table given below provides the basic


differences between rotation and revolution.

Rotation Revolution

Revolution is the
Rotation of the Earth is
movement of the
turning on its axis.
Earth around the Sun.

The Earth takes a full


The Earth takes 24
year (365 days) for
hours to complete a
one complete
rotation with respect to
revolution around the
the sun.
Sun

The Earth’s axis of The path of the Earth


rotation is tilted by 23.5 moving around the
degrees. This tilt causes Sun is called an orbit.
the different seasons of The Earth’s orbit is
the year. elliptical.

Watch the video below to


understand what would happen if
the Earth stopped spinning

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Related Links

Difference Between Equinox and Solstice


Solar System
Celestial Bodies
Advanced Sunrise And Delayed Sunset

Frequently Asked Questions –


FAQs

Q1

What is meant by rotation?

A rotation is a circular movement of an object


around a centre of rotation.

Q2

What is meant by revolution?

Revolution occurs when one body moves


around another, while rotation means moving
around the axis. For example, the Moon
revolves around the Earth, and the Earth
revolves around the Sun.

Q3

Do earthquakes affect the Earth’s


rotation?

Using the data from the Indonesian


Earthquake, NASA calculated that the
earthquake affected Earth’s rotation,
decreased the length of the day, shifted the
North Pole by centimetres and slightly
changed the planet’s shape. The earthquake
that created a huge tsunami also changed the
Earth’s rotation.

Q4

Has the Earth’s rotation ever speeded


up in the past?

Probably, but in the last 900 million years, any


speed-ups have been superimposed on a
more or less steady slow down in spin rate.
Even today, we can identify how the Earth’s
rotation rate changes fast and slow by
milliseconds per day, depending on how the
mass distribution of the Earth and its
atmosphere change from earthquakes and the
movement of water and air.

Q5

Is it possible to slow down the Earth’s


rotation artificially?

It is said that humans have made a


measurable change in the Earth’s rotation
period by several microseconds by
accumulating vast reservoirs with trillions of
tons of water. There may be a weak interaction
between this activity and the weather over the
long term, and possibly even in the strength of
the Earth’s magnetic field, which is very
sensitive to the Earth’s rotation rate.

Q6

What is the angle made by the axis of


the earth with its orbital plane?

The angle made by the axis of the earth, which


is an imaginary line with the orbital plane, is 66
degrees.

Q7

What is an equinox?

An equinox is defined as the time when the


sun crosses the celestial equator such that the
length of the day and night are equal. Every
year has two equinoxes. Also, the length of
nights at latitudes L degree north and L
degree south are equal.

In this video, we have provided


important questions and concepts
of Rotation for JEE Advanced 2023

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Stay tuned with BYJU’S to learn more


interesting science topics with engaging
videos!

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