CHAPTER 17

EARTH’S CYCLES

Lesson 1 – How does Earth move?

Earth spins like a top as it circles around and

around the Sun. Earth is tipped to one side as it

moves. This tilt causes the changing seasons.

Why can’t we feel Earth moving?

Everyone agrees that Earth doesn’t seem to be

moving.

You can’t sense its movement because you are

moving right along with it.

Another reason you don’t sense Earth’s motion is that

it moves steadily and smoothly.

What are some clues that Earth is

moving?

1. To people on Earth, the Sun and the stars seem

to move across the sky. Why? Because the Earth is

constantly turning.

2. Another clue is that the seasons change during

the year for most places away from the equator.

The equator is the imaginary line that divides the

north and south halves of the Earth.

Earth’s Rotation

Earth turns around its axis. The axis is the

imaginary line that goes through its center.

The spinning of Earth around its axis is called its

rotation.

How long does it take for Earth to spin once on its

axis?

23 hours and 56 minutes – 1 day

How does Earth’s rotation cause day

and night?

As Earth spins or rotates on its axis, there are

certain times when areas of Earth are not facing the

Sun. The result is darkness or – night.

When Earth rotates, it turns from west to east. This

causes objects such as the Sun and stars to appear

to move from east to west in the sky.

Why do shadows change?

Because of Earth’s rotation, shadows change their

positions and sizes during the day.

Think about it. In the morning and the afternoon

your shadow is much longer because the Sun is

shining on you at an angle. At 12:00 noon your

shadow is fairly short because the Sun is directly

over your head.

Earth’s Revolution

We have just learned that Earth spins on its axis and that is called rotation.

However, Earth is not just rotating. It is also moving in a path around the Sun. This is called revolution. It takes Earth an entire year to make one revolution around the Sun.

The path that Earth takes around the Sun is called its orbit.

Earth’s orbit is an ellipse. Think of an ellipse as a stretched out circle.

What keeps Earth revolving around the

Sun?

Why doesn’t Earth just float around in outer space?

Gravity!

Gravity is the force that pulls two objects toward

each other. There is gravity between the Earth and

the Sun.

Revolution

Seasons

What causes the seasons to change?

The tilt of Earth on its axis.

During summers in the Northern Hemisphere, the

North Pole tilts toward the Sun and gets more direct

sunlight, while the South Pole tilts away from the Sun

and gets sunlight that is less direct.

United Streaming Video – Seasons (25 minutes)

Lesson 2 – What patterns can you see

in the sky?

You see stars in different parts of the night sky as

Earth rotates on its axis and revolves around the

Sun. The Moon revolves around Earth. It also

rotates on its own axis. All these movements cause

changes in the patters that you see in the sky.

The Moon

The Moon

The Moon looks as if it is shining with its own light. However, the moon does not produce light. You can see the Moon because it reflects sunlight off its surface.

The Moon orbits around Earth in an elliptical orbit. It takes the Moon about 27.3 days to complete one revolution around Earth.

Like Earth, the Moon rotates on its axis.

As the Moon orbits Earth, the SAME SIDE of the Moon always faces Earth.

Why does the Moon look different at

different times of the month?

The changing of the Moon refers to the Moon’s

phases.

Different amounts of the lighted half of the Moon

face Earth at different times.

Phases of the Moon Video – 3 minutes

Eclipses

An eclipse occurs when one object in space gets

between the Sun and another object, and casts its

shadow on the other object.

Lunar Eclipse

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes

through Earth’s shadow.

Lunar Eclipse Video (1 minute)

Solar Eclipse

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes

between the Earth and the Sun.

Solar Eclipse video (1 minute)

The Sun

The Sun is a medium size star that is nearest Earth.

United Streaming Video – The Sun (1 minute)

Constellations

A constellation is a star pattern in the sky.

For thousands of years, people have noticed that

the stars appear in shapes and patterns in the sky.

Constellations Video – 45 seconds