ClassX Video Lessons Youtube Channel Smile and Learn English Rotation and Revolution of Earth – Movements of the Earth – Earth’s Revolution & Rotation
Hey there, Earthling! Are you ready for an exciting mission? A huge asteroid is heading towards Earth, and we need to figure out if it will hit or miss our planet. To do this, we need to learn about two important movements of Earth: rotation and revolution. Let’s dive in!
First, let’s talk about rotation. Imagine Earth as a giant spinning top. It spins around an invisible line called an axis, which goes through the North and South Poles. This spinning movement is called rotation. It takes Earth 24 hours to complete one full spin, which is why we have day and night.
When the part of Earth you live on faces the sun, it’s daytime. When it turns away from the sun, it’s nighttime. So, rotation is what makes the sun rise and set each day!
Now, let’s explore revolution. This is the movement of Earth as it travels around the sun. It takes one whole year for Earth to complete this journey. But guess what? Earth’s path around the sun isn’t a perfect circle; it’s more like an oval shape, called an ellipse.
Because of Earth’s tilt and its revolution around the sun, we experience different seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. When one part of Earth tilts towards the sun, it gets more sunlight and becomes warmer, which is why it’s summer. Meanwhile, the opposite side gets less sunlight and becomes colder, leading to winter.
Did you know that Earth’s revolution around the sun actually takes about 365 days and 6 hours? To keep our calendar in sync with Earth’s journey, we have leap years. Every four years, we add an extra day to February, making it 29 days long. This helps us catch up with those extra hours!
Thanks to our understanding of Earth’s rotation and revolution, we discovered that the asteroid will safely pass by Earth without hitting it. Hooray! Our planet is safe, and it’s all because of what we’ve learned.
If you want to keep learning and having fun, check out the Smile and Learn platform. It’s full of games, videos, and stories that make learning exciting. You can try it for free on your mobile, tablet, or PC. Happy exploring!
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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**Smile and Learn**
This has been my journey through the solar system, and it was incredible!
[Music]
Greetings, Earthling! I need you for a new adventure. I hope you’re ready because this is a very important mission. A gigantic asteroid is heading towards your planet, and we have to save it!
We need to study the rotation and revolution movements of planet Earth to find out whether it will impact Earth or pass at a distance. Would you help me?
Of course, I would! The mission commences now!
It’s been ages; I’ve missed you! There’s no time to lose. I need you to tell me everything you know about the rotation and revolution movements of planet Earth.
It’s your lucky day, my friend! This week, we learned all about it in class, and I scored top marks! Just like the rest of the planets in the solar system, planet Earth moves in two ways: rotation and revolution.
Can you see how the Earth is spinning around its axis? This movement is called rotation. The Earth spins around an imaginary line that passes through the poles. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the axis is a little inclined, almost 24 degrees. It takes planet Earth 24 hours to complete one rotation on its axis, which is the equivalent of one day.
Rotation explains day and night. As you can see, it’s daytime in the part of the Earth that faces the sun and nighttime on the dark side. Do you understand?
I do! Rotation means the Earth is spinning around itself.
Exactly! Now I’ll explain revolution. The movement of the Earth around the sun is called revolution. The Earth takes one whole year to go around the sun.
Before, people used to think that the orbit of the Earth around the sun was cyclical, but they weren’t correct. As you can see here, the orbit is elliptical. Thanks to revolution and the inclination of the rotation axis of the Earth, we have four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
The more the axis is inclined towards the sun, the more directly the sunlight reaches the Earth’s surface. It’s warmer, and that’s why it’s summertime. By contrast, the other hemisphere is less inclined, so sunlight is less direct, which is why it’s colder and wintertime there.
Here we can see that it’s summertime in the northern hemisphere and wintertime in the southern hemisphere. The opposite will occur in six months. Sunlight will reach the southern hemisphere in a more direct way, and it will be summer while in the northern hemisphere, it will be winter.
[Music]
Due to the fact that the revolution of the Earth around the sun doesn’t take exactly 365 days, but 365 days and 6 hours, there are leap years, which have one more day—366 days. That’s why every four years, February has one more day, making it 29 days.
Wow, how impressive! So these calculations mean that planet Earth is doomed? The asteroid will impact Earth in one minute now!
Wait! Did you take into account that this is a leap year?
Oops! Hold on! The Earth is safe from the asteroid; it will pass close by without hitting it. Yay! And it’s all thanks to the leap year!
Do you want to keep on learning? Try our Smile and Learn platform for free for a month and enjoy all of our games, videos, and interactive stories. Go for it! Download Smile and Learn on your mobile, tablet, or PC.
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Let me know if you need any further modifications!
