Quick Review Flashcards - Click to flip and test your knowledge!
Question
In which direction does the Earth spin on its axis?
Answer
From west to east.
Question
What is the approximate time taken for the Earth to complete one rotation?
Answer
24 hours.
Question
The imaginary line passing through the centre of the Earth on which it rotates is called the _____.
Answer
axis
Question
At what angle is the Earth's axis tilted from the vertical?
Answer
$23 \frac{1}{2}^{\circ}$
Question
The Earth's axis makes an angle of _____ with the plane of its orbit.
Answer
$66 \frac{1}{2}^{\circ}$
Question
What are the two end points through which the Earth's axis passes?
Answer
The North Pole and the South Pole.
Question
What is the speed of Earth's rotation at the Equator in kilometres per hour?
Answer
$1670$ km per hour.
Question
How does the speed of Earth's rotation change as one moves from the Equator towards the poles?
Answer
The speed decreases.
Question
Which motion of the Earth causes the occurrence of day and night?
Answer
Rotation.
Question
The part of the Earth that moves from darkness into the Sun's rays experiences _____.
Answer
sunrise
Question
What is the 'Coriolis Effect'?
Answer
The force experienced by objects moving over the surface of a rotating body that causes deflection.
Question
In which direction are winds deflected in the Northern Hemisphere due to the Coriolis Effect?
Answer
To the right (clockwise).
Question
In which direction are winds deflected in the Southern Hemisphere due to the Coriolis Effect?
Answer
To the left (anticlockwise).
Question
Why do the Sun, Moon, and stars appear to move from east to west?
Answer
Because the Earth rotates from west to east.
Question
What is 'centrifugal force' in the context of Earth's rotation?
Answer
An apparent outward force directed away from the axis of rotation.
Question
What physical effect has centrifugal force had on the Earth's shape?
Answer
It created a bulge at the Equator and flattened the poles.
Question
How many minutes of time difference occur for each degree of longitude on Earth?
Answer
$4$ minutes.
Question
How does the Earth's short rotational period affect daily temperature variations?
Answer
It makes the variation in temperature between day and night moderate.
Question
The movement of the Earth around the Sun in an elliptical orbit is called _____.
Answer
revolution
Question
What is the average speed of Earth's revolution in kilometres per second?
Answer
$29.8$ km per second.
Question
Why is the speed of Earth's revolution not uniform throughout the year?
Answer
The gravitational pull is stronger when the Earth is closer to the Sun, making it move faster.
Question
What is the duration of one Solar year to the nearest day?
Answer
$365$ days.
Question
How is the extra $6$ hours of the Earth's revolution period accounted for every four years?
Answer
It is adjusted by adding one complete day to the month of February (Leap Year).
Question
A year having $366$ days is known as a _____ year.
Answer
leap
Question
In which direction does the Earth revolve around the Sun?
Answer
West to east (in the same direction as rotation).
Question
What primary phenomenon on Earth is caused by the tilt of the axis and revolution?
Answer
Seasonal changes.
Question
Why do vertical Sun rays cause more heat than oblique rays?
Answer
Heat is concentrated on a smaller area in vertical rays, whereas oblique rays spread it over a larger area.
Question
What is the 'perihelion' position?
Answer
The position in the orbit where the Earth is closest to the Sun.
Question
On which approximate date does the Earth reach perihelion?
Answer
3rd January.
Question
What is the distance between the Earth and the Sun at perihelion?
Answer
$147.3$ million km.
Question
What is the 'aphelion' position?
Answer
The position in the orbit where the Earth is farthest from the Sun.
Question
On which approximate date does the Earth reach aphelion?
Answer
4th July.
Question
What is the distance between the Earth and the Sun at aphelion?
Answer
$152$ million km.
Question
What are the three distinct temperature zones of the Earth?
Answer
The Torrid Zone, the Temperate Zone, and the Frigid Zone.
Question
Which heat zone stretches between $23 \frac{1}{2}^{\circ}$ N and $23 \frac{1}{2}^{\circ}$ S latitudes?
Answer
The Torrid Zone.
Question
Between which latitudes is the Temperate Zone located in both hemispheres?
Answer
$23 \frac{1}{2}^{\circ}$ and $66 \frac{1}{2}^{\circ}$.
Question
The Frigid Zone extends from $66 \frac{1}{2}^{\circ}$ latitude to the _____.
Answer
Poles ($90^{\circ}$)
Question
The line dividing the lighted part of the Earth from the dark part is the circle of _____.
Answer
illumination
Question
On which date does the Summer Solstice occur in the Northern Hemisphere?
Answer
21st June.
Question
Where is the Sun vertically overhead during the Summer Solstice (June 21)?
Answer
The Tropic of Cancer ($23 \frac{1}{2}^{\circ}$ N).
Question
On which date does the Winter Solstice occur in the Northern Hemisphere?
Answer
22nd December.
Question
During the Winter Solstice, the Sun is vertically overhead at the Tropic of _____.
Answer
Capricorn ($23 \frac{1}{2}^{\circ}$ S)
Question
What does the Latin word 'aequus' mean in the context of an Equinox?
Answer
Equal.
Question
What is the literal meaning of the word 'Equinox'?
Answer
Equal night.
Question
On which two days of the year is the Sun vertically overhead at the Equator?
Answer
21st March and 23rd September.
Question
What is the duration of daylight and night across the world during an equinox?
Answer
They are of equal length (12 hours each).
Question
The time when the Sun begins to cast its light in the sky is called _____.
Answer
dawn
Question
The period of diffused light between sunset and complete darkness is known as _____.
Answer
twilight
Question
What happens to the duration of twilight as one moves towards the poles?
Answer
It increases.
Question
Which regions experience the phenomenon known as 'Midnight Sun'?
Answer
The regions beyond the Arctic Circle ($66 \frac{1}{2}^{\circ}$ N) during the summer solstice period.
Question
What is the effect of the Earth's inclined axis on the duration of daylight?
Answer
It causes the length of day and night to be unequal at different latitudes and seasons.
Question
If the Earth's axis were vertical, what would be the length of day and night at all places?
Answer
They would be equal (12 hours each).
Question
On 21st March, what season is it in the Southern Hemisphere?
Answer
Autumn.
Question
On 23rd September, what season is it in the Northern Hemisphere?
Answer
Autumn.
Question
Why is the speed of Earth's rotation zero at the poles?
Answer
Because the poles are the end points of the axis and have no circumference to travel.
Question
What is the distance of the Sun from the Earth at aphelion?
Answer
$152$ million km.
Question
What name is given to the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere?
Answer
Winter Solstice (December 22).
Question
The variation in the angle at which Sun's rays fall on Earth results in the world being divided into three _____ zones.
Answer
heat (or temperature)
Question
What term describes the Sun appearing at its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon?
Answer
Solstice.
Question
What is the 'Vernal Equinox'?
Answer
The equinox occurring around March 21st, marking the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.