Planetary Geography (long. and lat.) Flashcards
List the 8 planets (in order)
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Name 9 differences between the planets.
- Appearance (color, some have rings)
- Size
- Number of satellites (moons)
- Density/ mass
- Distance away from the sun (temperature and climate)
- Atmosphere ( some have some don’t )
- Speed and pattern of movement
- Life forms
- Composition or makeup (e.g type of material)
Evidence of the earth’s sphericity. (Note diagrams)
- circumnavigation
- Aerial photographs
- Sunrise, sunset/ day and night
- Circular horizon
- Ships’ visibility
- Lunar eclipse (round shadow of earth I’d cast upon moon)
- Planetary bodies are round
State and explain the two movements made by he earth. (Note diagrams)
Rotation
Movement of the earth on its axis from west to east resulting in day and night every 24 hours
Revolution
Movement made by the earth as it goes around the sun. It results in the (365 1/4 day) year and the seasons (summer, autumn, winter, spring)
What are aphelion and perihelion ( in terms of revolution)
Aphelion:
The period of time when earth is furthest away from the sun as it orbits it
Perihelion:
The period of time when the earth is closest to the sun as it orbits it.
What is a solstice? State when the are ect.
Solstice: times when the sun is directly overhead at the tropics.
Tropic of cancer; summer solstice - 21st June ( note diagram) N. Hemisphere summer, S. Hemisphere winter North Pole tilted towards the sun Arctic circle (66 1/2 degrees N.) : north of it 24 hrs daylight, still cold in middle of summer ( area of the midnight sun ) Tropic of Cancer: (90 degrees above the horizon) sun directly overhead at midday, more solar energy than S. Hemisphere, longer days shorter nights (less than 12 hrs) Equator: (66 1/2 degrees above horizon) sun not quite overhead at midday, sun will be directly above the horizon for exactly 12 hours Tropic of Capricorn: (sun will rise at an angle of 43 degrees above the horizon) longer night hours than days ,less solar energy received than northern hemisphere, very cold The antarctic circle: ( the sun will not rise above the horizon ) 24 hours of darkness south of it, extremely cold Caribbean region: slightly longer days than nights, temperatures (slightly) higher than normal Tropic of Capricorn ; winter solstice - 22nd December (Opposite of everything stated under summer solstice Except the equator) E.g. South Pole tilted toward sun The arctic circle: ( the sun will not rise above the horizon) 24 hours of darkness north of it, extremely cold
What is an Equinox and when do the occur?
Equinox: when the sun is directly overhead the equator at midday (literal meaning is equal nights)
Spring Equinox ; 21st / 22nd March Autumn equinox; 22nd / 23rd September
Properties of lines of latitude.
lines of different circumferences measured in degrees north and south
- Parallel to each other
- Get shorter as the poles are approached
- Each is at an interval of 1 degree and is at an equal distance of 111 km from the next
- The equator is the only line of latitude that is a great circle (divides the earth in half)
Properties of lines of longitude.
lines of the same circumference measured in degrees east and west of the Prime Meridean/ 0 degree line of longitude
- Meet at the poles (not parallel to each other)
- Are all the same length since they all pass through both poles
- Are all great circles
- Not at an equal distance apart since they are widest (111km) at the equator and meet at the poles
When writing locations what comes first, latitude(north or south) or longitude(east or west)?
Latitude
E.g. Cairo, Egypt- lat. 30 degrees N. long. 31 degrees E.
Cape Town, South Africa- 34 degrees S 22 degrees E
Relationship among degrees, minutes and seconds.
1 degree = 60’ (minutes) = 60’’ (seconds)
E.g. 50 degrees 40’ 20’’ N 28 degrees 10’ 2’’ E
Longitude and time
The earth is a circle= 360 degrees
24 hrs= 1 rotation
360 degrees/24= 15 degrees =1 hr in time
The earth takes 1 hr to pass through 15 degrees
15 degrees = 1 hr
1 degree = 4 min.
Types of time
GMT- Greenwich Mean time/ world time (time at the Prime Meridian)
note; time west of is less and time east of is more
Standard Time ( time determined by the time zone in which a country falls) note; 24 time zones
Local time ( time determined by the meridian/ longitude that passes through a particular area in relation to time at GMT )
What is the international date line (IDL)?
The 180 degree line of longitude which when crossed changes the date or time by 24 hrs/ 1 day. It is crooked to avoid land masses in the Pacific Ocean.
The captain of a ship observed it is 12:00 noon local time. He turned on the radio to listen to the radio and listened to the 7:00 am BBC news. What was his longitude?
Local time : 12 noon
0 degrees : 7:00 am
12:00-7:00=5:00
Local time > GMT
0 degrees +5 hrs= 0 degrees + (5*15 degrees E)
=0 degrees + 75 degrees E
=75 degrees east