The Earth And Beyond Flashcards
Link the planets temperature and orbital time to its distance from the sun.
The closer to the sun, the higher the temperature of the planet. Also, as the planets orbit the Sun, they travel at different speeds. Each planet speeds up when it is nearer the Sun and travels more slowly when it is far from the Sun. Therefore, the closer the planet is to the sun, the quicker it takes for them to orbit the sun.
Name the planets in order from the sun.
Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto
Explain why we have day and night
We have day and night because the Earth rotates. It spins on its axis and when one face of the earth is facing the sun, it is day and when it is facing away from the sun, it is night.
Explain why we get seasons.
We get seasons because of the tilt of the Earths axis. The tilt of the Earth means the Earth will lean towards the Sun (Summer) or lean away from the Sun (Winter) 6 months later. In between these, Spring and Autumn will occur.
What are satellites used for?
Satellites are used for communications, weather forecasting, navigation, observing land, sea and air and other scientific research.
Why don’t satellites fly off into space?
They are kept in position by a fine balance of gravity. They put them just far enough away that they maximize their orbital time, but not far enough that centrifugal force is greater than Earth’s gravitational pull.
