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Geography Dharmendra

The document discusses various topics related to the Earth including its shape, composition of the atmosphere, water and carbon cycles, and greenhouse effect. It asks questions about why the Earth looks blue, its chief members in the solar system, and who discovered the flattening of Earth's poles. The document also defines terms like orbit, ecosystem, biosphere, lithosphere, and satellite.

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Shoaib Da Āktor
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24 views5 pages

Geography Dharmendra

The document discusses various topics related to the Earth including its shape, composition of the atmosphere, water and carbon cycles, and greenhouse effect. It asks questions about why the Earth looks blue, its chief members in the solar system, and who discovered the flattening of Earth's poles. The document also defines terms like orbit, ecosystem, biosphere, lithosphere, and satellite.

Uploaded by

Shoaib Da Āktor
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1. Why does the earth look blue ? or Why the earth is called a watery planet?

- the earth looks blue because 70% of its total area is covered by water. Hence it is
called a watery planet.

2. The family of the Sun is called the Solar system (note)

3. What are the chief members of the solar system ?


The chief members of the solar system are the planets, the satellites that revolve
around the planets and other celestial bodies called asteroids, comets and meteorites.

4. What is the shape of the earth ?


- the earth is not a perfect sphere. It bulges slightly at the centre and is flattened at the
poles.Thus, the earth is said to be an Oblate Spheroid. The shape of the earth is also
described as Geoid, which means earth shaped.

5. Which Indian astronomer and mathematician believed that the earth was round in
shape.
- Aryabhatta believed in the round shape of the earth. He also believed that the earth
rotated on its axis.

6. Which Greek philosopher believed that the earth was round ?


- Pythagoras.

7. Who discovered the flattening of the earth at its pole?


- Jean Baptiste Delambre, a French astronomer, discovered the flattening of the earth at
its poles.

8. When and how was the flattening of the earth at the poles confirmed ?
- In 20th Century, when satellite pictures of earth were fed into computers, its spherical
shape with flattened poles was confirmed .
9. What was the conclusive evidence of the Earth's round shape ?
- The conclusive evidence for the proof of the Earth's round shape was obtained from
the photographs taken from space.

10. Why the radio waves that travel over the Earth's surface can be heard only within a
certain horizon?
- Because of the spherical shape of the earth

11. Why do Sunrise and Sunset occur at different times at different places ?
- This is because the earth rotated from.west to east and therefore, people in the east
can see the sun earlier than those in the west. Had the earth been flat, the sunrise and
sunset would have occurred at the same time all over the world.

12. Define Orbit?


- the fixed path on which a planet moves around its star is called an orbit.

13. Is earth a perfect sphere? Explain.


- No, earth is not a perfect sphere. Its diameter is different at the equator and at the
poles. Its diameter at the equator is 12,756km while its polar diameter is 12,714km.

14. Why is the diameter of earth different at the equator and at the poles.
- it is due to the centrifugal force of the Earth's rotation at a great speed which forms a
bulge at the equator and compression at the poles. And thus, the earth is said to be an
Oblate Spheroid.

15. What is the average temperature of the Earth


- 17° C
16. Are there other terrestrial planets except Earth? If yes, why can't we live there?
- Yes. Mercury and Venus are also terrestrial planets. However , they are very hot with a
maximum temperature of 400° C, hence life is not possible over there.

17. Which is the hottest planet in the solar system?


- Venus

18. Why Venus is the hottest planet even after not being closest to the sun.
- this is because Venus is mainly composed of Carbon Dioxide which produces the
Greenhouse effect on the surface of Venus. Thus, the temperature on its surface
remains very high.

19. Define Atmosphere?


- atmosphere is the layer of air around the earth. It is a mixture of gases like
nitrogen(78%), oxygen(21%), carbon dioxide, helium and argon (less than 1%).

20. How does the atmosphere receive and lose heat from the sun.
- the atmosphere recieves and losses heat from the sun by the process of radiation. In
this way a balance is maintained.

21. What is the Earth's atmosphere made up of?


- the Earth's atmosphere is made up of life supporting gases like nitrogen, oxygen,
carbon dioxide, helium and argon.

22. Function of Ozone ?


- It is a protective layer present in the Earth's atmosphere which absorbs the harmful
ultraviolet rays of the sun.

23. Define ecosystem? What does the ecosystem depend on?


- the self- regulating and self- sustaining structural and functional unit of the biosphere is
called the ecosystem. Eg. Pond, lake, desert etc.
The ecosystem depends upon the sun for its energy.

24. Define Biosphere?


- The vast network of all interconnected ecosystems constitute the biosphere. It is the
life zone of the earth.

25. Define water cycle or hydrological cycle?


- Water from seas, rivers and lakes evaporates into the atmosphere where it condenses
and falls back as precipitation. Most of the water on land flows back to the oceans, thus,
water moves in a continuous cycle. This is called water cycle or hydrological cycle.

26. Define lithosphere?


- the solid crust of the earth is called lithosphere.
or
The layer of rocks on the surface of the earth.

27. How did the surface of the earth form?


- it formed due to the weathering of the rocks.

28. What does biosphere provide ?


- it provides all the necessities for all the species living on earth such as light, heat,
water, food and habitats.

29. What are the two forms of life found in the biosphere?
- The plant Kingdom and the animal kingdom.

30. Draw the nutrition cycle.


31. ___________________ is the basic raw material of all life
- Carbon.

32. Draw the carbon cycle.

33. Define Satellite


- A body that revolves around a planet is called a satellite.

34. Define Circumnavigation


- Navigation around the globe is called Circumnavigation.

35. Define Photosynthesis


- the process by which green plants make their own food using sunlight, carbon dioxide
and water is called Photosynthesis.

36. Define Green house effect ?


- The trapping of the sun's radiation by gases present in the lower atmosphere is called
the greenhouse effect.

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