Give a geographical reason for each of the following:
(i) The sunrise and sunset occur at different times at different places.
(ii) The earth is not a perfect sphere.
(iii) Venus is hotter than mercury.
(iv) Draw a well labelled diagram to show that the horizon of the earth is circular in shape.
Answers
Answer:
Q1. Because of the Earth's tilt on its axis, the path of the Sun across the sky varies, and therefore, the rising and setting time changes. At different locations on Earth, the rising and setting times vary because the portion of the celestial sphere visible from different locations of Earth is different.
Q2. Even though our planet is a sphere, it is not a perfect sphere. Because of the force caused when Earth rotates, the North and South Poles are slightly flat. Earth's rotation, wobbly motion and other forces are making the planet change shape very slowly, but it is still round.
Q3. The carbon dioxide traps most of the heat from the Sun. The cloud layers also act as a blanket. The result is a “runaway greenhouse effect” that has caused the planet's temperature to soar to 465°C, hot enough to melt lead. This means that Venus is even hotter than Mercury.