Earth

Science
Aim: What is the size and
shape of Earth?

Objectives:
Describe

the size and shape of Earth

Explain the evidence that determines
the shape of Earth.
Understand Polaris apparent change
in altitude at different latitudes

Vocabulary:
Oblate

Sphere or Spheroid

Axis
Gravity
Horizon
Polaris
Altitude
Circumpolar
Star

Trails

Stars

1. How do we know the

Earth is round?

There is some evidence

direct (some we can see)
and indirect (some we
infer)

a. Ships appear to sink

gradually below horizon

HORIZON

Ships dont fall off the edge

Who was the first to

circumnavigate the globe?
Ferdinand

Magellan.and he did not

FALL OFF the edge.

Christopher

Columbus simply tried to

find a shorter route to India by sailing
west.when he ran into the West
Indian Islands.

b. Lunar Eclipse

During a lunar eclipse, the earth

casts a rounded shadow on the
moon during the full moon phase.
Only a sphere can cast a round
shadow.

Earths shadow on the Moon

during a lunar eclipse

c. Satellite photos from

space

Clearly its round!

d. Polaris
a.k.a North
This is the star that
Star
lies
in space

practically 90o

over
the geographic
North Pole .

If you stood at the

North
Pole, Polaris
would be
almost
directly overhead.

Polaris

Polaris North Star is a fixed point

in the night sky above the North
Pole.

If you can spot Polaris in the sky, you can always

tell which way is north. Because of this, Polaris
was the most important star for navigating at sea.

90

2. Why do observations of
Polaris help determine the
Earths shape?

If you travel from the

equator to the North
Pole, Polaris appears
higher and higher in
the sky because of
Earths spherical shape

Altitude of Polaris at:

Equator (0olatitude) = 0o
above the horizon
North Pole (90oN
latitude) = 90o above the
horizon

Polaris Altitude above horizon

determines latitude

In the Northern Hemisphere, the altitude (angle

measured in degrees above the horizon) of
Polaris tells observer his latitude position.

If the observers latitude changes in the

Northern Hemisphere, the altitude of Polaris will
exactly match observers latitude.

ALTITUDE OF POLARIS = LATITUDE OF OBSERVER

5. Is the Earth perfectly

round?
a. The Earth is NOT a
perfect sphere.
b. It is flattened at
the poles and
bulges at the
equator
c. Earth is an
OBLATE
SPHEROID

6. Why is the Earth not

perfectly round?
a.

The Earth rotates

about its axis at 1000
mph
at the equator.

b.

The force of the rapid

spinning causes
**Bulging at equator
**Flattening at the poles

c. The diameter and

circumference from pole
to pole is LESS than
around the equator.
Polar

diameter=12,715
km
Equatorial
Diameter=12,756km

a.

b.

7. What proof is there that

Earth
is
slightly
oblate?
Gravity measurements. Gravity is the force of
attraction between any 2 objects.

Two factors affect the gravitational attraction between

objects
- Mass :
Increase mass of objects (heavier) = increase gravity
- Distance:
Decrease distances (closer) = increase gravity

c.

If Earth were a perfect sphere, it would be expected to

exert an equal force on objects at any point on Earth
. BUT