Motions of the Earth Class 6 Important Questions and Answers
Class 6 Geography Chapter 3 Motions of the Earth Important Questions and answers cover these topics and help students to understand the concepts better. Students can solve these for practice. They may come across some of these questions in the final exam.
Students can clear their doubts from the chapter by solving these CBSE Class 6 Geography Important Questions and prepare well for the board exams. The links to download the PDF version of these questions are given in a link to this article.
Class 6 Geography Chapter 3 Motions of the Earth Important Questions
1. State True/False
(i) Axis of the earth is an imaginary line about which the earth rotates.
(ii) Earth takes exactly 365 days to revolve around the sun.
(iii) Day and Night on the Earth occurs due to rotation of the Earth.
(iv) On 21st march, the Tropic of Capricorn receives direct rays of the sun as the South Pole tilts towards it.
(v) Every fourth year, February is of 29 days instead of 28 days.
(vi) When there is spring in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
Answer:
(i) True
(ii) False
(iii) True
(iv) False
(v) True
(vi) False
2. Fill in the blanks.
(i) The earth receives light from ________.
(ii) The earth takes about _______ to complete one rotation around its axis.
(iii) The period of rotation is known as the _______.
(iv) On 23rd September, it is _________ season in the Northern Hemisphere and ________ season in the Southern Hemisphere.
(v) The portion facing the sun experiences ______ while the other half away from the sun experiences ______.
(vi) The axis of the earth makes an angle of _______ degree with its orbital plane.
(vii) Australia lies in ________ Hemisphere.
(viii) The longest day and the shortest night at these places occur on _________.
Answer
(i) the sun
(ii) 24 hours
(iii) earth day
(iv) autumn, spring
(v) day, night
(vi) 66½
(vii) Southern
(viii) 21st June
Answer the following questions
1. When Christmas is celebrated in Australia?
Answer: Christmas is celebrated in Australia in the summer season.
2. Which motion of the earth causes change in seasons?
Answer: Revolution of the earth causes change in seasons.
3. What is the shape of the Earth?
Answer: Earth is spherical in shape.
4. How long does it take the earth to complete one rotation around its axis?
Answer: The earth takes about 24 hours to complete one rotation around its axis.
5. When do the sun rays fall directly on the equator?
Answer: On 21st March and September 23rd, direct rays of the sun fall on the equator.
6. Why areas near the poles receive less heat?
Answer: The areas near the poles receive less heat as the rays of the sun are slanting.
7. What causes change in seasons?
Answer: Seasons change due to the change in the position of the earth around the sun.
8. Why do seasons occur?
Answer: The seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth’s rotational axis away or toward the sun as it travels around the sun in its orbit.
9. Why days and nights are not of equal length?
Answer: Days and nights are not equal length because of the inclined axis of the earth. As earth is tilted at an angle of 23.4°, days are longer in summers than in winters.
10. Differentiate between rotation and revolution of earth.
Answer:
| Rotation | Revolution |
| Rotation is the movement of the earth on its axis. | Revolution is the movement of the earth around the sun in a fixed path or orbit. |
| It causes day and night. | It causes seasons. |
11. Why do the poles experience about six months of day and night?
Answer: The Poles experience about six months of day and six months of night because of the tilt of the Earth on its axis. When the North Pole is tilted towards the Sun, it experiences continuous daylight for six months and when the South Pole is away from the sun, it experiences continuous darkness for six months.
12. Explain the following terms.
Answer: Rotation: Rotation is the movement of the earth on its axis.
Revolution: The movement of the earth around the sun in a fixed path or orbit is called revolution.
Orbital Plane: The plane formed by the orbit is known as orbital plane.
Circle of illumination: The portion facing the sun experiences day while the other half away from the sun experiences night. The circle that divides the day from night on the globe is called the circle of illumination.
Leap year: A year with 366 days is called a leap year.
Equinox: On 21st March and September 23rd, direct rays of the sun fall on the equator. At this position, neither of the poles is tilted towards the sun; so, the whole earth experiences equal days and equal nights. This is called an equinox.
13. What would happen if the earth did not rotate?
Answer: The portion of the earth facing the sun would always experience day, thus bringing continuous warmth to the region. The other half would remain in darkness and be freezing cold all the time. Life would not have been possible in such extreme conditions.
14. Why do we have leap year?
Answer: The earth takes 365 ¼ days to revolve around the sun. We consider a year as consisting of 365 days only and ignore six hours for the sake of convenience. Six hours saved every year added to make one day (24 hours) over a span of four years. This surplus day is added to the month of February. Thus every fourth year, February is of 29 days instead of 28 days. Such a year with 366 days is called a leap year.
15. Differentiate between Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice.
Answer:
| Summer Solstice | Winter Solstice |
| It is the position of the Earth when the rays of the sun fall directly on the Tropic of cancer. | It is the position of the Earth when the rays of the sun fall directly on the Tropic of Capricorn. |
| The North pole is inclined towards the sun. | The South pole is inclined towards the sun. |
| As large portion of the Northern Hemisphere receives light from sun, it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere. | As larger portion of the Southern Hemisphere receives light from the sun, it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere. |
| During this period, nights are shorter than days in Northern Hemisphere. The longest day and shortest night at these places occur on 21st June. | During this period in Northern hemisphere, nights are longer than days |
Practice Sheet
1. What would happen if the earth did not rotate?
2. What is the angle of inclination of the earth’s axis with its orbital plane?
3. Define rotation and revolution.
4. What is a leap year?
5. Differentiate between the Summer and Winter Solstice.
6. What is an equinox?
7. Why does the Southern Hemisphere experience Winter and Summer Solstice in different times than that of the Northern Hemisphere?
8. Why do the poles experience about six months day and six months night?
9. Christmas is celebrated in summer in Australia. True or False?
10. Direct rays of the sun fall on the equator on 22 December. True or False?
11. A leap year has _______________ number of days.
12. Days are shorter during ___________ season.
13. Which motion of the earth causes changes in the seasons?
14. Areas near the pole get less heat. Justify with reason.
15. State a reason why seasons occur.
16. Give a reason why the days and nights are not of equal length.
17. Mention the time it takes for the earth to complete one rotation around its axis.
18. What is the elliptical orbit?
19. Define the Circle of Illumination.
20. What is earth day?