Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 7
Earth, Moon and Sun relationships – Week 7 focus
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Earth, Moon and Sun relationships – Week 7 focus
Download the Lessonotes Mobile South Africa app for faster lesson access on Android and iPhone.
Subject: Natural Sciences
Class: Grade 7
Term: 3rd Term
Week: 7
Theme: General lesson support
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This week, we'll be diving deep into the fascinating relationships between the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun. Understanding these relationships is crucial because they dictate our seasons, tides, and even the length of our days. Think about the difference between a hot summer in Durban and a cold winter in the Drakensberg – these seasonal changes are a direct result of Earth's orbit around the Sun and the tilt of its axis. Knowing about moon phases helps fishermen predict tides along the coast, impacting their livelihoods. This knowledge also helps us understand eclipses, spectacular celestial events that have captivated humans for centuries.
2.1 Earth's Rotation and Revolution: Rotation: The Earth spins on its axis, an imaginary line running through the North and South Poles. One complete rotation takes approximately 24 hours, which we experience as a day and night cycle. As South Africa rotates into the sunlight, we experience sunrise, and as we rotate away from the sunlight, we experience sunset. Different places experience sunrise and sunset at different times because the Earth is a sphere.
Revolution: The Earth revolves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit. One complete revolution takes approximately 365.25 days, which we define as a year. The path of the Earth around the Sun is called its orbit.
Earth's Tilt: The Earth's axis is tilted at an angle of approximately 23.5 degrees relative to its orbital plane. This tilt is the primary reason for the seasons. When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun (around June), it experiences summer, and the Southern Hemisphere (including South Africa) experiences winter. Conversely, when the Southern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun (around December), it experiences summer, and the Northern Hemisphere experiences winter.