(e) What is an equinox?

Answer:- 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.

 (f) Why does the Southern Hemisphere experience Winter and Summer Solstice in different times than that of the Northern Hemisphere?

Answer:- The Earth revolves constantly and is divided into two hemispheres. Summer occurs on the side of the Earth that faces the Sun, whereas winter occurs on the side that faces away from the Sun. As a result, the Winter and Summer Solstices occur at different times in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere.

 (g) Why do the poles experience about six months day and six months night?

Answer:- The poles experience about six months day and six months night due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis. During the summer solstice, one pole is tilted toward the Sun, resulting in continuous daylight, while the other pole experiences continuous darkness. The opposite occurs during the winter solstice.

Question 2. Tick the correct answers.

(a) The movement of the earth around the sun is known as

(i) Rotation (ii) Revolution (iii) Inclination

Answer:- (ii) Revolution

 (b) Direct rays of the sun fall on the equator on

(i) 21 March (ii) 21 June (iii) 22 December

Answer:- (i) 21 March

 (c) Christmas is celebrated in summer in

(i) Japan (ii) India (iii) Australia

Answer:- (iii) Australia

 (d) Cycle of the seasons is caused due to

(i) Rotation (ii) Revolution (iii) Gravitation

Answer:- (ii) Revolution

Question 3. Fill in the blanks.

(a) A leap year has _______________ number of days.

(b) The daily motion of the earth is _______________.

(c) The earth travels around the sun in ______________ orbit.

(d) The sun’s rays fall vertically on the Tropic of ___________ on 21st June.

(e) Days are shorter during ___________ season.

Answer:-

(a) 366

(b) rotation

(c) elliptical

(d) cancer

(e) winter