Earth's rotation and day/night
Use the idea of the Earth's rotation to explain day and night and the apparent movement of the sun across the sky
What a learner can do afterwards
- Explain that Earth rotates (spins) on its axis about once every 24 hours
- Describe how this rotation causes day (facing the sun) and night (facing away)
- Explain that Earth's rotation makes the Sun appear to cross the sky each day, although the Sun also moves through space
1 · Read
Earth spins on its axis, an imaginary line through the North and South Poles. This spinning is called rotation. One full turn takes about 24 hours. In places with a sunrise each day, one sunrise to the next is also about 24 hours.
The side of Earth facing the Sun has daytime. The side turned away has night. As Earth rotates, a place crosses into sunlight at sunrise. Later, it turns out of sunlight at sunset.
This pattern repeats where there is a sunrise and sunset each day.
Mia turns slowly beside a lamp. Her face is lit when it faces the lamp and dark when it faces away. As she turns, the lamp seems to change direction around her. Earth's rotation also changes our view. It makes the Sun appear to cross the sky, rising and setting.
The lamp model shows how turning changes your view. It does not show every motion in space. The Sun also moves through space. Earth's rotation explains the Sun's apparent daily path across our sky.
Earth turns about once a day. Facing the Sun brings daytime; facing away brings night. Earth's rotation makes the Sun appear to cross the sky.
The rewritten reading was written for this dataset.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.