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From the house of
The Week, Tell Me Why,
Magic Pot and Manorama Yearbook.
 EARTH CLOCK
If we consider the entire history
of Earth to be a 24 hour clock,
then at what point in this time,
would human beings have
evolved? The answer is at precise
ly 11:58:43 p.m.
To understand what latecomers
we are, we must know the time at
which life actually began on it. It's
at 4 a.m. At 10:56 p.m, the mighty
dinosaurs who ruled the Earth for
centuries arrived. Then, at11:58:43
p.m, the most intelligent animals
ever, the human beings appeared.
The Earth is the only planet
with life on it. This issue of Tell
Me Why takes you on a fascinat
ing journey across our splendid
planet, Earth.
Why is the Earth a very special
planet?
T
he Earth is the third plan t
from the Sun. It comes between
the planets Venus and Mars. It
is a very special planet, not only
because it is our home, but for
many other reasons as well.
To begin with, it is the only
planet in the solar system that
is known to support life. In fact,
I have l i fe!
W\
4 Tell Me Why
it not only supports life, but is
also home to millions of differ
ent forms of life.
The Earth is the only planet
that has an atmosphere made
up of 21 per cent oxygen, and
that has liquid water on its sur
face.
We know that 71 per cent of
the Earth is made up of salt
water oceans. I n addition, it is
the only inner planet to have
 Origin of Name
The word'earth' has its origins in English
and German words, both of which mean
'ground'. It is the only planet that is not
named after a Greek or Roman god or
goddess, but no one knows who named it!

one large satellite, the moon.
The Earth is perhaps the dens
est planet in the solar system
as well. With so many unique
features, our Earth is truly a
home to be proud of!
Why the Earth is sometimes
referred to as the 'Goldilocks'
planet?
I f you have read the story of
'Goldilocks and the Three
Bears' you will know that Gold
ilocks is a little girl in the story
who wanted everything to be
just perfect. She did not like
things that were too hot or too
cold, too hard or too soft. Earth
is sometimes referred to as a
Goldilocks planet, because in
many ways, it is just perfect for
life.
It is neither too hot nor too
cold, nor too dry or too wet.
Today, scientists use the term
'Goldilocks planet' for any
planet which they consider to
be j ust the correct distance
from a star, to make it possible
for life to exist on its surface.
Unfortunately, till now, they
have not found one as perfect
as the Earth !
Why is the Earth referred
to as the 'blue marble'?
W hen you look at
Earth from outer space, it
resembles a blue marble.
The term was first used
after a photograph of the'
Earth, taken by the crew
of Apollo 17 in December
1972, was published.
In it, the Earth appears
like a blue marble with
swirls of green, brown,
yellow, and white. The
blue colour comes from
the water covering most
of the Earth's surface.
The yellow, brown, and
Mom,
I want that
b l ue marble . . . .
green are the land masses. The
white comes from the clouds in the
atmosphere.
The original photograph was tak
en by the spacecraft as it was en
route to the Moon at a distance of
about 29,000 kilometres. It shows
Africa, Antarctica,
and the Arabian
Peninsula.
This photo is
very special,
because it is the
first full photo of
the Earth ever
taken.

The Earth,
as seen from
Outer Space.
Tell Me Why
How does the Earth move?
T he Earth moves in two
ways- rotation and revolution.
The Earth spins on an imagi
nary line that passes through
the centre of the planet from
the North to the South Pole.
This line is called the Earth's
axis, and the spinning move
ment is known as rotation.
The Earth makes a full spin
on its axis once every 24
hours, which is what we call a
full day.
The Earth's axis is not
straight up and down, but tilted
at an angle of 23.5 degrees.
EARTH
The Sun, Earth, and Moon
The rotation is what causes
the change from day to night.
The tilt is responsible for hav
ing seasons.
While it is rotating on its axis,
the Earth is also moving
around the Sun. This move
ment of the Earth around the
Sun is called the revolution of
the Earth.
The path along which the
Earth moves around the Sun is
known as its orbit. The Earth
takes approximately 365 days,
or a year, to complete one rev
olution around the Sun.
7
 How was the Earth formed?

O ur Earth is a part of the solar sys

tem, which was formed from the gas
clouds and dust that remained after the
Sun was formed around 4.6 billion
-

years ago.
Short Day
The Earth itself started to take shape
We say that the about 4.6 billion years ago. Some of the
Earth takes 24 dust, pieces of rock and gas that were
hours to spin orbiting the Sun smashed against one
once on its axis, another, and began to heat up, u ntil the
and this period is entire mass melted.
called a day. As the mass grew, it became large
Actually, it is a enough to develop a magnetic force or
little shorter in gravity. This force kept the materials
duration. The
from flying off into space again.
Earth takes 23
It also attracted more materials, until
hours, 56 min
the area around became free of debris-
utes, and 4 sec
onds to complete
one rotation.
What are the different parts of the
Earth?

Yes, I ' m
tota l l y di fferent.
A ir, land, water and life.. . these make
up the Earth, this beautiful planet that is
our home. Air is made up of different
gases.
The most important of these gases
are nitrogen and oxygen, which are
needed for life. Land is made up of
mountains and plains, valleys and
deserts. It i ncludes the regions below
its surface that is made up of rocks and
metal. Water can be both salt and fresh

8 Tell Me Why
and the Earth took shape.
Some materials in this mass
that were heavier than others,
fell towards the centre of the
mass to become the Earth's
core. The rest formed the plan-
The SoLar System
et's mantle, crust, and atmos
phere. All the planets in the
solar system were formed in
this manner.

water. It is found in the

seas and oceans, rivers
and streams, lakes and
ponds, rain, snow and
ice. Life consists of peo
ple, as well as millions of
species of animals and
plants, from the very tiny
to the huge.
The study of the inter
action and relationship
between these parts is an
important science called
Earth System Science.
EARTH 9
 What was the Earth like 4 billion years
ago?

T he period during which the Earth

was formed, around 4.6 billion years
ago, is referred to as the Precambrian
Period.
Measure Me! In the beginning, our planet was a
giant, red hot, boiling sea of molten
The diameter of
rock. Gradually, the Earth began to
the Earth at the
cool, and a thin crust appeared on its
equator is
12,756.32 kilome
tres. But,if you Land Mass Positions Near the End of
measure the Earth Precambrian Period.
through the poles,
the diameter is a
bit shorter -
12,715.43 kin. This
means that the
Earth is a little
wider than it i$ tall.
giving It a slight
bulge at the ......
tor. TIlls ...... ..
known __ '"
soIdor .._.

10
 Underwater Life - When did life begin on the Earth?
Silurian Period
The first forms of life on Earth were
surface. The core, primitive, single- celled organisms like
however, remained bacteria that appeared about 3 billion
red hot. years ago.
As the cooling pro M ulti-cellular life evolved over a bil
gressed, water vapour lion years later, and it's only in the last
was formed, and it 570 million years that the kind of life
escaped into the forms we are familiar with began to
atmosphere. This evolve. The first of these were the
water vapour con arthropods, or soft bodied worm-like
densed to form creatures that lived in the seas, fol
clouds. lowed by fish that filled the oceans.
The clouds led to Some marine animals crawled on to
rain, and soon storms the shore, and evolved into amphibians
were raging over the and land animals. Aquatic plants
planet, cooling the evolved into land plants, which in turn,
surface still further, became forests. Mammals evolved
and causing floods. only 200 million years ago, and Early
The floods led to the Man just 200,000 years back. So,
formation of the h u mans have been around for a mere
oceans and the seas. 0.004 per cent of the Earth's history!
EARTH 11
 Crust ----==
Upper Mantle

Lower Mantle ---.,;;;.

- - t.--.:
__

Outer Core __
Inner Core ___

Why is the Earth's structure Cross Section of

unique? the Earth

The Earth is made up of five lay thinnest layer, the crust.

ers. All these layers are physically Under land masses, there
and chemically different. They are is the continental crust,
the inner and outer core, the lower made up of mostly granite.
and upper mantle, and the crust. The oceanic crust lies
The Earth's inner core is a huge beneath the oceans, and
red hot metallic ball of iron that is mainly made up of a rock
remains in a solid state, even in called basalt.
such incredibly high temperatures
because of the immense pressure It seems
surrounding it. interes ting.
The outer core is a red hot liquid
layer of iron and nickel. The move
ment of these flowing metals cre
ates the Earth's magnetic field.
The lower mantle is made of solid
rock that is hot eno.ugh to melt, but
is solid because of the pressure .
pushing down on it.
The upper mantle is made up of
both solid and melted rock. The
Earth's surface is covered by its
12 Tell Me Why
Why are the Earth's crust and man
tle interesting?

T he Earth's crust is like the skin

of an apple. It is very thin in com
parison to the other fou r layers.
The crust is only about 5-10 kilo
metres thick under the oceans,
and about 70 kilometres thick Ancient scientists
under the continents. observed the move
The crust is the coldest layer of ments of the Sun and
the Earth, because it is exposed to stars in the sky, and
the atmosphere, and is composed reached a false con
of different types of rocks. Its tem clusion. They wrong
perature increases with depth. ly believed that the
The mantle lies below the crust. Earth remained still
It is about 2886 kilometres thick. while the heavenly
The first 80 kilometres are made bodies travelled
up of very hard, rigid rock. The around it!
next 241 kilometres consists of

super heated solid rock

that is not so rigid
because of the heat.
Mantle Below this, the mantle is
once again made of solid
and sturdy rocks.
The Earth's crust and
Inner
Core
upper mantle are known
as the lithosphere. It is
said that the mantle and
crust were formed about
100 million years ago.

The Structure of the Earth

EARTH 13
 The Core of the Earth

What are the features of the The very centre of the Earth
Earth's core? is its inner core. The Earth's
inner core is made up of iron
The core of the Earth is made and nickel, just like the outer
up of the outer and inner cores. core. However, the inner core
The Earth's outer core is made
up of iron and nickel. It is very
hot - between 4500 to 5500 This shows
that I have
degrees Celsius. In fact, it is so
fever.
hot that the iron and nickel
metals are liquid!
The outer core is very impor
tant to the Earth as the move
ment of the liquid metals .
creates something called a
magnetic field. This magnetic
field is responsible for the
Earth's gravity.
14
is so deep within the Earth that
it's under immense pressure.
Amazingly, there is so much
pressure that, even though it is
the hottest part of the Earth,
the inner core is a solid red hot
ball of metal. The temperature
here is over 5000 degrees Cel
sius, making it about as hot as
the surface of the Sun.
Why is the Earth's atmosphere
unique?
The layer of gases that sur
round the Earth - which we
call air - makes up its atmos
phere. Air is made up of 78.09
per cent nitrogen, 20.95 per
cent oxygen, 0.93 per cent
Earth's Atmospheric Clouds
argon, 0.03 per cent carbon
dioxide, and small amounts of
other gases, as well as water
vapour.
The atmosphere protects
Earth like a big blanket of insu
lation. It absorbs the heat from
the Sun, and keeps the heat
inside the atmosphere helping
the Earth to stay warm. It also
keeps the overall temperature
of the Earth fairly steady, espe
cially between night and day.
The atmosphere plays an
important role in forming our
weather patterns and climate.
Most of the planets of the solar
system- and even some of the
moons- have atmospheres.
However, their atmospheres
are very different from that of
the Earth.
 He l l o
,

I need some
hel p . I'm in the
Exosphere.

Which are the main layers of the

Earth's atmosphere?

The Earth's atmosphere is made

up of five layers. The first layer is the
troposphere. This is the layer next
to the ground up to a height of about
10-18 kilometres. Around 80 per
Border Line cent of the atmosphere is in the
One hundred km troposphere, which is heated by the
above the Earth, sci surface of the Earth.
entists have drawn The second layer is the strato
an imaginary line sphere which extends up to a height
called the Karman of around 50 kilometres. The strato
line. It marks the sphere absorbs the radiation from
border behNeen the the Sun, and gets warmer as you go
Earth's atmosphere higher.
and outer space. The third layer is the mesosphere,
Once a human which extends 80 kilometres above
passes the Karman the stratosphere. The thermosphere
line in a spaceship, is the fourth layer.
the title of astronaut
The last, and the thinnest layer is
can be officially
the exosphere. It goes all the way to
bestowed on him!
10,000 km above the Earth's sur
face.
16 Tell Me Why
 What are the features of the exo
sphere?
T he exosphere is the fifth and out
ermost layer of the atmosphere. It
begins at a distance of around 500
kilometres from the Earth's surface,
and ends at approximately 10,000 kil
ometres from the Earth's surface.
The exosphere is the planet's first
line of defense against the Sun's
Exosphere
Thermosphere
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
EARTH
rays. It is also the first
layer to come into con
tact with, and protect
the Earth from meteors,
asteroids, and cosmic
rays. The air in the exo
sphere is very thin, and
is made up mostly of
helium, and hydrogen.
Traces of other gases
such as atomic oxygen
and carbon dioxide can
also be fou nd.
Because the air is so
thin in the exosphere,
the molecules do not
collide like they do in
lower layers of the
atmosphere. Most of
the molecules make it
back into lower layers of
the atmosphere but
some zoom out into
space instead.
The exosphere is per
fect for placing satel
lites, as there is very
little friction, and they
are able to orbit easily
without being disrupted.
The exosphere finally
merges with the empti
ness of outer space,
where there is no
atmosphere.
17
 I'm a
thermosphe rean .
( tu re in this layer is largely influ
/ the thermosphere i nclude heli-
What are the features of the
mesosphere and strato
sphere?
The mesospately
her e is locat
50 km
ed appro xim
from the Earth's surface,
and extends as far as 80 km
from the Earth 's surface.
It is the third layer of the
atm osp here, and the word
'me sos phere' is der ived
from the Greek wor ds 'me s
os sph aira' tha t me ans 'mid
dle sphere.
Its atmosph ere is low den
sity, and is made up of oxy-
18
What is the thermosphere?
The thermosphere is the atmos
phere's fourth layer, located
above the mesosphere.
It begins 80 kilometres above
the Earth 's s u rface, and
extends up to 450 kilometres
from the Earth. The tempera
enced by solar activity.The time
of day also affects the tempera
ture, wh ich can reach more
than 2000 degrees Celsius.
The main components of air in
gen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen.
The mesosphere burns up most
meteors and asteroids before
they are able to reach the Earth's
surface.
The stratosphere occupies the
central region of the atmosphere,
and is the second layer of the
atmosphere from the ground sur
face. It extends to around 50 km
above the ground level. The ozone
layer forms the upper part of the
stratosphere. This layer combines
oxygen atoms to form the ozone
molecules. Ozone molecules
absorb the harmful UV radiations
from the sun to protect the Earth.
Tell Me Why
 Science of the Atmosphere
The study of the Earth's atmosphere is
called atmospheric science or Aerology.
Leon Teisserenc de Bort and Richard
Assmann were scientists who were pioneers
in this field.

u m, atomic nitrogen, and and the space shuttle orbit the

atomic oxygen.
The thermosphere absorbs a
lot of the UV radiation and
X-ray given off by the Sun. The
International Space Station
Earth in the thermosphere lay
er of Earth's atmosphere. The
word 'thermosphere' is derived
from the Greek word 'thermo'
which means 'heat.'

,.----'------. Exosphere
---- Thermosphere
---'--- Mesosphere
--'-------. Stratosphere
-------., Troposphere

There is no u niformity in the

stratosphere if the temperature
SunLight Passing through
Different Layers of Atmosphere
is considered. This is because
of the presence of ozone layer.
EARTH 19
 Jet Powered
The stratosphere is the highest layer of the
atmosphere in which jet planes can fly. In
bad weather conditions, airplanes move up
from the troposphere to this layer because
the air density is low, and the planes can fly at top speeds
without encountering any turbulence.

Why is the troposphere differ

ent from other layers?

T he troposphere is the low

est layer of the atmosphere
and the biggest. Around 80
per cent of the atmosphere is
made up of the troposphere,
which also contains 99 per
cent of the atmospheric water
vapour.

Different Layers of the Earth's

Atmosphere

20 Tell Me Why
 The troposphere
extends to a height of
around 18 kilometres
above the Earth, and is The ozone layer in
the site of all the weath the stratosphere
er on Earth. Most of the absorbs a portion of
clouds we see are formed the radiation from
in this layer because it the sun, preventing
contains water vapour it from reaching the planet's
and dust particles, surface. Most importantly, it
along with the other absorbs the portion of ultraviolet
atmospheric gases. light called UVB that has been
The troposphere is linked to many harmful effects,
warmed by the heat on like cancer. Ozone is a molecule
the surface of the Earth, containing three oxygen atoms. It
so it gets colder as you is blue in colour, and has a strong

go higher and further odour. Normal oxygen, which we

breathe, has two oxygen atoms,
away from the ground.
and is colourless and odourless.
The troposphere is
The ozone layer in the
the layer of the atmos
stratosphere is also responsible
phere that we live in,
for auroras. These are
and it contains the gas
shimmering curtains of light seen
es that we breathe and
at night in the Polar Regions.
that are necessary for
life on earth.

I'm pl anning
to move to the
mesosphere.

6
EARTH 21
 PANGAEA
200 million
years ago

SUPERCONTINENTS

Why was Pangaea called a giant supercontinent. About

supercontinent?
A supercontinent is a contin
uous land mass made up of
several continents. The Earth's
outer shell is broken up into
several plates called tectonic
plates.
Millions of years ago, the
movement of these plates over
the Earth's rocky shell or man
tle, brought land masses into
collision with each other.
The collision was so violent
that mountains were formed
as the existing continents
smashed together to form one
22
300 million years ago, during
the time of the dinosaurs, Earth
didn't have seven continents,
but instead, one massive
supercontinent called Pan
gaea, which was surrounded
by a single ocean called Pan
thalassa.
Later, Pangaea started to
break apart into two supercon
tinents. They were Gondwana,
and Laurasia. More mountains
were formed, and parts of the
continents that had been
inland were now on the coast,
and this changed the climate in
many areas.
Tell Me Why
What was Gondwana?

G ondwana was an ancient super

continent that was formed when
Pangaea broke up. About 280 mil
lion to 230 million years ago, Pan
gaea started to split.
Magma from below the Earth's
crust began pushing upward ; creat
ing a fissure between what would
become Africa, South America, and
North America.
As part of this process, Pangaea
cracked into a northernmost and
southernmost supercontinent. The saurs, birds and reptiles
northern land mass came to be running through the
known as Laurasia. The southern undergrowth.
land mass headed southward after Gondwana itself even
the split. This supercontinent was tually split into the land
Gondwana. Gondwana stretched masses we recognize
from the South Pole to the Equator. today- Africa, South
However, the world was warmer America, Australia, Ant
then, and the climate was fairly arctica, the I ndian sub
mild. Gondwana had vast forests of continent, and the Arabian
temperate trees, with many dino- Peninsula.

Laurasia and
Pangaea Gondwana Modern World

EARTH 23
 -- -.

The Name Gondwa na

The supercontinent Gondwana was
named after the Gondwana region of
central northern India. The name is derived
from Sanskrit for 'forest of the Gonds'.

What is Laurasia? for India. This supercontinent

L aurasia is the name given
to the largely northern super
continent that is thought to
have formed after the split of
the Pangaean supercontinent.
It included most of today's con
tinents in the northern hemi
sphere.
In fact, Laurasia comprised
of what later became North
America and Eurasia, except
was dominated by conifers as
well as other seed plants and
ferns.
At first, Lau rasia was large
ly located in equatorial lati
tudes. Later, it began to
break up, with North China
and Siberia drifting i nto lati
tudes further north. The
name Laurasia is a combina
tion of the names of Lauren
tia and E u rasia.

LAURASIA &
GONDWANA
120 million years
ago

24 Tell Me Why
 What was Panthalassa?

.
'
Oceans
P anthalassa was the name given to
the vast ocean that surrounded Pan
In the beginning of gaea when that supercontinent was in
time,water existence.
remained as a gas, In fact, the word Panthalassa means
until the Earth 'all the seas'. Currents in the Pantha
started to cool. lassa would have been simple and
About 3.8 billion slow, and the Earth's climate was, in
years ago,the all likelihood, warmer than today.
water that was in When Pangaea broke up into Gond
the form of gas wana and Laurasia, the Tethys sea
condensed to form way was formed. This sea separated
clouds and then Gondwana from Laurasia. It became
rain which fell on the home of many unique marine rep
the Earth. The rain tiles, mostly coastal and shallow water
filled the basins on dwellers.
the Earth's
The breakup of Pangaea also cre
surface to form
ated the different oceans as we know
the oceans.
them today- the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic,
I ndian Ocean, and Southern Oceans.
EARTH 25
What is the continental drift?
The term continental drift
refers to a theory regarding the
movement of continents that
was first suggested by Abra
ham Ortelius in 1596.
However, it was developed
into a proper theory only in
1912 by Alfred Wegener.
According to this theory, the
world was made up of a single
continent millions and millions
of years ago. That continent
eventually separated and drift
ed apart, forming the seven
continents that we have today.
Wegener stated that the conti-
The Continental Drift
26
nents consist of lighter rocks
that rest on the heavier mate
rial of the Earth's crust-simi
lar to the manner in which
icebergs float on water.
He also believed that the rel
ative positions of the conti
nents are not rigidly fixed but
are slowly moving-at a rate of
about one yard per century.
Today, the theory of conti
nental drift has been replaced
by the science of plate tecton
ics.
What is plate tectonics?
D eep beneath the surface of
the Earth, heat rises from the
core, which is the centre of the
Tell Me Why
Earth, through the mantle, Tectonic Plates
which is the next layer, and
then it reaches the crust. It All this happens over millions
comes up slowly, but it actually of years, and it's called conti
moves the mantle. nental drift. The Earth only
The mantle rises beneath moves about 15 cm a year.
the Earth's crust before it The study of the movement of
spreads sideways, and then the plates on the Earth's crust
cools again . This slow, but is called plate tectonics.
constant movement of the
mantle divides the Earth's
crust into plates known as tec
tonic plates.
Most of the Earth is covered
by seven major plates and
ano ther eight or so minor
plates. The seven major plates
are the African, Antarctic, Eur
aSian, North American, South
American, India-Australian,
and the Pacific plates.
EARTH 27
Why is Alfred Wegener's life inspir
ing?
"
A lfred wegener was a German
meteorologist and Polar explorer.
He became famous in the early 20th
century for being the first to develop
the theories of contI nental drift and
plate tectonics.
Wegener put forward the idea that
the continents sat on plates that Alfred Wegener
were constantly moving. His idea
was ridiculed at first, but Wegener Wegener also had
published his extensive theories on great interest in polar
continental drift in 1926. His theo studies. He went on four
ries were backed by later discover different expeditions to
ies, and today, plate tectonics is an the extreme Arctic
accepted science. regions under some of
Wegener's was a very interesting the most horrifying and
and inspiring life. He and his brother extreme conditions.
Kurt pioneered the research that On one such expedi
used weather balloons to track air tion, he lost his toes to
currents, and to test out new navi frostbite, and he and his
gation methods. These methods partner survived by eat
have helped modern air travel. ing their sled dogs!

Did you know that the Earth is full of

chemicals? Our planet is made up of 32.1
per cent iron, 30.1 per cent oxygen,
15.1 per cent silicon and 13.9 per cent
magnesium!

28 Tell Me Why
What is the proof of continental
drift?

There is quite a lot of evidence to

support the theory of continental
drift. If you have noticed, the differ
ent continents are like pieces of a 225 Million Years Ago
jigsaw puzzle that can be put
together to give the picture of one
huge land mass. Just look at the
shapes of Africa and South Ameri
ca on a map, and you can see this
for yourself.
Another point is that plant and
animal fossils of the same age and 150 MiLlion Years Ago
similar species are found on the
shores of different continents. This
suggests that they were once
joined. There is also living evi
dence, like the same unusual ani
mals being found on different
continents that are far apart. This
provides further proof that Wegen
65 Million Years Ago
er was right in his theory.
He's
wai ti ng for the
next con t i nental
drift.

Present Day

Continental Drift

29
 l.BXl UIXl 541 4C3 .19

Why is Precambrian a mile

stone in geological history?
EARTH
THROUGH
O ur Earth reached its pre
sent size, more or less,
between 4 billion and 5 billion
THE AGES years ago. The known history
of the Earth is subdivided,

What is the Paleozoic Era? about 245 million years ago.

The Paleozoic Era is a part
of Phanerozoic Eon. I lasted
about 325 million years, from
about 570 million years ago, to
So much happened during the
Paleozoic Era that it is divided
into seven geologic time peri
ods. During this era, the
Earth's interior cooled down to

- -. - - - .

Eon and Era

The words Eon and Era can create confusion.
However, Eon is an indefinite period of time
that is divided into many Eras. Words like
eon,epoch,era are units of measuring time,
especially in geology.

30 TeLL Me Why
where the largest defined unit of
time is the supereon, composed of
eons.
Eons are divided into eras, which
are in turn divided into periods,
epochs and ages.
The Precambrian is the largest
span of time in Earth's history
something like modern levels. As a
result, volcanic activity was more
or less as the same as today, with
the exception of a few gigantic 'hot
spot' type eruptions that occurred
every hundred million years or so.
Plate tectonics continued to push
I t's
time to move
to land.
before the current Phan
erozoic Eon, and is a
supereon divided into sev
eral eons of the geologic
time scale.
It spans from the forma
tion of Earth about 4.6 bil
lion years ago to the
land masses across
Earth's surface. The com
position of the air became
similar to what we breathe
today. The air was now
capable of supporting large
animals.
Animal life also moved
onto the land, first the
arthropods then the
amphibians, and later, the
reptiles.
So the Paleozoic Era was
essentially one of great
changes on Earth.
31
beginning of the Cambrian
Period, about 541 million years
ago, when hard-shelled crea
tures first appeared.
The Precambrian accounts
for 88 per cent of geologic
time. Relatively little is known
about the Precambrian.
The term Precambrian is
recognized by the Internation
al Commission on Stratigra
phy as a general term
including the Archean and
Proterozoic eons.
Why is the Mesozoic Era called
the Age of Reptiles?
D Uring the Mesozoic Era, life
diversified rapidly and giant
reptiles, dinosaurs, and other
monstrous beasts roamed the
32
The Mesozoic Era
Earth. Therefore, this era,
which spans the period from
about 252 million years ago to
about 66 million years ago,
was also known as the age of
reptiles, or the age of dino
saurs.
During this era, the climate
was warmer, and there was no
polar ice. Even the shape of
the continents on Earth was
different.
The continents were jammed
together at the beginning of
the Mesozoic Era, forming the
. supercontinent of Pangaea,
but they started breaking apart
toward the middle of this era.
This was also a time of mass
Tell Me Why
extinctions, followed by
explosions of new life
forms. The era is subdivid
ed into three major periods.
They are the Triassic,
Jurassic, and Cretaceous,
which are further subdivid
ed into a number of epochs
and stages.

What do we know about

mass extinctions in this
era? Dinosaur Fossils

T he Mesozoic Era began Another mass extinction ended

and ended with mass the Mesozoic Era, wiping out life
extinctions. At the begin forms that have never reappeared
ning of the era, a mass again . Most scientists believe that
extinction wiped out 96 per this second extinction was caused
cent of marine life, and 70 by a giant asteroid that blasted
per cent of all species of life into the Earth and formed an
on land. immense crater at Chicxulub in
Life slowly rebounded, the Yucatan Peninsula.
eventually giving way to a
flourishing diversity of ani
No more
mals, from massive lizards
extinc tion
to enormous dinosaurs. al lowed.
Coniferous plants, or those
that have cone-bearing
seeds, already existed at
the beginning of the era,
but they became much
more abundant, and flower
ing plants made their
appearance too.
EARTH 33
Why is the Cenozoic Era
known as the Age of Mam
mals?

The Cenozoic Era goes

back 66 million years, and
extends to the present
day. It is also knoWn as
the Age of Mammals.
This is because many
groups of giant mammals
had become extinct earli
er, allowing the smaller
species to flourish,
because their predators Mammoth- The Ice Age Elephant
no longer existed.
Later in this period, peared. But large flightless birds
rodents and small horses thrived- some of them were almost
became common, and rhi 2.13 metres tall! Plant life flour
noceroses and elephants ished, and every plant living today
started to evolve. had its roots in the Cenozoic Era. .
By the end of the era, Flowering plants and grasses
dogs, cats and pigs were became widespread. Another inter
commonplace. Other than esting development was that it was
a few birds that were clas in this era that plate tectonics
sified as dinosaurs, the brought the continents to their mod
dinosaurs had disap- ern positions.

First Mammals
The Mesozoic Era also witnessed the
appearance of the very first mammals.
However, these first specimens were very
small in size.

34 Tell Me Why
When did life begin on
Earth?

N o one can say exactly

when life began on Earth.
However, scientists believe
that it must have been at
least 3.8 billion years ago.
By this time, the young
planet had cooled, and the
Earth was a water world with
small areas of dry land. Sci
entists think that life began in
the lakes and oceans.
Many of the chemicals
from which life started may
have been brought by com
ets and meteorites. Lightning
and u ltraviolet light from the
Sun may have split the
hydrogen-rich gases in the
atmosphere.
Energy may also have
come from hot springs on the
sea bed. Over time, the sim
ple chemicals present joined Wow!
to become larger, more com Li fe begins on
this Earth.
plex chemicals. Once these
chemicals collected in the
oceans or lakes, they formed
an 'organic soup'. One day,
an accident occurred. A mol
ecule began to make copies
of itself. Life on Earth had
begu n.
EARTH
 Mou ntain under Ocean
The longest mountain range is not on land at
all. It lies underwater through the middle of
the Atlantic Ocean,into the Indian and Pacific
Oceans. This chain of mountains is known as
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

When does the history of Man years back. These ancestors

begin?
T he first forms of life, which
appeared around 3.8 billion
years ago, were single celled
organisms such as bacteria.
It took a billion years for mul
ti-celled creatures to evolve,
beginning with the arthropods.
These were followed by fish,
land plants, and land animals.
Homo sapiens, first
appeared only abouf200,OOO
of ours were, like us, physical
ly, and had the same brain
power.
Neanderthals who evolved in
Africa were closely related to
modern humans, having DNA
over 99.5 per cent the same.
They were about 1.5 metres in
height.
The first Neanderthal speci
men found during mining in
August 1856. It was discovered
in Neanderthal, Germany.

Evolution of Man

36 Tell MeWh
How were the oceans formed? years, erupting volcanoes and
crashing comets caused
T he oceans were formed water to form on Earth. But
because the Earth was so hot,
over vast periods of time. Bil
lions of years ago, the Earth the water was in the form of
was incredibly hot, and cov water vapour.
ered with volcanoes. As the Earth gradually
Volcanoes spit out a lot of cooled, the atmosphere also
chemicals when they erupt,
and they get those chemicals
fro m deep inside the Earth.
Two of those chemicals are
hydrogen and oxygen. When
tho se combine, they make
water. The Earth arso got
water from comets. Many
co mets are actually made of
ice, which becomes water
when it melts! Over billions of
EARTH 37
became cooler, and the
water vapour began to
condense to form clouds.
As the cooling contin
ued, the clouds turned
to rain. This rain fell
continuously - not . for
days, weeks, months or
years, but for centuries!
The water that fell on
the ground did not fly off
the surface, because of
the force of gravity. As a
result, this water began
to accumulate in the
hollows of the Earth's
surface, and the oceans
were formed. and Africa, while the Arctic Ocean is
in Arctic Circle, and the Southern
How many oceans are Ocean is located around the South
there? Pole across the Antarctic Circle.
Actually, all the oceans run into one
O ur planet contains another to form one immense body of
more water than land- in water, but scientists have divided
fact, 71 per cent of the them into different oceans and given
Earth is covered by them different names. Great ocean
oceans. There are five currents swirl around the Earth, some
oceans- the Pacific, of them hundreds of kilometres long.
Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, Winds cause the waves on the
and Southern Oceans. ocean's surface, while tides are
The biggest of these caused by the gravitational pull of the
is the Pacific Ocean, fol Moon. The oceans provide a home
lowed by the Atlantic for thousands of plants and animals,
Ocean. The I ndian and they also regulate the Earth's
Ocean is between Asia weather and temperature.
38 Tell eWhy
 Australian continents to the West.
The Pacific is not only the biggest, but
also the deepest ocean with the deep
est trenches. The Challenger Deep in
the Marina Trench is the deepest
point in the Pacific Ocean. It is 10,898
metres deep, and the lowest part of
the Earth's crust.
The Pacific Ocean is home to 75 per
cent of the world's volcanoes. These
volcanoes form a ring around the
ocean basin and are known as 'The
Ring of Fire'.
Most of the islands in the world are
found in the Pacific Ocean. Some of
these are islands made of coral, and
are called atolls. In fact, the Pacific
What is the importance Ocean is famous for its coral reefs.
of the Pacific Ocean? The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is
the largest reef in the world, stretch
T he Pacific is the big ing over more than 2,300 km.
gest ocean on Earth, A Spanish explorer named Balboa
and covers more than is believed to be the first European to
30 per cent of the discover the Pacific Ocean, on Sep
Earth's surface. tember 25th, 1513.
It is located between
the Americas to the
East and the Asian and

39
 Pacific Ocean How was the Pacific Ocean formed?

The Pacific basin is an immense hol

low in the Earth's crust. Around 750
million years ago, a supercontinent
called Rodinia broke up, and the west
ern half of what is now called America
slowly moved away because of plate
tectonics, leaving behind a huge basin.
Over millions of years, rainwater col
lected in this basin, and rivers and
Peaceful streams emptied into the hollow, to cre
The name Pacific ate the biggest ocean on the planet.
originates from The Pacific basin is divided into East
the Latin word and West Basins.
'pace' which A large ridge called the East Pacific
means peace. Rise runs from the Gulf of California to
Ferdinand Magel the southernmost tip of South America,
lan, a Portuguese and is responsible for this division.
explorer, named Its mysterious depths, its submarine
the ocean 'Mar ridges that are taller than Mount Ever
Pacifico' in 1521. est and its gigantic basins that are larg
This means er than North America, all contribute to
'peaceful sea'. this collection of wonders that is called
the Pacific Ocean.
40 Tell MeWhy
What are the features of the
Atlantic Ocean?
T he Atlantic Ocean is the
world's second largest ocean,
while the Pacific Ocean is the
largest.
The Atlantic is the second
youngest among all the five
oceans, and was formed when
the supercontinent Pangaea
broke up.
The Atlantic Ocean covers
approximately 1/5th of the sur
face of the Earth, and covers
approximately 20 per cent of
the Earth's surface.
There is an u nderwater
mountain range in the North
Atlantic Ocean called the Mid
Atlantic Ridge. It is twice as
wide as the Andes Mountain
range and runs approximately
16093 kilometres south from
Iceland.
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is home
to the second largest barrier
reef in the world, the Belize
barrier reef. Its natural resourc
es include oil, fish, sand and
gravel, natural gas, and pre
cious stones.
Creatures living in the Atlan
tic Ocean include the mana
tee, humpback whale, sea lion
and the grey Atlantic seal, as
well as various shark and fish
species.
Atlantic Ocean is growing in
size as it is spreading along
the Mid-Atlantic Coasts.
 _.-

J;J Great Barrier Reef

-y

The Great Barrier Reef lies off the coast of
Australia, in the Pacific Ocean. It is over 2300

'1.t. Zl6 km long. Over 1500 kinds of fish live in the

Great Barrier Reef. The smallest fish is called
the stout infantfis h. It is only 7 millimetres long. The biggest
is the whale shark which can grow up to 12 metres long!

What is the importance of the Indian is at the sea leve l .

Ocean? The I n d ian Ocean is
the warmest of the
T he Indian Ocean is the world's third worl d 's oceans, and
largest ocean. It covers 1I5th of the i s the source of
Earth's surface, connecting 18 Asian approximately 40 per
countries, 16 African countries, and 57 cent of the world's
island groups. oil.
The Kerguelen Plateau is a conti The Indian Ocean is
nent of volcanic origi n s that l ies important for its ports
beneath the su rface of the Indian that belong to different
Ocean. The lowest part of this continents. Chennai,
ocean i s abou t 7,258 metres deep, Mumbai, and Kolkata
lying on the Java Trench of the are the I ndian ports of
Sunda Shelf while i ts h ig hest poi nt this ocean, while
Colombo in Sri Lanka,
and Durban in South
Africa, Jakarta in Indo
nesia, and Melbourne
in Australia are the oth
er important ports of
this ocean.

Indian Ocean
Tell Me Why
Why is the Arctic Ocean Arctic Ocean
unique?

The Arctic Ocean is the ice that forms during the winter
smallest of all the oceans, around the pack ice, and on land
and also the shallowest. It around the Arctic Ocean. There is a
is connected to the Pacific wide variety of marine life living in
and Atlantic Oceans the Arctic Ocean, including whales,
through small gaps in the fish, seals, and walruses.
continents. It is a very cold
ocean since it lie s in the
We are
Arctic Circle.
standing on
Much of it is covered an ocean.
with a frozen ice cap.
Three types of ice cover
the Arctic Ocean including
polar ice, fast ice, and
pack ice. The ice located
at the edge of the polar ice
is called pack ice, which
only freezes completely in
the winter. Fast ice is the
EARTH
 Many of the landmarks in the Arctic are
named after the early Arctic explorers.
Nansen has a basin named after him, and
Mendeleev has a ridge!

What are the features of

the Southern Ocean?

The Southern Ocean

is sometimes called the
Antarctic Ocean. It sur
rounds Antarctica, and
is the fourth largest of
the five oceans of the
world. Some scientists
believe that the waters
of the Southern Ocean
are extensions of the
Indian , Pacific, and
Atlantic oceans.
The deepest part of Southern Ocean
the Southern Ocean is
the southern end of the in the waters of the Southern Ocean.
South Sandwich Trench The world's largest penguin species
that is 7235 metres the emperor penguin lives on the ice
deep. of the Southern Ocean and on the
During winter, half of Antarctica continent.
the Southern Ocean is It is believed that if the ice sheets in
covered in icebergs. the Southern Ocean were to melt the
Some of the ice and ice oceans around the world would rise
bergs break off and float by as much as 65 metres.
44 Tell Me Why
 Some of the highest
mountains are at the
bottom of the sea.
Hawaii is at the top of a
volcanic mountain in the
Pacific Ocean, more
than half of which is
under water. In fact, the
largest range of moun
tains is in the Atlantic
Ocean.
Did you know that
more than half of the
world's fresh water
comes from mountains,
and all the major rivers
in the world are fed from
mountain sources? Isn't
that awesome?
Himalayan Mountain range

I'm
Why are mountai ns awesome? very old. Go
away k ids!
M ountains are landforms that tow
er above the surrounding area. They
have sloping sides that generally end
in one or more peaks.
Mountains are generally found in
ranges. Most of these ranges are mil
lions of years old. The Himalayan
Mountain range has thirty of the
world's tallest mountains, including
Mount Everest.

EARTH 45
 How many types of mountains are
there?

The Earth's crust has many massive

plates. These are called tectonic
plates, and they all fit together, similar
to pieces in a puzzle.
The tectonic plates keep moving all
Home to Ma ny
the time, and as they do so, they rub up
One fifth of all the against each other, crash into each
land on Earth is other, and then move apart again.
made up of moun These movements caused mountains
tains. The moun to be formed, but the movements also
tains on the cause things like earthquakes and vol
planet are popu canic eruptions.
lated by one tenth
The three main types of mountains
of the world's
are volcanic, fold, and block moun
population.
tains. Some mountains are formed
when lava builds up around a vent on
the Earth's crust. Such mountains are
called volcanic mountains. Fold Moun
tains are mountain ranges that are
formed when two tectonic plates push
together at their border. Block moun
tains are formed when forces in the
Earth's crust pull it apart.
46 TeLL MeWhy
Why are the Himalayas spectacular being Mount Everest,
special? the highest mountain in the world.
The Himalayan Mountain Range
N othing can match the was formed roughly about 70 mil
lion years ago as a result of a colli
beauty and grandeur of
the snow capped Himala sion between I ndo-Australian and
yas, the highest mountain
range on land. In fact, their
very name means 'the
abode of snow', and many
believe that they are the
abode of the Gods as well.
This magnificent range
extends in a massive are,
separating India and Paki
stan from the Tibetan Pla
teau of China. They
stretch for more than 2500
km from west to east, with
more than 30 peaks soar Himalayas
ing to heights of more than
7315 metres-the most Eurasian tectonic plates.
It is one of the youngest moun
tain systems stretching across six
No more different countries namely India,
height to
reach.
Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Afghanistan,
and Pakistan.
The Himalayas have held a pro
found significance on the m ytholo
gies, literature, religions, and
culture of South Asia.
For centuries, they have been the
centre of attraction for the pilgrims
from India and Nepal, and for the
mountaineers all over the world.
47


Above Sea level

The height of a mountain is generally stated
in how many feet or metres it is above sea
level. Mount Everest, the tallest mountain
on the surface of the Earth is 8,850 metres
aove sea level, as per the latest findings.

Volcano

from the piling up of

this molten rock that
has erupted from deep
within our Earth. They
are usually found
where the tectonic
plates of the Earth's
crust meet.
Volcanoes can be
active, dormant, or
extinct, depending on
the amount of activity
happening.
What are the features of volcanic Active volcanoes
mountains? erupt regularly; dor
mant ones are quiet for
A volcano is a mountain that opens long periods and erupt
downward to a pool of molten rock only occasionally,
below the surface of the Earth. When while extinct volcanoes
pressure builds up, eruptions occur. are those that have not
Gases and molten rock shoot up erupted for so long that
through the opening or vent. All volca they are unlikely to
noes are formed in the same way, erupt again.
48 Tell Me Why
 Volcanoes can be found on the
ocean floor, or even under ice
caps. The world's largest active
volcano is Mauna Loa in Hawaii .
What are the effects of volcanic
eruptions?
A n erupting volcano is a fear
some sight. Red hot molten rocks,
ash, dust and debris are thrown
high into the air. Eruptions can
result in earthquakes, rock slides,
mud falls, and fast floods.
Lava can travel very far and
burn, bury, or damage anyt hing in
its path. The large amount of dust
and ash can cause roofs to fall,
and can make it hard to breathe.
A really big volcanic eruption
can change weather around the
world. Ash clouds some
times float very high in the
air for years, so sunlight
cannot get to the Earth,
causing snow and frost in
the summer.
On the other hand, vol
canic ash contains mi ner
als that help plants grow.
Another good th ing is that
the steep sides of volca
noes are often hard to
reach, making them a
safe p l ace for plants and
an i m als to live. Also, vol
cano gases created water
and atmosphere, which
are the foundation of l ife
itself.
VoLcanic Fumes
49
 Desert What is a desert?

D eserts are dry and barren places

that cover one third of the land area of
the Earth. They don't get much rain.

Why are rivers and lakes important?

R ivers and lakes are important

sources of water for mankind. A river
is a channel of fresh water that usu
ally rises in the mountains, and flows
downwards to empty itself into a large
body of water. This can be a sea,
ocean, or lake. Rivers are formed
Vulca n
when rainwater or melting snow col
The word 'volcano' lects to form little streams. These
comes from the streams are known as tributaries.
name of a small They join together to form a river. Riv-
volcanic island off
the coast of Italy. It
is called Vulcano,
after the Roman
God of Fire, Vulcan.

50
 Officially, a desert is an area that
gets less than 25.4 cm of precipita
tion a year. Deserts don't necessarily
have to be hot. Some of the world's
largest deserts are cold deserts locat
ed at one of the Earth's poles, or in a
cold area of the world.
The largest hot desert on Earth is
the Sahara, while the largest cold
desert on Earth is Antarctica. Located
in South America, the Atacama
Desert is the driest place in the world.
Despite the extreme conditions,
deserts are home to specialized spe-
River
ers provide us with water for our
crops, and for drinking. They provide
a means of transportation, and are
also important sources of energy. A
lake is a sheet of water, surrounded
by land. Most lakes have freshwater,
EARTH
cies of plants including
various shrubs and cac
ti. These plants have
padded leaves that store
water during a drought.
They are also home to
animals such as lizards
and coyote. Deserts
often contain large min
erai deposits. Though a
desert may not seem
like a fun place to live in,
over one billion people
live in desert areas.
but there are some that
have salt water. Lakes
form when water finds
its way into a basin. In
order to survive, they
need to have a constant
flow of new water; other
wise they'll eventually
dry up.
The deepest lake in
the world is Lake Baikal
in Siberia, Russia. It is
1,637m at its deepest
point. The Caspian Sea
is the largest lake by
surface area in the
world. It is so large that it
is sometimes classified
as a minor ocean.
51
Why are islands Interesting? Island

A n island is a piece of land pie of this is Great Britain,

completely surrounded by
water. There are islands in
every ocean and sea. Very
small islands can be called
islets or cays. Islands are also
found in rivers and lakes, and
these islands are called eyot.
A group of islands that are sim
ilar to each other is known as
an archipelago.
There are two main types of
islands. They are continental
islands and oceanic islands.
Continental islands are part of
a continental shelf. One exam-
which is an island that sits on
the continental shelf of Europe.
Oceanic islands are islands
that don't sit on a continental
shelf. Many oceanic islands
are formed by undersea volca
noes like Hawaii in the Pacific
Ocean.
In addition to these two types,
there are also artificial islands
that are made by Man. Green
land is by far the world's larg
est island that is not a continent,
and Java is the world's most
populated island.

Mountain or Island?
Some islands are actually the peaks of
underwater mountains. Hawaii is a good
example of an island that is the peak of a
mountain as well.

52 Tell Me Why
Why is an island different from
a continent?
G reenland and Australia are
both completely surrounded
by water. But Greenland is
considered to be the biggest
island on Earth, while Australia
is called the smallest conti
nent.
The foremost difference
between a continent and an
island is the size. A continent
is much bigger in size. Green
land, the world's largest island,
has an area of over 2.1 million
One day
you wi l l call
me a conti-
nent.
Island
sq km, while Australia, the
world's smallest continent has
an area of 7.6 million sq km.
Another major difference is .
in their population. Australia
has over 23 million inhabit
ants, while Greenland, on the
other hand, has just over
57,000 inhabitants.
There are also geological dif
ferences. Australia rests on its
own tectonic plate called the
Australian Plate. It has its own
unique flora and fauna, with
native animals like kangaroos,
unlike any others in the world.
Greenland sits on the North
American tectonic plate. It is
not geologically separate from
Canada, US, and Mexico.
Thus it is not surprising that
Greenland is called an island,
while Australia is considered
to be a continent.
53
How are glaciers formed?
G laciers are huge masses of
ice that 'flow' like very slow riv
ers. A glacier begins when
snow doesn't completely melt
away during the summer.
Each winter new show falls
on top of the old snow. Thick
layers of snow are gradually
compressed into glacial ice
over hundreds of years.
The glacier moves because
the pressure of the ice on top
causes the layers below to
become compressed and
deformed. Melted water at the
bottom of the glacier helps it to
glide over the landscape.
Because, the ice is so dense
54
and compact, the glacier often
appears a bright blue!
Glaciers are usually divided
into two groups - Mountain
glaciers and continental gla
ciers which spread out and
cover larger areas.
Glaciers are the largest res
ervoir of fresh water on the
planet. Glacial ice can be hun
dreds of thousands of years
old, which makes it a valuable
resource for assessing climate
change.
Glacier
By analysing the ice, scien
tists can learn about what the
climate was like on Earth thou
sands of years ago!
Tell Me Why
 Ruins of an Earthquake and furniture slides around. In more
severe earthquakes, buildings can be .
What is an earthquake? reduced to rubble, bridges destroyed,
and entire cities devastated . Why
I f you have ever expe does this happen?
rienced an earthquake, Earthquakes are the Earth's means
you know it can be quite of releasing stress. We know that the
scary. The ground trem Earth's crust is made of large plates
bles, windows rattle, called tectonic plates. These plates
fans swing erratically, are constantly moving past each oth
er, slowly but continuously.
I ' m having As the plates move, they exert forc
fever. es on themselves and each other.
When the force is large enough, the
crust cracks. This releases the stress
within, in the form of energy that
moves through the Earth in the form
of waves. These waves cause earth
quakes.
Earthquakes can be measured
using instruments called seismome
ters!
EARTH 55
 A Road destroyed by Earthquake

Which are some of the most est, where avalanches buried

devastating earthquakes? part of the base camp packed
with foreign climbers.
D uring the Earth's long his Another 61 people were
tory, there have been many killed in neighbouring India,
earthquakes that have caused and China reported 20 people
great destruction. dead in Tibet. Earthquakes
The largest earthquake ever can also cause tsunamis. A
recorded in the world was in tsunami is a series of ocean
Chile in 1960. It measured 9.5 waves that start in the middle
on the R ichter scale. Approxi of the ocean, and get bigger as
mately 1,655 people were they approach the shore.
killed, 3,000 injured, and When they hit land they are
around two million people were huge, and cause unimagina
made homeless. In 2015, an ble destruction. Such a tsuna
earthquake hit the capital of mi hit India in 2004. It was
Nepal, Kathmandu, killing . caused by an earthquake that
more than 5000 people. is thought to have an energy,
Its impact spread far beyond equivalent to over 1500 times
Nepal. At least 18 people died that of the Hiroshima atomic
on the slopes of Mount Ever- bomb.
56 Tell Me Why
Why does the Earth rotate?
We know that the Earth
moves in two different ways. It
rotates, or spins on its own
axis while revolving on a fixed
path around the Sun.
The Earth's spinning move
ment was caused by forces
acting on it while it was being
formed. Our planet was formed
amidst a cloud of gas and dust.
Over millions of years, as the
planet grew, its gravity became
more powerful. It began attract
ing more gas and dust with
more and more force. The gas
and dust now raced and swirled
towards the Earth like a whirl
pool, making it spin like a top.
Even though the swirl of gas
and dust eventually died down,
the rotating movement that
they caused continues, and
the Earth will keep on spinning
for all time.
Why is the Earth's rotation impor
tant?
The rotation of the Earth controls
our lives in many ways. The most
important effect is that it causes day
and night. . into darkness, and the
The Earth completes one 'rotation'
every twenty-four hours. The Earth
rotates counterclockwise, and this is
why the Sun 'rises' in the East and
'sets' in the West. It is not the Sun's
movement that causes days, but
rather the Earth turning around in
front of the Sun. The side of the Earth
that faces the Sun while it is spinning
58
will have daylight, while
the side that faces away
will be in darkness.
As the Earth rotates,
the side facing the Sun
will gradually move away
side that was dark will
get daylight.
Amazingly, the Earth
would literally change
shape if it ceased to
spin, because its rota
tion makes its midsec
tion bulge.
If it stopped spinning,
the midsection would
become flat. This would
cause the oceans to shift
from the equator toward
the poles, leaving
Earth's surface bone dry
near the equator, and
swamped in miles of
water at the poles!
What are the features of
the Earth's orbit?
The Earth, while spin
ning on its axis, also
revolves around the
Sun, along a fixed orbit.
The orbit is elliptical in
shape. The Earth takes
Tell Me Why
 Earth orbits round the Sun
3651,4 days to complete its orbit
round the Sun. The Earth's year
is therefore 365 days long but the
1,4 days are added up and every
fourth year has one extra day, on
the 29th of February. This fourth
- --
year is called a leap year.
As the Earth orbits round the
Sun, it tilts very slightly, and so,
gives us the seasons. When the
Earth has tilted so that the north
ern half of the Earth is a little
away from the Sun, the northern
hemisphere has winter.
At this time, the southern hemi
sphere is tilted very slightly
towa"rds the Sun and the south
ern hemisphere has summer. Did
you know that the Earth is 150
million kilometres from the Sun?
EARTH
-
Sidereal Day
A sidereal day is the
time it takes for the
Earth to rotate about
its axis,so that the dis
tant stars appear in the
same position in the
sky. There are special
sidereal clocks to
measure sidereal days.
On a normal clock,a
sidereal day is 23 hours
and 56 minutes.
59
Why is the Earth like a giant
magnet?

T he Earth's red hot solid

core transfers heat through
the molten outer core and
up to the surface of the plan
et.
This causes the liquid out
er core to move, which
results in an electrical cur
rent. The movement of the
Earth as it orbits and spins
keeps the liquid core, which
Earth as a Magnet
is made up of primarily iron
and nickel, in constant
motion as well. magnetosphere. This magnetic
This creates a magnetic field extends far out into space. It
effect. In fact, the Earth is is very important in many ways.
like a giant magnet in sev Solar winds consistently blow
eral ways. Not only does it towards the Earth at a rate of
have a magnetic north and around 400 kilometres per sec
south pole, but the planet is ond. The Earth's magnetosphere
surrounded by a strong produces something called a bow
magnetic field called the shock, which stops the solar

Tem peratu res on Earth

The average temperature on Earth is about
16.1 degrees celsius. The coldest place is
Vostok station in Antarctica, where the
temperature goes down to -89.2 degrees
celsius. The hottest place is El Azizia, Libya
where it was soared to 58 degrees celsius.

60 Tel Me Why
winds from entering the
atmosphere.
Harmful particles from
space that constantly
head towards Earth are
also deflected by the
magnetosphere. So, the
magnetosphere plays a
crucial role in sustaining
life on the planet.

What is meant by the

Earth's mass?

To put it very simply,

mass is the amount of
matter that an object were to write it out in numbers, the
has. In the Standard Earth's mass is 5,973, 600,000,000,0
International System of OO,OOO,OOO,OOOkg. !
Units, the unit of mass is How did anyone figure that out?
the kilogramme. The It's not like the planet can be weighed
Earth's mass is 5.9 sex on a giant weighing scale.
tillion tonnes. Or, if we In the case of the Earth, its weight
is derived from the gravitational
.
attraction that the planet has for
Ouch, what
a mass!
objects near it.
The first man who correctly calcu
lated the mass of the Earth was the
English scientist Henry Cavendish.
His results were very close to those
that scientists get today, with more
modern apparatus. Because of its
high mass for its size, the Earth actu
ally has the highest density of all the
planets in the Solar System.
EARTH 61
 What causes the seasons?

Waiting
for a change
S easons are caused
because of the Earth's chang
in season.
ing relationship to the Sun.
The Earth travels around the
Sun, on a path called an orbit,
once every 365 days, which is
a year. Not only does the Earth
rotate around the Sun every
year, but the Earth spins in a
circle every 24 hours. This is
what we call a day.
However, the Earth doesn't
spin in a straight up and down
manner relative to the Sun. We
are slightly tilted, and it is this

What is the shape of the Earth? round. However, the fact is

that the Earth is not perfectly
As countless photos from round. It is a sphere that is
space can attest, the Earth is slightly flat at the poles, and

The Atmosphere
The atmosphere, which acts like a blanket
for the Earth is made up of 7 7 per cent
nitrogen, 21 per cent oxygen, and traces
of other gases and water vapour. There
was probably much more carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere when the Earth was first formed, but much
of it has been dissolved in the oceans, consumed by living
organisms, and absorbed by rocks.

62 Tell Me Why
tilt of the Earth's axis that is respon more pointed towards the
sible for the changing seasons. For . Sun. For the other half,
half of the year, the Earth is tilted in the South Pole is pointed
such a way that the North Pole is at the Sun.
When the North Pole is
angled toward the Sun,
the days on the northern
part of the planet get
more sunlight. The days
are longer and warmer,
and the northern hemi
sphere enjoys summer.
As the year progresses,
the Earth's tilt changes to
a position where the .
North Pole is pointing
away from the Sun.

which has a bulge in the centre. another small bulge near

This shape is termed an oblate
spheroid. The term oblate refers to
its slightly oblong appearance,
while the term spheroid means that
it is almost a sphere, but not quite.
The bulge in the centre is the
result of the rotation of the Earth. It
causes the diameter at the equator
to be 43 kilometres larger than the
pole-to-pole diameter.
Our globe, however, is not even a
perfect oblate spheroid, because
mass is distributed u nevenly within
the planet. In recent years, scien
tists have learned that there is
EARTH
the North Pole. What is
more, the Earth's shape
also changes over time
due to many factors. Mass
shifts around inside the
planet, mountains and
valleys emerge and dis
appear, and meteors cre
ate craters on the surface.
So, though the Earth
may look like a 'blue mar
ble' to astronauts in
spaceships, it is not really
shaped like a marble at
all !
63
 The days are short
er and colder now,
and it is winter. For
this reason, seasons
north of the Equator
are the opposite of
seasons south of the
equator, whicH
means that when it is
summer in the north
ern hemisphere it is
winter in the southern
hemisphere, and vice
versa.

Why are the seasons

different in the north Change of Seasons
ern and southern
hemispheres? higher in the sky. As a result, sunlight
hits the ground with more intensity, and
T he Earth is tilted countries in the northern hemisphere
on its axis, and experience summer.
depending on the At the same time, the southern hemi-
time of the year, either . sphere is tilted away from the Sun. This
the northern or south means the days are shorter and as the
ern hemisphere is tilt Sun is lower in the sky, the sunlight is
ed towards the Sun, weak, making the days colder as well.
while the other half So the southern hemisphere will be in
must, of course, be the grip of winter in June.
tilted away. When December comes, the situation
In June, the North is reversed, with winter in the northern
ern hemisphere tilts hemis phere and summer in the south
towards the Sun. This ern hemisphere. In fact, Christmas is
makes the day long celebrated in summer in places like
er, and the Sun is Australia that lie south of the Equator!
64 Tell Me Why
Why is the Moon special to the
Earth?
P oets have written lyrically
about it, and artists have tried
in vain to capture its ethereal
beauty, it holds a special place
in our lives. It is the Moon,
planet Earth's only natural sat
ellite.
A planet is a heavenly body
that orbits or travels around
the Sun, while a satellite is a
heavenly body that orbits a
planet.
Both have no light of their
own, but reflect the light of the
EARTH
Moon
Sun. Scientists believe that
the Moon was probably formed
4.5 billion years ago when a
large object hit the Earth and
blasted out rocks that came
together to orbit round the
Earth as a satellite.
The Moon is among the big
gest among the natural satel
lites in the solar system. The
Earth does have other much
smaller satellites, but they are
artificial satellites, created by
Man.
65
 Surface of the Moon How does the Moon influence the
Earth's oceans?

L ike the Earth, the Moon also

rotates on its axis and like the
Earth, the Moon too has gravity.
The ocean tides are dominated
by the gravitational effects of the
Moon, and, to a lesser extent, the
Sun. The gravitational pull on the
oceans is greatest on the side of
Slowing Down the Earth that is facing the Moon.
There is a little bit of This causes a bulging of water
friction between the towards the Moon, which is experi
tides and the turning enced as a high tide on Earth's
Earth, causing the coastlines.
rotation to slow down Meanwhile, on the far side of the
just a little. It has planet, there is a second bulge.
been calculated that Here, though the gravitational pull
the Earth's rotation of the Moon is less, forces due to
slows down by about the Earth's rotation are strong, and
2 milliseconds every these cause a movement of the
century. As Earth ocean away from the Moon, result
slows, it lets the ing in high tide here too.
Moon creep further Low tides are on the sides of the
away from it. Earth, 90 degrees away from the
Moon.
66 Tell MeWhy
What do we know about
Man's efforts to reach the
Moon?

T he Moon has always

fascinated mankind, and
many efforts have been
made to reach it.
The first spacecraft to
reach the Moon was Luna
2 in 1959. This was a
Soviet craft, which was
launched from the USS R . Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins,
The USA was the first Edwin Aldrin
nation to send a man to
the Moon. then, the Moon has only been visit
The first man to set foot ed by unmanned vehicles.
on the Moon in 1969 was India too, has joined the select
Neil Armstrong on the group of countries that have suc
Apollo 11 mission. The cessfully landed spacecraft on the
last man to walk on the Moon. These missions to the Moon
Moon in 1972 was have brought back many rock sam
Eugene Cernan on the ples, which have been studied and
Apollo 17 mission. Since analyzed so that we can under
stand the mysterious Moon better.
Not as
beauti ful as I
ex p ected.
 comes as close as 38 million km near
the Earth. It shines brilliantly in the
early morning and evening, and is the
third brightest object in the night sky.
Mars also can be considered a
neighbour. It is the fourth planet from
the Sun. Mars is rocky with canyons,
volcanoes, and craters all over it. Red
Genius Reborn dust covers almost all of Mars. It has
clouds and wind, just as Earth does.
Galileo was one of
Mars is very cold.
the most famous
astronomers of the
Middle Ages. On his
300th death anni
versary, on Jan 8th
1942, another
famous astrono
mer and theoreti
cal physicist was
born. His name is
Stephen Hawking.
Sneho Rao

Which are Earth's near

est neighbours?
Earth and Other Planets of the
The Earth's nearest Solar System
neighbours in the solar
system are the planets Mercury is also considered a neigh
Mercury, Venus, and bour. It is the smallest of the eight
Mars. planets. It is also the closest to the
Of the three, Venus is Sun.
the closest neighbour. In fact, Mercury goes around the
As it orbits the sun, it Sun the fastest of all the planets.
68 Tell Me Why
What are artificial satellites?

ArtifiCial satellites are

manmade satellites orbiting
the Earth and other planets
in the Solar System. They
are different from natural
satellites, or moons, that
orbit planets, dwarf planets,
and even asteroids.
Artificial satellites are used
to study the Earth, other
planets, and to help us com
municate, and even to Replica of Sputnik 1
observe the distant Uni
verse. tary support, navigation, Earth
The first artificial satellite imaging, and communications.
was the Soviet Sputnik 1 Some satellites fulfill a single
mission, launched in 1957. purpose, while others are
Since then, dozens of coun designed to perform several
tries have launched satel functions at the same time.
lites, with more than 3,000
currently operating space How' s my
crafts going around the new sa tel l i te?
Earth.
Satellites can even have
people in them, like the Inter
national Space Station. Sat
ellites are launched into
different orbits, depending
on their mission.
Artificial satellites can
have a range of missions,
including scientific research,
weather observation, mili-
EARTH 69
What is the flat earth theory of
the Earth?
I n ancient times, it was
believed that the Earth was
flat. The flat earth theory states
that the world is a flat disc,
rather than a sphere.
Some of the early philoso
phers believed that the Earth
was flat, and resting on some
sort of foundation, while others
claimed that the Earth was flat,
and floating on air.
70
In these early civilizations, it
was also believed that Earth
was at the centre of the uni
verse, and the Sun, planets,
Moon, and stars all revolved
around it.
As early as the fourth cen
tury BC, however, philoso
phers and scientists realized
that the Earth was actually a
sphere.
This debate has raged on in
many cultures through the
centuries.
Tell Me Why
Who discovered that the Earth
was round?

T he shape of the Earth has

fascinated scientists and philos
ophers throughout history. The
idea that the Earth is spherical
originated in Ancient Greece,
and the oldest reliable sources
credit Pythagoras from the 6th
century Be.
Aristotle, the G reek philoso
pher, also argued that the Earth
was spherical. He based his
belief on the fact that different
stars are visible in different loca
tions.
He also observed that the
shadow of Earth on the Moon
during a lunar eclipse is round, The first person to prove a
and argued that this proved that spherical Earth was Portu
the Earth must be round too. guese explorer Ferdinand
Magellan, whose expedition
circumnavigated the globe
in 1522. Sadly, Magellan
died before reaching
the end of his jour
ney.

71
 What are the contributions of Coperni
cus and Ptolemy?

T he Mesopotamians and Egyptians

saw the Earth as being flat, as did the
earliest Greeks. It was the Greeks,
however, that changed the view of the
Earth, and set forth a series of theories
that proved the Earth was round.
In the 2nd century AD, the Greek phi
Ptolemy losopher Ptolemy created a map that
portrayed the Earth as being round. It
was this map that was the most popu
lar map in the Middle Ages until the col
onization of North America by
Europeans in the 15th and 16th centu
ries.
In the 16th century, Copernicus, a
Polish scholar, was the first to propose
that the Sun was the centre of the uni
verse and that the Earth, planets, and
stars moved around it. The astronomi
cal model that Copernicus developed
Copernicus was called heliocentrism -helios means
Sun. This model has the Sun motion-

We i r d I n v e n t i o n s
Galileo is famous for his astronomical dis
coveries. But he also invented an automat
ic tomato picker,and a comb that could
also be used as an eating utensil- though
obviously,these ideas have not caught on!

72 Tell Me Why
less at the centre of the Universe
while the Earth and other planets
rotate around it in circular paths.
Copernicus' idea was strongly
opposed by other scientists at
that time.

Why is Galileo famous?

G alileo Galilei was an Italian

scientist who was a brilliant
astronomer, physicist, mathema
tician, philosopher, and inventor.
He built on the work of others to
create telescopes more powerful
than any others of his time. With
these telescopes, Galileo was
able to observe the skies in ways
previously not achieved.
In 1610, he made observations
of four objects surrounding Jupi
ter that behaved unlike stars.
These turned out to be Jupiter's
four largest satellite moons. No
Galileo
one actually believed Gali
leo about his discovery, and
he just couldn't convince
people that he'd found these
moons.
Every time Galileo discov
ered something new, peo
ple never believed him, and
his discoveries were debat
ed a lot at the time.
Today, Galileo is accept
ed as the genius who con
clusively proved that the
earlier theories about every
thing in the universe revolv
ing around the Earth were
wrong.

EARTH
What is the greenhouse releasing the heat back into
effect? the air. But, some of the heat is
trapped by the greenhouse
A greenhouse is a house gases in the atmosphere,
keeping the Earth warm.
made of glass. People grow
plants in them because a The danger comes if the
greenhouse stays warm inside. greenhouse effect is too
Sunlight shines in, and strong. In that case, the Earth
warms the plants and air gets warmer and warmer, as is
inside. But the heat is trapped happening now. Too much
by the glass, and can't escape, carbon dioxide, and other
so even at night and in cold greenhouse gases in the air
weather, the greenhouse stays are making the greenhouse
warm. effect stronger- and this, in
The Earth's atmosphere turn, is causing climate chang
does the same thing as the es on Earth.
greenhouse. Gases in the
atmosphere such as carbon How was the Industrial Revo
dioxide do what the roof of a lution responsible for the
greenhouse does. greater greenhouse effect?
During the day, the Sun
shines through the atmos
.
T here are naturally occurring
phere. The Earth's surface greenhouse gases in the
warms up in the sunlight. At atmosphere that help keep the
night, Earth's surface cools, Earth warm.
74 Tell Me Why
 However, additional amounts of
these gases lead to more heat being
trapped on the planet. Before the
Industrial Revolution of the 18th cen
tury, the gases creating the green
house effect were in balance.
The Industrial Revolution not only
ushered in an era of mechanization,
increased manufacturing and pros
perity, but it also saw the burning
of more and more fossil fuels,
deforestation, and the adoption of

I ' m against
greenhouse
gases.

Smoke from a Factory

new industrial processes,

and agricultural practic
es. As a result, more and
more carbon dioxide was,
and still is, being released

Hotter a nd Hotter
There is no doubt that the Earth is getting
hotter and hotter. In fad, temperatures in
the last 20 years have been the hottest in
the last 400 years- a sign that the climate
is changing, because the greenhouse
effect is getting stronger.

EARTH 75
into the atmosphere. This
increased level of carbon diox
ide and other harmful gases
have enhanced the green
house effect, and this is
already showing disastrous
consequences.
What is global warming?
G lobal warming is a gradual
rising of the Earth's tempera
ture. There is now more car
bon dioxide in the atmosphere
than at any time in the last
420,000 years- and the prob
lem is getting worse all the
time.
Without drastic action, the
amount of carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere will continue
to increase, and Earth will con
tinue to heat up. In other words,
global warming will get worse,
and this will lead to climate
76
A Dried up Lake - An Icon of
Global Warming
change. It is true that the
Earth's climate has been
changing regularly for hun
dreds of millions of years,
sometimes getting colder, and
sometimes warmer.
Everyone knows about the
Ice Ages -those periods of
history when Earth was far
colder than it is now. But tra
ditional climate change makes
Earth as a whole, either hotter
or cooler, while modern cli
mate change, caused by
burning fossil fuels, is going
to make the climate much
more erratic.
. I n a nutshell, climate change
means the type of weather we
experience will change as the
years go by.
Tell Me Why
How are the oceans affected
by global warming?

G lobal warming can have

serious consequences on the
oceans. As temperatures
rise, oceans become warmer
too. Oceans absorb 80 per
cent of greenhouse gases,
and 50 per cent of the carbon
dioxide released into the
atmosphere.
Over the past 50 years, as
carbon dioxide emissions
have increased, more carbon
dioxide is being absorbed by
the oceans, and their temper
ature has steadily risen.
Moreover, because carbon all forms of marine life. The
dioxide becomes carbonic greatest damage caused by
acid when dissolved in water, warmer water can be seen in
the oceans will become more the Arctic where the ice cap is
acidic as well. A warmer, and melting. If this continues at its
a more acidic ocean will harm current rate, the ocean level will
rise 6 metres by 2050.
Rising sea levels threaten
coastal land, and also harm the
population of animals like the
polar bear.
Storms and hurricanes are
predicted to intensify with the
warming of ocean water as well.
Thus, the effects of global
warming on the oceans are tru
ly alarming.
77
How does global warming affect wildlife?

O ur planet is home to a diverse array of

wildlife that live in places ranging from the

highest peaks to the driest deserts, and from
freshwater to saltwater environments. This
abundant wildlife is threatened by the conse

quences of global warming.

For example, polar bears rely heavily on
Arctic Sea ice, which is rapidly melting because
the climate is changing and the Earth is get
ting hotter. Ducks, geese and other waterfowl
are being forced to change their behaviour
patterns, and are suffering because more of
the extreme weather, including drought and
floods.

How does global warming land and aquatic plants. Plants

affect plant life?
T o put it very simply, global
warming causes land, and
marine temperatures to rise
and this in turn affects both
can easily be affected by even
a gradual increase in the tem
perature of the environment
they grow in. Small shifts and
changes in climate can harm a
number of plant species. While

Just Another Planet

In ancient times,it was thought that the
Earth was the centre of the Universe.
It was only during the time of Copernicus
in the 16th century that it was
understood that the Earth was just one of many planets.

78 Tell Me Why

Rising ocean tempera
tures have already caused
massive coral bleaching,



leading to the destruction
of this environment that is
the home for many types of
marine life. Species may
not be able to adapt to this
rapid climate change.
Unless significant action
is taken now, global warm
ing will likely become the
single most i mportant fac
tor to affect wildlife since
the emergence of man
kind.

some plants are able to adapt to How' s my

the temperature changes in both sel f - hel p
from global
land and water, many are not able warming?
to do so, and will become extinct.
Global warming has also
increased the number of forest
fires.
Droughts are beginning to effect
areas that normally do not see
drought. Many plants do not
receive the water and nutrients
they need to survive, and they die.
If the effect of global warming on
plants continues, more and more
plants will die, and the food supply
for many humans, as well as ani
mals, will be badly affected.
EARTH 79
 How does global warming
affect humanity?

T he fact is that the 11 hottest

years recorded in the last 100
years have all happened after
1995.
The world is definitely getting
warmer. The climate change
caused by global warming
affects humanity in many
ways. The water cycle speeds
up, causing more rain,
droughts, wildfires, and
extreme heat waves. More
people will die from heat stroke
than ever before. Increased
use of artificial methods of
cooling will release more
greenhouse gases in the air.
Arctic ice will melt sooner and
faster, and won't be as thick
when it reforms. Glacier ice will
melt.
The oceans will warm, and
cause sea levels to rise more
quickly, which can cause flood
ing. Water borne diseases will
spread, while plant and animal
life will suffer. All this will result
in food shortages that will
cause untold suffering to man
kind, as the Earth gets hotter
and hotter, because of global
warming.
80 Tell Me Why
Why does the future of put its equator out past Mars. This
the Earth depend on the means that all of the inner planets,
Sun? including the Earth, would be swal
lowed by the Sun.
I t is ultimately the Sun But, scientists now say that as the
that will decide the fate of Sun grows, it will lose mass, and
the Earth. The Sun is this will cause the planets to spiral
slowly expanding and outwards. So the question is, will
brightening, and over the the expanding Sun overtake the
next few billion years, it planets spiralling outwards, or will
will eventually dry out the Earth escape its grasp? Well, sci
Earth, leaving it hot, entists are still debating this pOint!
brown, and uninhabitable.
About 7.6 billion years
from now, the Sun will
reach its maximum size
as a red giant. In its final
stage, the Sun will col
lapse into a white dwarf.
But, before this final
stage, when the Sun
becomes a red giant, a
simple calculation would
EARTH
When is the Sun's end
expected to happen?

O ver the course of the

past four billion years,
during which time planet
Earth and the entire
solar system was born,
the Sun has remained
relatively unchanged.
The core of the Sun
fuses hydrogen into heli
um. For the Sun, this
process began 4.6 bil
lion years ago, and it
has been generating
energy this way every
since.
However, this pro
cess cannot last forev
er, since there is a finite verted an estimated 100 times the
amount of hydrogen in mass of the Earth i nto helium and
the core of the Sun. So solar energy.
far, the Sun has con- As more hydrogen is converted into
helium, the core will shrink, allowing
the outer layers of the Sun to move
closer to the centre, and experience
a stronger gravitational force.
As a result, the fusion process
speeds up, and the Sun will become
bigger, brighter and hotter, until it
runs out of hydrogen fuel.
This will begin in approximately 5.4
billion years, and then the Sun will be
slowly reduced to a white dwarf.
82 Tell Me Why
What are the chances of another
mass extinction?

I n the last half-billion years, life on

Earth has been nearly wiped out five
times -by such things as climate
change, an intense ice age, volca
noes, and a space rock that smashed
into the Gulf of Mexico 65 million
Evidence of L ife
years ago, obliterating the dino
saurs,- and several other species. Traces of water and
Now it seems that we are facing organic molecules
another mass extinction- this time, it have been found on

is caused by humans. Studies have Mars and the Sat

urn's satellite,
shown that the current extinction
Titan. These are
rate of certain species is almost 100
considered to be the
times the normal rate.
building blocks of
Actually, that's only taking into
life.Scientists
account the kinds of animals we
believe that they
know the most about. The Earth's
provide evidence
oceans and forests host an untold that life may exist
number of species, many of which elsewhere too.
will probably disappear before we
even get to know them.
The most obvious reason for these
extinctions is global warming,
caused by humans. But other events
can also occur. A comet or asteroid
could crash on Earth as has hap
pened before, or stars may explode.
We have no control over any of
these catastrophes that may bring
about the next mass extinction.
Hopefully, this will not happen for
thousands of years yet.
EARTH 83

Why are asteroids a threat to the
Earth's future?
Since it was formed over 4.6 billion
years ago, the Earth has been hit
many times by asteroids and comets
whose orbits bring them into the
inner solar system.
There is strong scientific evidence
that such collisions have played a
major role in the mass extinctions of
the past. There is always the dan
ger that such a collision can occur in
the future too. Most of the asteroids
and comets in our solar system
Asteroid entering Earth 's Atmosphere
pose no danger to our
planet.
Generally, they burn
themselves up before
hitting the Earth. But, for
every thousand or so of
those objects, there is
one with an orbit that
crosses that of Earth,
which doesn't burn up.
This definitely raises the
possibility of a future col
lision.
The biggest difference
between the two celes
tial bodies is their com
position. Comets are
composed of ice, dust,
and rock, whereas aster
oids are made up of met
als and rock.
Comet or asteroid
there is no doubt that a
collision with one of them
cou ld cause another
mass extinction in the
future.
How did the mythological sto ends, and religions of the dif
ries about the Earth start? ferent civilizations and cultures
of the ancient world, including
I n ancient times, our ances the Ancient Greek, Egyptian,
tors gazed in awe at the Sun, Roman, and Indian civiliza
Moon, and stars and wondered tions. What is really surprising
how they came into existence. though, is the remarkable sim
They trembled with fear ilarity that these mythologies
when lightning flashed and have with one another.
thunder crashed, when the
Earth shook, and when winds
roared. They welcomed life
giving rains, and were fasci
nated by the towering moun
tains and by the restless seas
and oceans.
In trying to figure out an
explanation for all these won
drous phenomena, they wove
stories about them. These
evolved into the myths, leg-
EARTH 85
 Who was Geb?
Dear god,
kind l y avoid
l aughter.
I n Ancient Egypt, Geb was wor
shipped as the Earth God. He was
the provider of crops and a healer.
The Ancient Egyptians believed
that his laughter caused earth
quakes!
Since, he was God of the Earth,
all life on the Earth and below it,
was his domain. To show his pow
ers for making life from the Earth,
Geb is sometimes drawn with flow
ers coming out of his elbow.
He was also responsible for the
dead bodies beneath the Earth, and
their tombs. So, Geb was also con
sidered to be the God of Death.
He was one of the gods that sat in
judgment when a dead person's
heart was weighed on scales to
determine his fate in the afterlife.
Geb was often depicted as a male
figure with the head of a goose.
Sacred Story
The word 'myth'
comes from the
Greek word 'mythos',
which means a
'spoken or written
story', or also a
'sacred story'.
Dev Nath

86 Tell Me Why
 A Change
The height of Mount Everest has changed!
The earlier known height of 8 metres
was established by the Indian govern
ment's survey in 1952-54. This value was
used by most researchers, and publishers
until 1999. But the latest surveys using
Global Positioning System (GPS) suggests that the height of
Mount Everest is 8850 metres!

Who was the Sumerian god of the religious centre of Mesopo

the Earth and air? tamia.
According to Sumerian
M ore than three thousand mythology, Enlil, who was con
years ago in the land that was sidered to be the 'father of the
then called Mesopotamia, and gods', was banished to the
is now known as I raq and world of the dead by the other
Kuwait, an ancient civilization gods, for certain wrongs that
known as the Sumerian Civili he committed.
zation flourished. The Sumeri
ans had many gods and
goddesses, and one of them
was Enlil. He was God of the
lands and of the Earth. He
was a very powerful god, who
held the tablets of destiny.
These tablets gave him con
trol over the fate of Man. Enlil
himself is depicted as wearing
a crown with horns. His tem
ple, the 'mountain house' was
located in the city of Nippur,
EARTH 87

Painting of Gaea on an Ancient Pot
spangled sky, the mag
nificent mountains, the
sweeping plains, the
tumultuous seas and the
winding rivers that make
this Earth so beautiful.
Gaea presided over
marriages, and was hon
oured as a prophetess.
She was supreme, and
the Greeks believed that
an oath sworn by Gaea
was the strongest, since
no one could escape
from the Earth.
She was also wor
shipped under the epi-
thet Anesidora, which
means 'giver of gifts'.

Who was Gaea?

G aea is the Earth goddess in

Greek mythology. Gaea was born
from Chaos, the great void of empti
ness within the Universe; She gave
birth to Pontus the sea, and Uranus
the sky.
Her offspring included the Titans,
six sons and six daughters. Gaea
was worshipped as the Universal
Mother, who not only created the
Universe, but also created the first
race of Gods and the first humans.
Gaea is responsible for the star
88 Tell Me Why
 Son,
don ' t go to the
end of the
E arth.

---- ------
,

What were the Mayan beliefs about the

Earth?

The Maya was an ancient civilization that

stretched throughout much of Central Amer
ica. Their universe was composed of kab, or
Earth which could be seen around them,
kan, or the sky above, where the invisible
gods lived and xibalba, or the watery under
world below where the invisible underworld
gods dwelt.
They believed that the Earth itself was flat
with four corners, each representing a differ
ent direction. Each direction also had a spe
cific colour- red for east, white for north,
black for west, and yellow for south- but the
centre was green.
Some Mayans believed that the sky was
multi-layered, and was supported at the cor
ners of the Earth by four gods of immense
physical strength called Bacabs. Others
believed it to be held up by four trees of dif
ferent colours. The Earth itself, according to
the Mayans, was the back of a giant croco
dile that rested in a pool of water lilies.
EARTH 89
Who is Pachamama?

The Incas had one of the great

est civilizations of Ancient Peru .
They worshipped the Sun God
I nti, and the Earth Goddess
Pachamama, as well as the Moon,
thunder, lightning and rainbows.
Their emperors were believed
to be descendants of the Sun Bhumi Devi is also
God, while the Earth Goddess honoured in many
Pachamama, whose name means other forms. She is
'World Mother' presided over worshipped as
planting and harvesting. Satyabhama, the wife
She was honoured at harvest of Lord Krishna and
festivals, and also at all other the divine Tamil poet,
festivals throughout the year. Andal.
She lived beneath the mountains Radha Nair

Pachamama, and when she quivered,

give us more
the Earth shook. Pachama
crops.
ma's sacred animals are
the puma and the snake.
The dragon is also
sacred to her . .. in fact,
she herself is viewed as a
benevolent d ragoness.
She is the G reat C reator
of the U niverse, and the
Universe itself. Pachama
ma teaches us to care for
her fertile world, and if
we do so, she will be
bou ntifu l .
90 Tell Me Why
Who is Bhumi Devi?
The Earth is revered as a
goddess in Hindu mythology.
Her name is Bhumi Devi, and
she is the Divine Mother Earth,
who gives life, nourishes, and
sustains.
She is also the divine wife of
Varaha, an avatar or incarna
tion of Lord Vishnu. In the sto
ry of their pairing, Bhumi Devi
takes on the role of the Earth,
while Varaha assumes the
form of a boar.
When Mother E-arth is car
ried off by the demon Hiran
yaksha, and submerged under
the vast ocean by the demons,
EARTH
Varaha comes to her aid, div
ing deep down into the great
waters.
At the bottom of the ocean,
he kills the demon and carries
Bhumi Devi on his snout,
above the water once again.
He then maps the Earth as it is
known today, sculpting moun
tains and valleys, and dividing
it into the continents.
Bhumi Devi plays a major
role in Ramayana, too, where
she is worshipped as the moth
er of Sita, who was found by
her father in a ploughed field. It
is believed that, when Sita
finally left her husband Rama,
she returned to Bhumi Devi.
91
Why is Prithvi important ?
H indus also worship Mother
Earth as the Goddess Prithvi.
She represents the feminine,
the creative, the cosmic ener
gy of the Universe.
She makes our life possible,
and sustains it. She represents
fertility, and is the source of all
plants and living things. God
dess Prithvi is never addressed
alone. She is always linked to
Oyaus who is the male deity
associated with the sky. They
are considered as the parents
who have created the world.
Thus Oyaus is often called the
father, and Prithvi is known as
mother.
Prithvi plays an important
role in Buddhism too. She is
depicted as protecting Gauta
rna Buddha, and as being a
witness to his Enlightenment.
She is a national personifica
tion in Indonesia, where she is
known as Ibu Pertiwi.

A Day for Earth

Earth Day,is
celebrated every year
on April 22nd On that
day,events are held to
demonstrate support
for environmental
protection. It was first
celebrated in 19 70.
The day is celebrated
in more than 193
countries each year.
In 19 70,a senator from Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson first con
ceived of this day. Protection, of the environment especially
our forests is an important part of Earth Day celebration. It is
envisaged to promote the idea of ecology,and highlight grow
ing concerns about different kinds of pollution.

92 Tell Me Why

Maori God
Who was the Earth Goddess of
the Maori civilization?
The Ancient Maori people of
New Zealand believed that
Rangi and Papa were the sky
father and the earth mother.
They were locked together in a
tight embrace. They had many
children, who were forced to
live in the cramped darkness
between them.
The children longed to live in
the light. Tumatauenga, the
fiercest of the children, pro
posed that the best solution
was to kill their parents. But his
EARTH
brother Tane disagreed. He
suggested that it would be bet
ter to push them apart, to let
Rangi be a stranger to them in
the sky above, while Papa
would remain below to nurture
them.
After many attempts, Tane,
god of forests and birds, forced
his parents apart. The parents
were heartbroken at being
separated.
Tawhirimatea the god of
storms and winds, could not
bear to hear the cries of his
parents, nor see the tears of
Rangi. He flew off to join Ran
gi, and his children include the
winds. Papa, the Earth God
dess, continued to weep for
her husband, and her tears are
the rain.
93
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FOR LUCKY WI NNERS

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94 Tell M e Why
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EARTH 95
 Winne6 of the Photo -2

PHOTO aUIZ2 WINNERS held in the FebruiJry iRe

TeR Ne ....,.
1. Shivam Gupta 6. Hari Govind
Q. No. 347/ Type 2/ Sector 3; B.H.E.l, Ranipur, E-3, 2"' Floor, Sankar Kalyan Flats, Peringavu,
Haridwar, Uttarakhand. Thrissur.
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Metropolis Apartment.Flat No BS7 [S-15), C/o. Bir Bahadur Singh, Near VMHE High School,
No - 1 , Bharathidasan Colony, KK Nagar, Chennai. Mahadeva Road, Siwan, Bihar.
3. Nandhu P.B. 8. Shreyan Kaushik
Nandhanam [KRA-1261, Kanchiyoor Konam, C/o.Deepak Sharma, Ambuja Cement ltd.,
Kattakada PO, Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala. Ganpati Plaza, Bhagat Chauraha, Beawar, Rajasthan.
4. Nrupa Patel 9. Sanath P Kulkarni,
48, Gokuldham Society, Dharmpur Road, C/o. Mr. B.V. Raghavendra, H No - 1 1-1872/22:Kiran'
Abrama Taluka,Valsad, Gujarat. Building, Vasant Nagara, Kalaburgi, Karnataka.
5. Jaiveer Singh 10. Sreya S.
76, Preet Vihar, ludhiana, Punjab. Alinkal House, Tarur PO, Palakkad.

P H OTO aU I Z - 2 ANSW E RS

1. Sir Isaac Newton 2. Albert Einstein 3. Guglielmo Marconi

4. Wilhelm Roentgen 5. Jagadish Chandra Bose

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96 Tell Me Why

Question sent
Naveentamilarasan, on e-mail.
Send us your questions
E mail: tellmewhy@mmp.in
EARTH
Do all tigers look similar?
No, not really. In fact, no two
tigers are exactly similar. Even
though they appear to be similar,
their pattern of stripes are differ
ent.
Just like no two humans have
the same fingerprints, no two
tigers have the same pattern of
stripes. That means, tigers can
be identified by their stripe pat
terns.
Besides that the marking on a
tiger's forehead too, is unique
and is known as 'mark of wang'.
Indhu Thomas
97
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