Chapter – 1
THE EARTH IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Celestial bodies-

• Shining objects in the sky like Sun, Moon; made up of gases; own heat and light (stars, e.g. Sun)

Constellations-

• Various patterns formed by different groups of stars

Pole Star-

• North star indicates the north direction

Planets-

• Do not have their own heat and light; lit by the light of the stars

Asteroids

• Tiny bodies which also move around the sun.
• between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

Meteoroids

• The small pieces of rocks which move around the sun
• Sometimes these meteoroids come near the earth and tend to drop upon it.
• During this process due to friction with the air they get heated up and burn.
• It causes a flash of light.
•  Sometimes, a meteor without being completely burnt, falls on the earth and creates a hollow.

The Sun

• Centre of the solar system
• Made up of extremely hot gases
• Provides the pulling force that binds the solar system
• Ultimate source of heat and light for the solar system
• About 150 million km away from the earth

Planets (8 planets)

• MY VERY EFFICIENT MOTHER JUST SERVED US NUTS
• Move around the sun in fixed paths (paths- elongated)- orbits.
• Venus is considered as ‘Earth’s-twin’ because its size and shape are very much similar to that of the earth.
• Till recently (August 2006), Pluto was also considered a planet.
• However, in a meeting of the International Astronomical Union, a decision was taken that Pluto like other celestial objects (Ceres, 2003 UB313) discovered in recent past may be called ‘dwarf planets.”

The Earth

• 3rd nearest planet to the sun.
• In size- 5th largest planet.
• It is slightly flattened at the poles (Geoid shape)
• 2/3rd surface is covered by water (blue planet)

The Moon (Earth’s satellite)

• Diameter -one-quarter that of the earth.
• The moon moves around the earth in about 27 days.
• Neil Armstrong was the first man to step on the surface of the moon on 21 July 1969.
• Whitish broad band, like a white glowing path across the sky on a clear starry night i.e. cluster of millions of stars (Milky)- Akash Ganga
• A galaxy is a huge system of billions of stars, and clouds of dust and gases.
• A Satellite is a celestial body that moves around the planets in the same way as the planets move around the sun.
• Benefits- To gather information and communication.
• Examples- INSAT, IRS, EDUSAT, etc.

Chapter- 2
GLOBE : LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES

Latitude

• Parallels of latitudes- parallel circles from the equator up to the poles
• Chandrapur, Maharashtra (India) is situated at 20° N latitude and Belo, Brazil (South America) Horizonte is situated at 20° S latitude.

Lines of references are called the meridians of longitude

Tonga Islands (in the Pacific Ocean) and Mauritius Islands (in the Indian Ocean) are situated on the same latitude (i.e., 20° S)

• Unlike parallels of latitude, all meridians are of equal length
• Prime Meridian- Its value is 0° longitude and from it we count 180° eastward as well as 180° westward.
• The Prime Meridian and 180° meridian divide the earth into two equal halves, the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere

• As the earth rotates from W-> E, those places east of Greenwich will be ahead of Greenwich time and those to the west will be behind it
• The earth rotates 360° in about 24 hours, which means 15° an hour or 1° in four minutes.
• Thus, when it is 12 noon at Greenwich, the time at 15° east of Greenwich will be 15 × 4 = 60 minutes, i.e., 1 hour ahead of Greenwich time, which means 1 p.m.
• But at 15° west of Greenwich, the time will be behind Greenwich time by one hour, i.e., it will be 11.00 a.m. Similarly, at 180°,

India

• In India, the longitude of 82½° E (82° 30'E) is treated as the standard meridian (Indian Standard Time (IST))
• India located east of Greenwich at 82°30'E is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT.
• So it will be 7:30 p.m. in India when it is 2:00 p.m. noon in London
• The earth has been divided into twenty-four time zones of one hour each. Each zone thus covers 15° of longitude
• Russia- 11 zones

Chapter- 3
MOTIONS OF THE EARTH

• Rotation is the movement of the earth on its axis.
• The movement of the earth around the sun in a fixed path or orbit is called Revolution.
• The axis of the earth which is an imaginary line, makes an angle of 66½° with its orbital plane.
• The circle that divides the day from night on the globe is called the circle of illumination.

Chapter- 5
MAJOR  DOMAINS OF THE

The climbers experience problems in breathing due to this decrease in the density of air

Continents

Asia-

• Largest continent; It covers about 1/3rd  of the total land area of the earth.
• The continent lies in the Eastern Hemisphere.
• The Tropic of Cancer passes through this continent.
• Asia is separated from Europe by the Ural mountains on the west
• The combined landmass of Europe and Asia is called the Eurasia (Europe + Asia).

Europe-

• The Arctic Circle passes through it.
• It is bound by water bodies on three sides.

Africa-

• 2nd largest continent after Asia.
• The Equator or 0º latitude runs almost through the middle of the continent; large part of Africa lies in the Northern Hemisphere.
• It is the only continent through which the Tropic of Cancer, the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn pass.
• The continent is bound on all sides by oceans and seas.
• world’s longest river the Nile, flows through Africa.

North America-

• 3rd largest continent; It is linked to South America by a very narrow strip of land called the Isthmus of Panama.
• The continent lies completely in the Northern and Western Hemisphere.
• Three oceans surround this continent

South America-

• Lies mostly in the Southern Hemisphere.
• The Andes, world’s longest mountain range, runs through its length from north to south
• World’s largest river- Amazon.

Australia

• smallest continent
• lies entirely in the Southern Hemisphere
• surrounded on all sides by the oceans and seas (island continent)

Antarctica-

• Completely in the Southern Hemisphere
• The South Pole lies almost at the centre of this continent.
• Located in the South Polar Region
• Many countries have research stations in Antarctica.
• Eg. India- Maitri and Dakshin Gangotri

Chapter- 6
 MAJOR LANDFORMS OF THE EARTH

Chapter- 7
OUR COUNTRY – INDIA

Chapter- 8

INDIA : CLIMATE, VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE

Broadly, the major seasons recognised in India are-

1. Cold Weather Season (Winter) December to February
2. Hot Weather Season (Summer) March to May
3. Southwest Monsoon Season (Rainy) June to September
4. Season of Retreating Monsoon (Autumn) October and November

NATURAL VEGETATION

TROPICAL RAIN FOREST-

• Heavy rainfall.
• So dense that sunlight doesn’t reach the ground
• Shed their leaves at different times of the year.
• Therefore, they always appear green and are called evergreen forest
• mahogany, ebony and rosewood
• Location- Andaman and Nicobar Islands, parts of North-Eastern states and a narrow strip of the Western slope of the Western Ghats

TROPICAL DECIDUOUS FORESTS

• Large part of our country
• Also called monsoon forests.
• Less dense.
• They shed their leaves at a particular time of the year.
• Sal, teak, peepal, neem and Shisham.
• Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and in parts of Maharashtra.

THORNY BUSHES

• Found in dry areas of the country.
• The leaves are in the form of spines to reduce the loss of water.
• Cactus, khair, babool, keekar
• Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Eastern slopes of Western Ghats and Gujarat

MOUNTAIN VEGETATION

• Found in the mountains according to the variation in height.
• With increase in height, the temperature falls.
• At a height between 1500 metres and 2500 metres most of the trees are conical in shape (coniferous trees)
• Chir, Pine and Deodar

MANGROVE FORESTS

• Can survive in saline water.
• They are found mainly in Sunderbans in West Bengal and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Sundari is a well-known species of trees in mangrove forests after which Sunderbans have been named

WILDLIFE

• National animal- Tiger
• Gir forest in Gujarat is the home of Asiatic lions.
• Elephants and one-horned rhinoceroses roam in the forests of Assam.
• Elephants are also found in Kerala and Karnataka.
• Camels and wild asses are found in the Great Indian desert and the Rann of Kuchchh respectively.
• Wild goats, snow leopards, bears, etc. are found in the Himalayan region.
• Some birds such as Pintail Duck, Curlews, Flamingo, Osprey and Little Stint migrate to our country in winter season every year.