Period Definition
A period is the time for a cycle to complete once, like Earth's rotation or orbit. For example, Earth's rotation defines day and night and takes place over a 24 hour period.
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Earth’s Orbit & Rotation
Fun Facts
- Earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours.
- Earth orbits around the sun every 365.25 days.
- Since it takes Earth a period of 365.25 days to orbit the sun, we add an extra day to our calendar every 4 years.
Why Do We Need To Know About Period
Learning how Earth spins and moves around the sun over certain periods of time helps us know why we have day and night and why we see different stars throughout the year. This is really important for people who need to find their way when traveling. It also affects our daily lives, when we work, and some of our traditions.
Knowing about the period of Earth’s spin also helps us keep time all over the world. Twenty four time zones help us talk and do business with people in other places. Leap years and using pendulums to show how the Earth spins are ways we make sure our timekeeping is right. This shows how important understanding time and basic science is for technology, teaching, and making calendars.
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