History of Planet Earth for Kids

We live on a beautiful planet, Earth which is one among the eight planets that revolve around the Sun. It is beautiful because it looks like a ball painted with blue, green, and white when seen from the space. This article will help you learn and teach kid facts about earth. The universe is considered to be an infinite space and there are millions and millions of galaxies in it. A galaxy is a system that consists of billions of stars, planets, gas, and dust, all held together by the force of gravity. The galaxy in which the earth exists is known as the Milky way due to its milky appearance.

A collection of planets revolving around a star in a galaxy is known as a solar system. Earth is a part of a solar system that has eight planets that revolve around a star known as the Sun. The Sun is located at the center of the solar system and the eight planets revolve around it. These planets revolve around in their particular orbits which prevent them from colliding with each other. In the order of distance from the sun here are the eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

It is very important to teach your kid facts about Planet Earth because it is the planet that we live in. Earth is the third closest planet to the sun. Even though a lot of research and assumptions are there regarding the presence of life in the universe, the earth is the only known planet with living creatures. Earth rotates on its own and it revolves around the sun in a specific orbit. While we have days and nights because of the rotation of the earth, the revolution around the sun causes the change of different climates.

Kid Facts About Earth

Name Earth
Position Third in the solar system, after Venus
Distance from Sun Approximately 93 million miles or 150 million km
Diameter Approximately 7,920 miles or 12,740 km
Number of Moons One
Composition A terrestrial planet made from a rocky surface that contains oxygen, silicon, magnesium, aluminium, iron, potassium, sodium, and calcium
Rotation 23 hours and 56 minutes
Revolution 365.3 days

History of Earth

The earth was formed around 4.5 billion years ago according to radiometric dating and other scientific evidence. Among all the planets, Earth is the only one whose English name is not derived from Roman mythology. Earth was understood to be another planet in the sixteenth century during the time of Copernicus. Earth was said to be formed from the sun along with the rest of the planets. Earth’s crust, it’s outermost layer was formed due to repeated volcanic activity and outgassing.

The ocean was formed from the water vapor from various sources and it stayed in the water form due to the presence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Later on, the magnetic field of the earth was established which is the reason why the atmosphere of the earth didn’t get stripped away by the solar wind. The earth is divided into three basic layers- crust, mantle, and core. The crust is the layer on which we all live and what’s inside is molten lava.

Life on earth originated around four billion years ago when some chemical reactions lead to the formation of self-replicating molecules. Half a billion years later, the last common ancestor of all life arose from which the rest of the species evolved. Once photosynthesis was evolved, solar energy was directly used for the growth of life forms. Molecular oxygen that was formed as a result of photosynthesis reacted with the ultraviolet solar radiation and formed a protective ozone layer over the atmosphere of the earth. The ozone layer became a protective layer that shaded all living beings from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun.

Important kid facts about Earth

The shape of the Earth

Earth was believed to be a flat place and it was thought that if we go to the end of the land, we would actually fall off. Greek philosophers played a key role in establishing the fact that earth was round even though the thought was widely criticized at first. It was proved that earth was round when Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese sailor, completed a journey around the world.

To be exact, the earth is not spherical but oblate spheroidal; it is bulged around the area of the equator but flattened at the poles. Due to this, the pole to pole diameter of the earth is shorter than the diameter measured along the equator region. When you teach your kid facts about earth, you need to be specific about the shape since most of us think that the earth is perfectly spherical.

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Layers of the Earth

As mentioned above, the earth can be divided into three basic layers- crust, mantle, and core. The crust is the outermost layer and it ranges from 5–70 kilometers. Earth’s crust is made of different types of rocks namely, igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. The crust is the thinnest layer and it constitutes less than 1% of the total volume of the earth. There are two types of crust- continental and oceanic. While continental crust is the crust that is below the land, oceanic crust is the crust beneath the ocean. Oceanic crust is thinner than the continental crust. The crust is the coldest layer because it is exposed to the atmosphere and that is why we are able to live on it. Another important fact is that Earth and the planet Uranus have a similar atmosphere which creates a blue tint as it is mentioned in the article kid facts about Uranus.

The layer below the crust is called the mantle and it is made up of oxygen, silicon, and magnesium. The mantle is further divided into layers among which the topmost layer is solid. This layer forms the base for the crust and together they are called the lithosphere. Below this solid layer is the asthenosphere which is in semi-solid form. The lithosphere plates float on the asthenosphere.

The innermost layer of the earth is called the core since it is the core of the planet. This layer is made of iron and nickel, and the temperature in this layer ranges between 5000–6000°C. The outer portion of the core is in the molten state but the inner portion is solid due to high pressure in the area. Teaching kids facts about the earth are incomplete without teaching them about Earth’s different layers. According to the facts of Mars for kids, Earth and Mars are very different planets when it comes to temperature, size, and atmosphere.

Spheres of earth

There are different elements on earth that make it what it is and these elements are grouped into four major spheres- hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. The hydrosphere includes water on earth regardless of its form- solid, liquid, and gaseous. All the water in the hydrosphere is part of the water cycle which makes it change its physical state of existence continuously. The other kid facts about the earth are that water on earth is in the form of water vapor and 97% of earth’s water is salty and it is present in the sea and oceans. Only 3% of the water is freshwater out of which even a lesser percentage is available for human and animal consumption.

The lithosphere consists of all the solid material and land on the surface of the earth and its layers inside. The surface of the lithosphere is uneven because it consists of different landforms like the mountains, plains, and plateaus. We live in the outermost layer of the lithosphere where life is possible. All the plants and animals that you see are on the lithosphere.

Another kid facts about earth is the atmosphere of the earth consists of nitrogen (around 78%), oxygen (approximately 21%), and other gasses (approximately 1%) such as carbon dioxide (0.039%), argon (0.93%) and the rest consists of gases like krypton, neon, helium, and xenon. The atmosphere stretches 6200 miles (10,000 kilometers) from the surface of the earth to the outer space. As we move towards the outer space, the atmosphere becomes thinner. The atmosphere is further divided into the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and the exosphere. The protective ozone layer we talked about earlier is located in the stratosphere.

The biosphere is the fourth sphere of earth and it includes all the living organisms in it. This includes all the plants, animals, and microorganisms on earth. They form ecological communities which interact with the other spheres of the earth like hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere. Human beings come under the category of the biosphere and we make use of all the other spheres of the earth for our sustenance.

Moon- Earth’s natural satellite

Another kid facts about Earth are that the moon is earth’s only natural satellite and it revolves around the earth in its own orbit. It also rotates along as it revolves around the earth, much like earth’s relationship with the sun. The moon is the 5th largest natural satellite in the solar system and it is thought to have formed around 4.51 billion years ago. The moon shines brightly at night because it reflects the light from the sun and not because it has any light-producing ability. The current hypothesis about the formation of the moon is that the moon was formed after Earth collided with a Mars-sized body named Theia. The impact of the collision is believed to have created large-sized materials to the orbit of the earth which later on accelerated to form the moon.

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Humans have been able to land on the moon and scientists and astronomers have always taken a keen interest in investigating chances of life on the satellite. Until now, nothing has proved signs of life on the moon and it is not sure if there are possibilities of life in the future due to lack of evidence. It is vital that when you teach kid facts about earth, you also teach them about the moon. Fun facts about kids are always great with some information about the moon because it is the only celestial body that they see closely which makes them curious to know more about it.

Facts about the Moon

The moon is the only natural satellite that Earth has.
It is the fifth-largest moon in the solar system.
The moon orbits around the Earth every 27.3 days
The average distance of the moon from Earth is 238,857 miles.
The tides caused in the water bodies on Earth are caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon

The future of the earth is not really predictable but there are theories that suggest that life on earth will come to an end as the temperature of the sun will increase with time. However, it is pretty clear that the earth will not survive even until then due to serious issues like climate change, global warming, and ozone layer depletion that are the results of human activities. To save the earth, it is important that we live in an eco-friendly manner so that the future generations can live peacefully as long as earth stays in good condition.

Interesting Kid Facts About Earth – Facts That You Might Not Know About

Here are some of the cool facts about Earth for kids:

  • Earth isn’t really round as it is generally thought. Actually, it is more of a sphere-shaped planet, since it is flattened at the North and South poles.
  • The sphere shape of the Earth is because of the gravitational pull that gives it a few bumps and bulges.
  • If you thought there are 24 hours a day, you are wrong. Well, it turns out that a day on Earth is 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds. Now, this is a cool fact about Earth.
  • Most of the Earth’s surface is covered by the oceans, in fact, one-fourth of Earth is covered in water.
  • Earth was formed about 5 billion years old.
  • Contrary to popular beliefs, gravity is not the same everywhere on Earth. There are places that have more gravitational force than others.
  • Earth’s atmosphere is made up of 77% of nitrogen, 21% of oxygen, and other gases like argon and carbon dioxide.
  • It is the only planet in the solar system to have all three forms of water – gas, liquid, and solid. Now, that’s an interesting fact about Earth.
  • The Earth’s axis is tilted at an angle of 23 degrees, which is why we experience four seasons in a year.
  • Earth travels through space at 67,000 miles per hour.
  • The North Pole always points in the same direction.
  • You might be fascinated to know that the Earth is the only planet to have breathable oxygen levels.
  • Earth’s core is composed of nickel and iron. This composition with the tilting of the axis has led Earth to possess a very strong magnetic force.
  • The inner core of Earth is hotter than the surface of the Sun. Now, this is one cool fact about planet Earth.
  • Earth is the only planet that is not named after any mythical being or any Roman god. In fact, its name comes from the old English word “Ertha”, which means ground or soil.
  • You might be fascinated to know that the Earth’s surface has a lot fewer craters than the surfaces of most other planets.
  • Earth is the densest planet in the solar system.
  • Earth has a magnetic field around it that plays a very important role in protecting the planet from the solar winds.
  • The Earth’s atmosphere extends to an approximate distance of 6200 miles from the earth’s crust.
  • Earth is fragile. Basically, the surface of the Earth is split into two plates that float on a rocky mantle. Also, the core of Earth is made of liquid.
  • The Earth’s atmosphere protects the planets from the meteors and other outer space dangers.
  • Earth is located in “Goldilocks Zone” of the solar system. A Goldilocks Zone is something that is not too far from the sun to be cold and not too near to the Sun to be too hot. It is believed that life on Earth has been possible because of its location in the solar system.

These are some of the best kid facts about Earth. Hope you find all these cool facts about Earth helpful. If you know other facts that are not mentioned in this article, please let us know in the comments below.

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