1. Why did people in olden times think that the earth is flat? 2. Name the seven continents and the five oceans. 3. What are latitudes and longitudes? 4. What is the difference between Greenwich Mean Time and Indian Standard Time? 5. Define the time zones in brief.
Answer (1)
Why did people in olden times think that the earth is flat?
In ancient times, people believed that the Earth was flat because this was something that could be observed from a human perspective. To a person standing on the surface, the land looks flat, and early travelers who did not venture very far would not have seen any strong evidence to suggest otherwise. Additionally, the concept of a flat Earth was prevalent due to mythologies, lack of sophisticated navigational tools, and limited scientific exploration beyond familiar territories.
Name the seven continents and the five oceans.
The seven continents are:
Africa
Antarctica
Asia
Europe
North America
Australia
South America
The five oceans are:
Pacific Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Indian Ocean
Southern Ocean
Arctic Ocean
What are latitudes and longitudes?
Latitudes and longitudes are a coordinate system used to determine the location of a place on Earth.
Latitudes are horizontal lines that run parallel to the equator and measure the distance north or south from the equator. They range from 0° at the Equator to 90° at the poles.
Longitudes are vertical lines that run from the North Pole to the South Pole and measure the distance east or west from the Prime Meridian, which is set at 0° in Greenwich, England.
What is the difference between Greenwich Mean Time and Indian Standard Time?
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. Indian Standard Time (IST) is the time observed throughout India and Sri Lanka, which is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT (GMT+5:30). This means that when it is noon in Greenwich, it is 5:30 PM in India.
Define the time zones in brief.
Time zones are regions of the Earth that have the same standard time. These are established based on lines of longitude with most zones set at one-hour intervals, accounting for 15 degrees of Earth’s rotation per hour (since the Earth spins 360 degrees in roughly 24 hours). Each time zone is generally 15 degrees of longitude wide, though some regions may differ slightly due to political or practical reasons. Time zones help synchronize time across regions in a way that reflects the position of the sun, so that it appears to rise and set at similar times across different locations within the same time zone.
