Which way does it turn?
From West to East.
Looking from above
Imagine you are high above the North Pole, looking down at the Earth.
Which way do you think the Earth turns?
What this lesson covers
The idea
Viewed from above the North Pole, the Earth rotates anti-clockwise, that is, from West to East.
Looking from above
Imagine you are high above the North Pole, looking down at the Earth.
Which way do you think the Earth turns?
- The same way as the hands of a clock
- The opposite way to the hands of a clock
- It does not turn at all
Turn the Earth
First look from above the North Pole. Then look from the side. A tiny person stands on the Earth.
Anti-clockwise, West to East
From above the North Pole the Earth turns the opposite way to the hands of a clock. The person is carried towards the East.
Viewed from above the North Pole, the Earth rotates anti-clockwise, that is, from West to East.
Notes
Viewed from above the North Pole, the Earth rotates anti-clockwise, that is, from West to East.
Check yourself
Viewed from above the North Pole, the Earth rotates …
The Earth rotates from …
A person standing on the Earth is carried towards the …
Anti-clockwise means turning …
- clockwise. Clockwise is the way the hands of a clock turn. The Earth turns the other way.
- up and down. The Earth does not move up and down. It turns round its axis.
- anti-clockwise — correct. Yes! It turns opposite to the hands of a clock.
- West to East — correct. Yes! A person on the Earth is carried towards the East.
- East to West. This is the direction in which the Sun seems to move. The Earth turns the other way, West to East.
- North to South. The axis runs from pole to pole. The Earth turns round it, not from north to south.
- North. Turning round the pole-to-pole axis does not carry a person towards the north.
- East — correct. Yes! The Earth turns from West to East.
- West. The Earth turns towards the East. It is the Sun that seems to go towards the West.
- only in the morning. Anti-clockwise describes a direction. It has nothing to do with the time of day.
- the same way as the hands of a clock. That is clockwise.
- the opposite way to the hands of a clock — correct. Yes! This is anti-clockwise.