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Earth: The Unique Life-Sustaining Planet

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only known place in the universe to harbor life. It formed approximately 4.54 billion years ago. Earth rotates on its axis 365 times per year and its axis is tilted, producing seasons. The gravitational interactions between Earth and the Moon cause ocean tides and stabilize Earth's orientation. Earth's surface is divided into plates that migrate over millions of years. About 71% of the planet is covered in water and the remaining 29% is land with lakes and rivers. Earth's interior remains geologically active and powers the magnetic field. Life first appeared in oceans over 3.5 billion years ago and has diversified while shaping the atmosphere and surface.

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9 views1 page

Earth: The Unique Life-Sustaining Planet

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only known place in the universe to harbor life. It formed approximately 4.54 billion years ago. Earth rotates on its axis 365 times per year and its axis is tilted, producing seasons. The gravitational interactions between Earth and the Moon cause ocean tides and stabilize Earth's orientation. Earth's surface is divided into plates that migrate over millions of years. About 71% of the planet is covered in water and the remaining 29% is land with lakes and rivers. Earth's interior remains geologically active and powers the magnetic field. Life first appeared in oceans over 3.5 billion years ago and has diversified while shaping the atmosphere and surface.

Uploaded by

Bdour
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Earth, otherwise known as the world,[n 5] (Greek: Gaia;[n 6] Latin: Terra[26]) is the third

planet from the Sun and the only object in the Universe known to harbor life. It is the densest
planet in the Solar System and the largest of the four terrestrial planets.
According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence, Earth formed about 4.54 billion
years ago.[27][28][29] Earth's gravity interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the
Moon, Earth's only natural satellite. During one orbit around the Sun, Earth rotates about its axis
over 365 times, thus an Earth year is about 365.26 days long.[n 7] Earth's axis of rotation is tilted,
producing seasonal variations on the planet's surface.[30] The gravitational interaction between the
Earth and Moon causes ocean tides, stabilizes the Earth's orientation on its axis, and gradually
slows its rotation.[31]
Earth's lithosphere is divided into several rigid tectonic plates that migrate across the surface
over periods of many millions of years. About 71% of Earth's surface is covered with water,
mostly by its oceans.[32] The remaining 29% is land consisting of continents and islands that
together have many lakes, rivers and other sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere.
The majority of Earth's polar regions are covered in ice, including the Antarctic ice sheet and the
sea ice of the Arctic ice pack. Earth's interior remains active with a solid iron inner core, a liquid
outer core that generates the Earth's magnetic field, and a convecting mantle that drives plate
tectonics.
Within the first billion years of Earth's history, life appeared in the oceans and began to affect the
Earth's atmosphere and surface, leading to the proliferation of aerobic and anaerobic organisms.
Some geological evidence indicates that life may have arisen as much as 4.1 billion years ago.
Since then, the combination of Earth's distance from the Sun, physical properties, and geological
history have allowed life to evolve and thrive.[33][34] In the history of the Earth, biodiversity has
gone through long periods of expansion, occasionally punctuated by mass extinction events.
Over 99% of all species[35] that ever lived on Earth are extinct.[36][37] Estimates of the number of
species on Earth today vary widely;[38][39][40] most species have not been described.[41] Over 7.4
billion humans live on Earth and depend on its biosphere and minerals for their survival. Humans
have developed diverse societies and cultures; politically, the world has about 200 sovereign
states.

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