Everything Earth

Question: What is diatomaceous earth made of?

Answer: Diatomaceous earth is made from the fossilized remains of tiny marine organisms, particularly diatoms. It is used as a natural insecticide.

Question: How much of the Earth is covered with oceans?

Answer: About 71 percent, or nearly three-quarters, of our planet’s surface is covered with oceans.

Question: Which of these is not part of Earth?

Answer: The stratosphere is part of Earth’s atmosphere, but not part of Earth itself. The other three are the planet’s layers.

Question: Which of these is not part of Earth’s crust?

Answer: The ionosphere is part of Earth’s atmosphere. The sima and sial are the upper crust, and the "Moho" discontinuity is at the base of the crust.

Question: How old is sunlight by the time it reaches Earth?

Answer: It takes 8 minutes for sunlight to travel from the Sun to Earth.

Question: Who was the first person to orbit Earth?

Answer: On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to circle Earth in space. John Glenn followed on February 20, 1962.

Question: Earth revolves this many meters per second at the equator:

Answer: Earth revolves 1,532 feet per second (467 meters per second) at the equator.

Question: What is Earth’s predominant environment?

Answer: Most of the world is covered by water, and most of that water is about 13,123 feet deep. Deep ocean is therefore the world’s most common environment.

Question: What is the reflectivity of Earth’s surface called?

Answer: The albedo effect refers to the reflectivity of Earth’s surface. About 30 percent of shortwave radiation is bounced back into space by clouds, dust, snow, and ice.

Question: What is the average surface temperature of Earth?

Answer: The average surface temperature on Earth is 57 ºF (14 ºC). It would be well below freezing were it not for greenhouse gases that trap warm air in the atmosphere.