MCQ Detailed View

The Earth is not a perfect sphere. Its shape is called an oblate spheroid, meaning it is slightly flattened at the poles and slightly bulging at the equator. This happens because of the Earth’s rotation, which causes centrifugal force at the equator, making the middle slightly wider than the poles.

If we measure the Earth from pole to pole, it is slightly shorter than the distance across the equator. This small difference makes the Earth’s shape not perfectly round, but close enough that it may look spherical from space.

The term spherical means perfectly round like a ball, which is not exactly true for Earth. Elliptical or oval are also incorrect because they do not accurately describe the three-dimensional bulge of the planet.

Understanding the Earth’s shape is important in physics and geography because it affects many phenomena, such as gravity, satellite orbits, navigation, and map-making. Gravity is slightly weaker at the equator due to the outward bulge, and satellites must take the oblate shape into account to orbit correctly.

In short, the Earth is an oblate spheroid: slightly flattened at the poles and slightly wider at the equator. This shape explains why distances, gravity, and other physical properties vary slightly depending on location. Knowing this helps students understand the real structure of our planet and the physics behind it.