Facts about the world World awareness week -– February 2016 The world is a fascinating place – what is the most interesting fact we can find? Myton Park primary school

: Life on Earth The Earth is almost Five billion years old but, life has existed only for the last 150 million to 200 million years. This is estimated to be about 5% of its lifetime. Life on Earth The Earth is almost five billion years old, but life has existed only for the last 150 million to 200 million years. This is estimated to be about 5% of its lifetime. Life on Earth The Earth is almost Five billion years old but, life has existed only for the last 150 million to 200 million years. This is estimated to be about 5% of its lifetime.

There are 194 countries in the world with a combined population of 7,403,033,541 http://www.geohive.com/earth/population_now.aspx The number of countries can be difficult to measure as some countries change their status due to political reasons – but these are not always recognised by other countries. How many flags can you name? Can you take the world flag challenge? http://www.triviaplaza.com/world-flags-1-quiz/#

: Life on Earth The Earth is almost Five billion years old but, life has existed only for the last 150 million to 200 million years. This is estimated to be about 5% of its lifetime. It takes 8 minutes 17 seconds for light to travel from the Sun’s surface to the Earth. The sun is at the heart of the solar system. All of the bodies in the solar system — planets, asteroids, comets, etc. — revolve around it. The distance from Earth to the sun is called an astronomical unit, or AU, which is used to measure distances throughout the solar system. The AU has been defined as 149,597,870,700 meters (92,955,807 miles). – See more at: http://www.space.com/17081-how-far-is-earth-from-the-sun.html#sthash.OyJKXMiS.dpuf

: Life on Earth The Earth is almost Five billion years old but, life has existed only for the last 150 million to 200 million years. This is estimated to be about 5% of its lifetime. The largest ever hailstone weighed over 1kg and fell in Bangladesh in 1986.

: Life on Earth The Earth is almost Five billion years old but, life has existed only for the last 150 million to 200 million years. This is estimated to be about 5% of its lifetime. The tallest tree ever was an Australian eucalyptus – In 1872 it was measured at 435 feet tall.

: Life on Earth The Earth is almost Five billion years old but, life has existed only for the last 150 million to 200 million years. This is estimated to be about 5% of its lifetime. The largest desert in the world, the Sahara, is 3,500,000 square miles.

: Life on Earth River Facts The Earth is almost Five billion years old but, life has existed only for the last 150 million to 200 million years. This is estimated to be about 5% of its lifetime. River Facts The River Nile is the longest river in the world. It measures 6,695 kilometres from its source in Burundi, along the White Nile, to its delta on the Mediterranean Sea. Officially, the shortest river is the D River, Oregon, USA, which is just 37 metres long. The biggest river in the world, measured by the amount of water that flows down it, is the Amazon. On average 120,000 cubic metres (about 20 swimming pools' worth) of water flows out of its mouth every second. The longest river of Europe is the River Volga. It flows primarily in a southerly direction through Russia into the Caspian Sea. The second longest is the Danube, flows west to east before entering the Black Sea. Find out more about Rivers; http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/rivers/longest.htm

Mountain Peak Continent Height Mountains Did you know? Some of the highest mountains are at the bottom of the sea. Hawaii is at the top of a volcanic mountain in the Pacific Ocean. More than half the mountain is below water. The largest range of mountains is in the Atlantic Ocean. Mountain Peak Continent Height Mount Everest Asia 8,850 m Aconcagua South America 6,959 m Mount McKinley (Denali) North America 6,194 m Kilimanjaro Africa 5,895 m Mount Elbrus Europe 5,642 m Vinson Massif Antarctica 4,897 m Carstensz Pyramid Mount Kosciuszko (The highest point on the Australian landmass ) Australia - Oceania 4,884 m 2,228 m

What amazing fact can you come up with? Find one, print it out and we will make a fascinating facts book. I need volunteers to create chapters, create a front page, write a blurb and put the book together next week please. Let me know if you want to volunteer please.