the homework is in for tomorrow.HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2006-06-22 04:18:33 · 18 answers · asked by ANDREW R 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Homework Help
LONG ONE:
Splitting the year up into 365 days was easy - everybody knew what a day was, and everybody knew what a year was, so they just counted up how many days there were in a year. This happened all over the world, many times, independently in different cultures. When one group of invaders came along to politely ask another group if they would mind, say, changing their religion, the agressors would say "You've got a day to think about it before we smash you up". It's unlikely these two nations would speak the same language, so this would take a lot of hand waving and pointing at the sun and moon to get across, but across it would nevertheless be gotten. There was no need to go into deep astronomical calculations, because the concept of a day was universal - even newly introduced mortal enemies who didn't have a word or belief in common, would at least have a measurement in common.
Good story below
Bryan crooked his right thumb to touch the base of his right index finger (please follow along and do it, too), and said, in much the same way as a Sumerian might have, 4,000 years ago... "One."
He then moved up a notch - see that? Each of your fingers has three distinct segments. I never really noticed that! - and, touching now the middle segment of his right index finger with his right thumb, he said... "Two."
I think you may sense where this is leading. By the time your right thumb has counted each of the three segments of his neighboring four fingers, you're up to 12.
Long before people were reading with their lips, one imagines, they were counting with their fingers.
So a day was divided into 12 segments, called hours; and, too, the night.
What a lovely story. It was all the ancient Sumerians' fault! The ancient Babylonians inherited this quaint practice, and presumably added their own 60-fetish to divide the hours into 60 minutes, and the minutes into 60 seconds. The Babylonian fascination with the number 60 is interesting in itself - so interesting, in fact, that it suggests the Babylonians were the ones who split up the day, using geometric series:
2006-06-22 04:26:52 · answer #1 · answered by Alikat 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I don't think these answers are what you're looking for, are they?
It's not "Why is a day as long as it is?" The question is "Why is it divided into 24 hours and not 10, for example?" After all, everything else is decimal, why not hours in the day?
I don't know. I'll come back to this, if it stays open.
Oops. I didn't check all the answers. David E and Alikat got good answers. I wouldn't want to have to choose between them.
EDIT
David E changed his name to Wasp Bloke.
We know who Wasp Bloke is. Whoop De Do!
2006-06-22 04:31:44 · answer #2 · answered by Frog Five 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are 24 hours in a day because that is the time it takes ofr the Earth to rotate fully on its axis, this means it is light and dark in the 24 hours and that is a day
2006-06-22 04:23:48 · answer #3 · answered by revolutionman1379 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because its the only way 2 divide the year equally 2 create the seasons and lunar paths etc, also it the length of time the earth takes 2 orbit the sun, if u on a planet closer 2 sun the days r shorter, further away its longer
2006-06-22 04:21:59 · answer #4 · answered by amie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because if not by the end of the week it would be dark at 1pm and light at 11pm and it takes the sun 24 to orbit the earth the same as the moon takes 24 hours to orbit the earth
hope this helps
2006-06-22 04:26:00 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is all to do with the earths rotations of the sun. It takes 24hrs for the earth to spin on its axis. Its all to do with orbital patterns.
Fact there is actually slightly more than 24hrs in a day hence the need to add a leap year (extra day) every 4 years.
Hope this helps!!!
2006-06-22 04:22:12 · answer #6 · answered by legalboozer2003 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it has nothing to with astronomy
take a circle and divide its 360degrees by 24, then do 360/60
it's all about effective use of basic geometry in crafting a circular clock face with easy to use numbers
24 is just an arbitrary number - it could be 17 but try dividing 360 by 17
2006-06-22 04:28:45 · answer #7 · answered by blank 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a million year = 3 hundred and sixty 5 days. 3 hundred and sixty 5 days x 24 hours = 8760 hours in all. (i think of) yet , whether it truly is a bounce year, possibly, then there are 8784 hours in all. i'm undecided. (: basically needed to assist !
2016-10-31 07:19:43 · answer #8 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because that is how long it takes for the earth to turn a fully on its axis. It takes 365 days (a year) for the earth to orbit the sun,
2006-06-22 04:23:17 · answer #9 · answered by cate 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The way the earth spins on its axis.
The earth makes one full turn on its axis once every 24 hrs, hence, one doy is 24 hours long.
2006-06-22 04:22:34 · answer #10 · answered by smlybug06 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋