1504

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/1504

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the calendar system in use?Julian calendar, characterized by a leap day every four years
2. What is the annual error of julian calendar?Approximately 11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the solar year
3. What made the year 1504 special in the calendar?1504 was a leap year in the Julian calendar, so February had an extra day, February 29.
4. Why did the Julian calendar need a change later?The extra day every four years made the calendar a little too long each year, and over centuries the dates drifted from the seasons, which led to the Gregorian reform.

Julian Calendar: A solar calendar introduced by Julius Caesar, featuring a leap day every four years, which was in use during 1504.
Solar Year (Tropical Year): The time it takes for the Earth to complete one orbit around the Sun, approximately 365.2422 days.
Gregorian Calendar: The internationally accepted civil calendar, a reform of the Julian calendar with a more accurate leap year system.
Intercalation: The act of inserting an extra day or month into a calendar to keep it synchronized with astronomical events.