Special Days in the Year
Vocabulary
Sun and Heating
Moving in Space
The axis
100
True or False. There are less hours of sunlight in the summer.
False
100
What do we call a large, hot ball of gas?
Star
100
When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere what season is it in the Southern Hemisphere?
Winter
100
What term means "traveling around something?"
revolution
100
What would happen is we had a zero degree tilt to our axis?
We would not have seasons.
200
What do we call the two days of the year when there are equal hours of day and night? BONUS What two months of the year does this happen. BONUS BONUS What two seasons of the year does this happen?
Equinox. Bonus: March and September. Bonus Bonus: Spring and Fall
200
What do we call a period of the year identified by changes in hours of daylight or weather?
Seasons
200
In the summer the axis points________ the Sun. In winter the axis points __________ _________ the Sun.
Summer the axis points TOWARDS the Sun. In winter the axis points AWAY FROM the Sun.
200
What do we call the path or length of time it takes one object to travel around another object?
An orbit
200
At what degree does Earth tilt on its axis?
23.5 degrees
300
What do we call a day of the year when Earth's North Pole is leaning either towards or away from the Sun?
Solstice
300
What is the name of the reference star that is pointed to by Earth's North Pole?
The North Star
300
True or False. When the angle of the Sun shining on the Earth is 90 degrees you can say that it is most direct.
true
300
What term means "spinning on an axis"?
Rotation
300
What is an axis?
An imaginary axel that the planet spins on.
400
What two seasons are there solstices? Bonus: What months are the two solstices?
Summer and Winter. Bonus: June and December
400
What is solar energy?
The energy from the Sun.
400
True or False. When the Sun's angle is less direct there is more light energy hitting the Earth, and it heats more.
False
400
What is the shape of Earth's orbit around the Sun?
The Earth's orbit is slightly oval in shape.
400
What points does the axis pass through on Earth? (If you were to draw it where would it "stick out" of your Earth?)
The axis passes through the North and South Poles.
500
If it was the summer solstice what would you know about the length of the day?
The summer solstice is the longest day of the year. (The Sun shines for the longest number of hours).
500
What do we call the angle at which light passes through the atmosphere; measured from Earth's surface? BONUS: If you wanted to heat the Earth what would be the most effective angle for the Sun to hit the Earth's surface?
Solar angle. Bonus: a 90 degree angle causes the greatest heating.
500
How does beam spreading affect the heating of the planet?
When the Sun's rays spread out there is less energy on any one part of the planet, and it feels cooler.
500
Is our distance from the Sun the reason that it is colder in winter and warmer in summer?
NO!!! We are actually closer to the Sun in winter. The tilt of the axis makes the different hemispheres point towards or away from the Sun and this is what causes the seasons.
500
How long does it take Earth to spin one complete ROTATION on its axis?
24 hours
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