Vocabulary
What is Earth's axis?
An imaginary line that passes through Earth's center and poles.
What causes seasons?
Earth's tilting on its axis while it orbits/revolves around the sun
Describe summer shadows at solar noon.
Very small or non-existent
Describe the earth's tilt in Summer in relation to the sun.
The axis is tilted toward the sun
Why is it cold in winter?
The sun's rays are less direct so we get less rays hitting us, so less energy.
What are seasons?
One of four periods of the year on Earth.
What is the tilt of Earth's axis?
23.5 degrees
Describe winter shadows at solar noon.
They are long.
What is special about the length of daylight in the summer?
The days are longer.
Describe the length of daylight in Spring/Fall.
Longer than winter, but shorter than sumer.
What is solar noon?
The point at which the Sun is the highest in the sky during the day.
What would happen if Earth had no tilt?
Earth would experience the same season all year long.
Why do shadows change length during the day?
Earth rotates on its axis in a 24-hour period.
This causes the Sun to change position in the sky which changes the angle the Sun's light strikes Earth.
This change in angles cause shadow lengths to change. Low angles create long shadows, and high angles create short shadows.
Why is it warmer in the Summer?
The sun's rays are more direct.
Describe the Earth's tilt in Spring/Fall in relation to the sun.
The axis is neither tilted towards, nor away.
What is solar energy?
A form of energy that reaches Earth from the Sun.
Fill in the blanks:
When it is _________ in the northern hemisphere, it is summer in the ________ hemisphere.
Winter, Southern
What are three important things to know about why and how Earth has seasons?
1.What is Earth has seasons because its axis is tilted as it revolves around the Sun?
2. When the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, we have summer.
3. When the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, we have winter.
Describe the Earth's tilt in the winter in relation to the sun.
The axis is tilted away.
Describe the temperatures in Spring/Fall.
More mild than Summer and Winter
What is a heliocentric orbit?
When bodies in our solar system orbit the Sun.
Why is there is a greater chance of precipitation falling as snow in January than in March in Central New York.
The northern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun in January, so Central New York gets indirect rays from the Sun, making temperatures colder.
What is the summer solstice and when is it?
The longest day of the year, June 21st
Describe the length of day in Winter.
The days are shorter.
Why are Spring and Fall so similar in regards to length of day and weather?
Their tilt is the same - neither toward nor away.