ESS
Name __________________ Period. _______ Date ________
1. Use the simulation at the website http://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion3/animations/sunmotions.html
Start by: changing the date to match the top of each column, change the latitude to 41°N, slide the
bar to slow the speed, Uncheck ‘show the eclipse’ and ‘show the underside’. You will need to count
the hours of daylight as the sun moves.
Student Activities: Summary Chart
Summer
Fall
Winter
Spring
June 21
Sept. 21
Dec. 21
March 21
Amount of Day light
(hours)
Maximum Altitude
Height of Sun (degrees)
Average Monthly
Temperature
*See graph below
Direction of
sunrise/sunset
(relative to E-W)
Shadow Length
(longer, shorter or same
as stick figure)
1) Now, Change the latitude to 0° equator and 90°N for the North Pole on the simulation and
compare the Sun’s motion.
Average Monthly Temperature for
Oswego, IL (60543)
Ave. Monthly High
41°N
Ave. Monthly Low
84
82
80
75
71
65
60
60
63
62
55
50
47
40
35
30
30
20
16
48
43
33 34
20
ESS
Name __________________ Period. _______ Date ________
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
3. Use the Maximum Altitude Height of the Sun data (from the chart above) for each date to determine
the average difference in altitude throughout the year.
Date
Altitude (degrees)
Difference in Altitude
(degrees)
June 21
September 21
September 21
December 21
December 21
March 21
March 21
June 21
Average of the differences in altitude (degrees)
4. Would the difference in Altitude degrees vary from location on Earth?
Max altitude of Sun in the Sky
degrees
10
5
0
0
45
90
Hours of Daylight
15
20
5. Make a graph that relates the following four factors to the season for our region of the country.
Sept.
Dec.
March
June
Sept.
Dec.
March
AVE. Temperature
75
Direction of Sunrise/set
25
South
45
E-W
North
June
June
Sept.
Dec.
March
June
Sept.
Dec.
March
ESS
Name __________________ Period. _______ Date ________
Solar Energy Flashlight Activity: You need graph paper, a flashlight and globe with thermometers.
1. Shine a flashlight directly down at a piece of graph paper at a 90° angle, at a distance of about 10 cm.
the brightest outline where the light is shining. Label it 90°.
2. Determine the area of light by counting the number of squares. Record on the data table below.
3. Using a different colored pencil, repeat for angles 45° and 23.5°.
Angle of
light
Area
(squares)
Light intensity
(describe)
Location / Latitude
on Earth
Trace
Ave. Temps. (globe) March 21
°C
°F
90°
45°
23.5°
Online Ranking and Sorting Tasks below can be found at http://astro.unl.edu/interactives/
Task: Predict answers for each of the following in your pencil. Then check for the right answer (and write it down in
orange) by playing the game Seasons 2 at the Website http://astro.unl.edu/interactives/
Description: In each figure below a flashlight is shown projecting identical beams of light onto pieces of paper (A – D)
inclined at various angles.
66° angle
90° angle
45° angle
23° angle
A. Ranking Instructions: Rank the size of the illuminated AREA (from largest to smallest) on each piece of paper (A –
D).
Ranking Order: Largest 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ Smallest.
B.
Ranking Instructions: Rank the BRIGHTNESS (from brightest to dimmest) of each illuminated area on the pieces of
paper (A – D).
Ranking Order: Brightest 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ Dimmest.
C. Write an IF…THEN statement to describe the relationship shown above.
If ____________________________________________________________________________________,
Then _________________________________________________________________________________
ESS
Name __________________ Period. _______ Date ________
Task: Predict answers for each of the following in your pencil. Then check for the right answer (and write it down in
orange) by playing the game Seasons 3 at the Website http://astro.unl.edu/interactives/
In the figure below parallel beams of sunlight are projected through equal sized cutouts of a screen and then strike a
spherical globe at locations A - D. Note that A and C are at the same “latitude” on the globe.
A. Rank the brightness (from brightest to dimmest) of each illuminated area on the globe (A – D).
Ranking Order: Brightest 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ Dimmest
B. Imagine that you placed very sensitive thermometers against each illuminated area on the globe and measured its
temperature. Rank the temperature (from coolest to hottest) of each illuminated area (A – D).
Ranking Order: Coolest 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ Hottest
D. Write an IF…THEN statement to describe the relationship between area of brightness and TEMPERATURE.
If ____________________________________________________________________________________,
Then _________________________________________________________________________________
Task: Predict answers for each of the following in your pencil. Then check for the right answer (and write it down in
orange) by playing the game Seasons 4 at the Website http://astro.unl.edu/interactives/
A. Ranking Instructions: Rank the hours (from longest to shortest) that each location spends in daylight during each
24 hour period. (* Hint: compare the lengths of the dotted lines)
Ranking Order:
Longest time 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ 5_____ Shortest time.
B. An equal volume of water was warmed by the Sun during one full 24 hour rotation at each location.
Rank the TEMPERATURE (from coolest to hottest) of the glasses of water at each location at the end of 24 hrs.
** Hint: what location is getting the most direct solar rays?
C. Ranking Order: Coolest 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ 5_____ Hottest
D. Write an IF…THEN statement to describe the relationship between hours of daylight and TEMPERATURE.
If __________________________________________________________________________________________
ESS
Name __________________ Period. _______ Date ________
1. Tilt the Earth the correct angle and in the SAME direction and draw a dotted red line for the axis
2. Place an X on the globe for 41°N latitude
3. Label each location with the correct date.
_____________
1. On June 21st, what latitude is receiving the most intense 90 directly overhead solar energy?
a. Equator 0
b. 23.5 North
c. 23.5 South
2. On December 21st, the North Pole is receiving ____________ hours of daylight.
3. Where are the Sun’s rays hitting at a direct 90 angle on March 21 and Sept. 21st? ________________
(* Draw a line from the Sun to show this)
4. Every location on Earth is experiencing ___________hours of daylight on March 21st and September 21st.
5. When its summer in the Northern Hemisphere, what season is it in the Southern Hemisphere? _______________
6. The Tropic of Capricorn and Tropic of Cancer are significant because they are ______________ degrees north and
south of the equator.