Tracking the Sun
Your name _________________________________
Energy Systems, 9 Jan 2012
I. Survey your understanding of the apparent motion of the Sun.
Answer the following questions based on your day-to-day observations of the Sun as it crosses
the sky. Although your answers are approximations, try to be as exact as possible, e.g. “the Sun
is halfway between straight above and due north on the horizon.”
1) When did the Sun rise in Olympia this morning? (5 am? 7 am? 9 am? other?
specify to the hour, if you can)
2) Where did it rise? (e.g. N, S, E, W? other? be specific)
3) When and where did it rise one month ago? (earlier? Later? Same location? If
different, where?)
4) When and where will it rise one month from now?
5) When and where will the Sun set in Olympia this evening?
6) When and where will it set in mid-March? (earlier? Later? Same location? If
different, where?)
7) Where in the sky would you look to (try to) see the Sun, in Olympia at noon today?
(N, S, E, W? Close to the horizon? Close to the Zenith, i.e. the top of the sky?)
8) Where was the Sun in Olympia at noon one month from now? (Closer to the horizon?
Closer to the Zenith?
9) Where will the Sun in Olympia be at noon in midsummer? (Closer to the horizon?
Closer to the Zenith?
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10) At noon on a clear day in Washington, does a south-facing window get more sunlight
during winter or summer?
11) Does the Sun ever shine on the north side of a house in Washington?
12) At what moment during the year is the Sun highest in the sky?
13) When is the Sun directly overhead, in Olympia?
14) Does the height of the Sun at noon depend on your latitude (your position N / S on the
globe)?
15) Does the height of the Sun at noon depend on your longitude (your position E / W on
the globe)?
16) What causes the change of seasons?
17) Why are summers in the northern hemisphere hotter than winters?
II.
Your prof will record your survey questions / predictions.
III.
Then you will test your predictions by building and using a Solar Motion
Demonstrator, invented by __ of Kenyon College
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Your teammates: ______________________
_______________________
II. Investigate more advanced questions with your solar motion model.
* Construct the solar motion model and, with your group, use it to check your answers to
questions 1-15.
* Mark changed answers to 1-15 with a different pen. These are points of learning.
* Then use your model to help you answer questions 16-20.
18) How far north does one have to travel to arrive at a place where the Sun never rises
during the winter solstice?
19) How far north does one have to travel to arrive at a place where the Sun never sets during
the summer solstice?
20) What is the path of the Sun in the sky in Olympia at the following times of year:
a) autumnal equinox? b) winter solstice? c) vernal equinox? d) summer solstice?
21) What is the path of the Sun in the sky at the equator at the following times of year:
a) autumnal equinox? b) winter solstice? c) vernal equinox? d) summer solstice?
22) What is the path of the Sun in the sky at the north pole at the following times of year:
a) autumnal equinox? b) winter solstice? c) vernal equinox? d) summer solstice?
Additional points, insights, or questions?
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