Analyze and Conclude
1. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, which areas on the Earth get the most concentrated light? Which areas get the most concentrated light when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere?
When it is winter in the Northern hemisphere, the light from the sun is going to be directed towards the Southern hemisphere. When it is summer in the Northern hemisphere, the light from the sun isn’t going to shine as much on the Southern hemisphere since it isn’t directed on it, and it would be winter there.
2. Compare your observations of how the light hits the area halfway between the equator and the North Pole during winter and during summer.
During winter the area is only hit by dimmer light, and the squares are stretched out and look like rectangles. The light is faint. However, in summer, when the light is more direct, the light is a lot stronger and the squares are square looking.
3. If the squares projected on the ball from the acetate become larger, what can you infer about the amount of heat distributed in each square?
Where the light from the flashlight (sun) hits more directly, the squares are more square- shaped. However, right above and below the squares are more stretched out and rectangular, and the light isn’t as strong which means that it is indirect light. The normal sized squares receive more light than the stretched out ones, since all the light from the sun is concentrated in one place. With the stretched out squares the light is being stretched out and is growing fainter, so therefore those areas of the globe are cooler.
4. According to your observations, which areas on Earth are consistently coolest? Which areas are consistently warmest? Why?
The areas closest to the equator are constantly warmest, since they are in the middle and always get at least a little light from the sun. The top and the bottom part of the earth, however, don’t always get a lot of light. This makes the North and the South Pole the coldest places on Earth.
5. What time of year will the tooth pick’s shadow be the longest? When will the shadow be shortest?
During the winter the toothpick’s shadow would be longer, and it would be shorter during summer. That is because during winter the light is coming at the toothpick from a less direct angle, making the shadow longer than if it was coming straight above it.
6. How are the amounts of heat and light received in a square related to the angle of the sun’s rays?
When a square is under direct sunlight it appears like a square and isn’t stretched out at all like the squares around it. It then receives the most light and heat from the sun. The squares that are stretched out receive only limited light and heat, and squares with no light that you can’t even see receive little or no light and heat. Therefore, the more direct the sunlight is to the square the lighter and warmer it will be.
7. Use your observations of an Earth-sun model to write and explanation of what causes the seasons. How does the tilt of Earth’s axis affect the light received by Earth as it revolves around the sun?
The earth is tilted at a 23.5 degree angle as it orbits the sun. It revolves on itself once every 24 hours, and around the sun every 365 days, or a year. Since the earth is tilted, different parts of the earth hit the sunlight at different time periods of the year. When the light from the sun directly hits the northern hemisphere or above the equator it is summer there and winter in the southern hemisphere, and vice versa. When the earth has completed a full circle around the sun, it starts off from zero again, and repeats summer and winter. We have split this cycle into four seasons, summer, fall, winter and spring, to better understand and keep track of the seasons. That is how the 23.5 degree angle of the earth’s tilt affects the seasons.
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