Name: King Ayala Date: 08-01-2022 Student Exploration: Seasons Around the World Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions andprompts in the orange boxes. Vocabulary: Arctic Circle, axis, equator, equinox, North Pole, solar energy, solar intensity, solstice, Tropic of Cancer [Note to teachers and students: This Gizmo was designed as a follow-up to the Seasons in 3D Gizmo. We recommend doing that activity before trying this one.] Prior Knowledge Question (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) On June 21, the summer solstice , the Sun rises at 5:50 A . M . and sets at 7:16 P . M . in Honolulu, Hawaii. On the same day in Anchorage, Alaska, the sun rises at 4:20 A . M . and sets at 11:43 P . M . 1. How does the length of a summer day differ in these two locations? In Alaska, the sun rises and sets earlier. In Hawaii, the sun rises later and sets earlier. 2. How do you think the length of daylight on June 21 changes as you travel north towards the North Pole ? It will be lighter longer. Gizmo Warm-up For most places on Earth’s surface, the length and intensity ofsunlight received varies by season. Just how much can itvary? You will use the Seasons Around the World Gizmo to find out. To begin, set the Latitude on the DESCRIPTION pane to 89°, which is as close to the North Pole as the Gizmo allows. Movethe Simulation speed slider all the way to the right. Click Play ( ) and observe on the top portion of the SIMULATION pane how much sunlight falls on the North Pole (marked by the red dot) over the course of theyear. 1. What do you think it would be like to live near the North Pole in the winter? Since there is no daylight at all in the North Pole, it would be extremely cold and gloomy. 2. What do you think it would be like to live near the North Pole in the summer? Because the sun is shining on it, I don't believe it would be cold. Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
Activity A: Seasons atdifferent latitudes Get the Gizmo ready: ● Click Reset ( ). Check that the Latitude is 89° and the Simulation speed is set to maximum. Question: Which latitudes experience the greatest seasonal variations? 1. Graph: On the GRAPH tab, select Year graph . Click Play . The top graph shows the hours of daylight. The bottom graph shows the amount of solar energy received over the course of the year. Take a snapshot ( 📷 ) of the graphs, right-click the image and select Copy Image , and paste it in the space below. Label the image “Near North Pole, 89° N.” 2. Gather data: Look at the Hours of daylight graph for the North Pole. A. How many hours of daylight are there from October to March? 0 B. How many hours of daylight are there from April to September? 500 3. Identify: What is the maximum solar energy on the North Pole? 500 4. Graph: Create graphs for the following latitudes: 66.5° N ( Arctic Circle ), 23.5° N ( Tropic of Cancer ), and 0° N ( equator ). Take 📷 snapshots of the graphs, paste them into the space below, and label them. 5. Analyze: Compare the graphs for the four different latitudes. A. Which latitude experiences the most extreme seasonal changes? Arctic Circle B. Why do you think this is? Due to the locationof the Arctic Circleon Earth and theposition and rotationof the sun. C. People who live in the tropics usually don’t refer to their seasons as “winter” or “summer.” Why do you think this is? Their year-round weather is largely consistent. D. Notice that the solar energy curve for the equator has two small peaks at the spring equinox (March 21) and the fall equinox (September 23). What do you think causes this? (Hint: Think of thedirectness of the Sun’s rays.) Rather than in September, the sun's rays are most likely totally on earth in March. Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
Activity B: Summer vs.winter Get the Gizmo ready: ● Click Reset . ● Set the Simulation speed to minimum. Question: How do temperatures at different latitudes compare during the summer versus during thewinter? 1. Compare: The chart below shows average temperatures for January and July in three cities. City Latitude Average January Temperature Average July Temperature Fairbanks, Alaska 65° N -28 °C (-19 °F) 17 °C (62 °F) New York City, New York 43° N 1 °C (33 °F) 25 °C (77 °F) Honolulu, Hawaii 21° N 23 °C (73 °F) 27 °C (81°F) A. What is the temperature difference between Fairbanks and Honolulu in the winter? 25 degrees B. What is the temperature difference between Fairbanks and Honolulu in the summer? 10 degrees C. During which time of the year are the climates of Fairbanks, New York City, and Honolulu most similar? July 2. Form hypothesis: Why do you think the temperature difference between high latitudes and low latitudes is so small during the summer? The sun's beams are almost everywhere. 3. Think about it: Solar energy is a measure of how much heat from the Sun an area receives in a day. How do you think the following two factors would affect the amount of solar energy a location receives? Hours of daylight: 12 Angle of Sun’s rays: 45 degrees Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
4. Gather data: Solar intensity is a measure of the amount of solar energy striking a place in one hour. The more direct the sun’s rays are, the greater the solar intensity will be. Set the Latitude to 65°. On the GRAPH tab, select Day graph . Click Play , and then click Pause ( ) around 12:00 noon. (Does not have to be exact.) Record the noon solar intensity for this latitude in the table below. Then, select the Year graph and record the estimated hours of daylight and solar energy for this day. Repeat this for July 1. Then, use the Gizmo tofill in the rest of the table. Date Latitud e Noon solar intensity (W/m 2 h) Hours of daylight Solar energy (W/m 2 ) January 1 65° N 1.84 w/(m2=h) 4 0 43° N 22.52 9 120 21° N 39.83 11 290 July 1 65° N 0.86 2 0 43° N 52.29 15 500 21° N 55.54 13 489 5. Analyze: Look at the data you collected in the table. A. On January 1, which latitude has the lowest solar intensity? 21 The highest? 65 B. On January 1, which latitude has the fewest hours of sunlight? 21 The most? 65 C. On July 1, which latitude has the lowest solar intensity? 21 The highest? 65 D. On July 1, which latitude has the fewest hours of sunlight? 21 The most? 65 6. Explain: Why is the climate of Fairbanks more similar to Honolulu in the summer than in the winter? because the sun is shining on them both at the same time. Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
Activity C: Tilt of Earth’s axis Get the Gizmo ready: ● Click Reset . On the DESCRIPTION tab, set the Latitude to your town’s latitude. Question: Earth’s axis is a line connecting the North and South Poles. How would changing the tilt ofEarth’s axis affect the seasons? 1. Graph: Set the Simulation speed to maximum and click Play . Select the GRAPH tab and click the Year Graph button. After a year, click the 📷 camera, right-click the image and select Copy Image , and paste it in the space below. Label this graph “Normal axis angle (23.5°).” A. What is the highest solar energy in this graph, and when does it occur? 500 in June B. What is the lowest solar energy in the graph, and when does it occur? 110 in January 2. Observe: On the DESCRIPTION tab, move the Earth axis angle slider back and forth. As you move the slider, watch the image of Earth at the bottom of the SIMULATION tab. How does Earth’s orientation to theSun change as you move the slider? It alternately moves toward and away from the sun. 3. Form hypothesis: Set the Earth axis angle to -23.5°, the opposite direction of Earth’s current axial tilt. How might this change affect seasons in the Northern Hemisphere? It would make it far colder because there is no sunlight at all. 4. Graph: Click Reset . Select the YEAR GRAPH tab and click Play . Click the 📷 camera, right-click the image and select Copy Image , and paste it in the space below. Label the snapshot “Axis angle: -23.5°.” 5. Analyze: Study the graph you made. What was the effect of changing Earth’s axial tilt to -23.5° and why do you think this happened? Instead of increasing significantly in July, the sun energy significantly decreased in July. 6. Explore: For each axial angle listed below, sketch what you think the Solar energy graph will look like. Run the Gizmo with that angle and sketch the result. Explain each graph. Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
90° Predicted 90° Actual Explanation: I anticipated it would go up and then down, but it really descended somewhat before risingsharply. 45° Predicted 45° Actual Explanation: Instead of going up and then down as I had anticipated, it went down and then up (theopposite of what I thought) 0° Predicted 0° Actual Explanation: I anticipated a straight line with a value of 0, but it was higher than that. Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
