S6E2 Causes of Seasons

The temperature on land around the equator stays about the same throughout the year. This is because this area

• has a greater tilt than other parts of the Earth.
• receives less direct sunlight throughout the year.
• receives similar amounts of sunlight throughout the year.
• receives more direct sunlight than other parts of the Earth.

Which of these causes the day/night cycle on Earth?

• Earth’s rotation
• Earth’s polar tilt
• Earth’s revolution
• Earth’s circle of illumination

Consider the diagram of Earth, the Sun, and the Moon system. Which phenomenon is MOST DIRECTLY caused by the revolution of Earth around the Sun?

• the day/night cycle
• the daily tidal surges
• the phases of the moon
• the changing of the seasons

Imagine there was no tilt to the Earth's axis and Earth's orbit was circular. What would be true about the length of days and nights on Earth?

• The periods of day and night would be fixed all year, for any location.
• Night, as we know it on Earth, would end. We would be in constant daylight.
• The periods of day and night would be fixed all year for anyone living at Earth's equator.
• The areas closest to the equator would have constant daylight during the year; the areas near the poles, constant night.

The Earth is constantly spinning on its axis, like you might spin a basketball on your finger. It is this spinning of the Earth that causes

• the summer-time heat.
• the need for a leap year.
• the changes in the seasons.
• the cycle of night and day.

Having been here on Earth for a while, you know that in North America a year is made up of four seasons. The way the earth is tilted on its axis is one of the reasons for these yearly changes. This is because

• Earth is tilted towards the Sun in the spring, away from the Sun in the fall.
• Earth is closest to the Sun in the summer, and far from the Sun in the winter.
• Earth is tilted towards the Sun in the summer, and away from the Sun in the winter.

As the Earth spins, __________ occurs when part of the Earth is facing away from the Sun.

• day
• night
• summer
• winter

Earth's seasons are influenced by the Earth's tilt on its axis as well as its _____________ around the Sun.

• barycenter
• precession
• revolution
• rotation

What is located at 0° latitude?

• Tropic of Cancer
• Tropic of Capricorn
• Arctic Circle
• Equator

What is the season in the Northern Hemisphere when the North Pole is pointed toward the sun?

• Fall
• Winter
• Spring
• Summer