Activity 03A
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School
Rutgers University, Newark *
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Course
236
Subject
Astronomy
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
8
Uploaded by PresidentScorpionPerson976
Name: ______________________________________
Date: ________________________
Activity
3
A: Seasons
The first cycle we are going to study is the cycle of seasons. Explaining why Earth experiences
seasons is one of the most misunderstood concepts in astronomy. In this activity you will
examine a variety of reasons for why we have seasons.
Part 1: Using Gizmos to explore the Seasons
.
Use your stylus to write your answers on the lines provided
1.
At what time of day is sunlight strongest – in the early morning (when the Sun has just
risen) or at noon (when the Sun reaches its highest point)?
_______________________________
2.
At what time of year does the noon Sun rise highest in the sky?
______________________
3.
Based on your answers, why is it warmer in summer than in winter?
___________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Gizmo Warm-up
https://gizmos.explorelearning.com/
Open “Seasons:
Why do we have them?
The reasons for
seasons
have a lot to do with the angle at
which the Sun’s rays hit Earth. To see why, select the
PLATE tab on the
Seasons: Why do we have them?
Gizmo. The image shows a solar panel (
Plate M
) facing
the Sun. Check that the
Axis angle
is set to 0˚.
1.
Click
Fire
to release 100 “rays” of sunlight. Look next
to “Number of hits” below the plate. How many of these
rays hit
Plate M
? _____________
2.
Click
Reset
. Change the
Axis angle
to 40˚, and click
Fire
. How many rays hit
Plate M
now? _____________
3.
Which do you think will warm up the plate more quickly? (
Circle one.)
A.
Direct sunlight
(sunlight that hits the plate at a 90° angle)
B.
Indirect sunlight
(sunlight that hits the plate at an angle of less than 90°)
Activity A:
Sunlight on a
plate
Get the Gizmo ready
:
Click
Reset
.
Question: How does the angle of sunlight affect the amount of energy that is absorbed?
1.
Form hypothesis
: How do you think the angle of the plate will affect how much sunlight hits
the plate? _________________________________________________________________
2.
Collect data
: Set the
Axis angle
to -80° and click
Fire
. Record the
Number of hits
. Repeat
for each angle and fill in the tables below. You can use the slider or type the number into the
text field directly and click
Enter
on your keyboard. (Note that “0°” appears in both tables.)
Axis angle
Hits
-80°
-60°
-40°
-20°
0°
Axis angle
Hits
0°
20°
40°
60°
80°
3.
Analyze
: What is the relationship between the axis angle and the number of solar rays that
hit the plate? ______________________________________________________________
4.
Interpret
: Select the GRAPH tab. What does the graph show? ________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
5.
Apply
: At what angle will the plate get the hottest? _________
6.
Extend your thinking
: The plate is a model for how sunlight hits Earth’s surface.
A.
Which parts of Earth are most similar to the plate with an axis angle of 0°? Explain.
___________________________________________________________________
B.
Which parts of Earth are most similar to the plate with an axis angle of 80°? _______
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___________________________________________________________________
Activity B:
Sunlight on Earth
Get the Gizmo ready
:
Select the EARTH tab on the left and the
DESCRIPTION tab on the right.
Check that the
Axis angle
is set to 0 degrees.
Question: What causes seasons on Earth?
1.
Predict
: Look at the image of Earth (not to scale). Plate
A
is located at the
North Pole
, and
plate
G
is located at the
South Pole
. Plates
D
and
J
are located at the
equator
.
A.
Of the plates that are facing the Sun (plates A through G), which ones will receive the
most solar energy? __________________________
B.
Which of plates A through G will receive the least? __________________________
2.
Check
: Click
Fire
. Select the TABLE tab to see how many rays hit each plate.
A.
Which plate got the most sunlight? ______________
The least? ______________
B.
Why is it colder at the poles than at the equator? ____________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3.
Set up Gizmo
: Click
Reset
, and turn on
Show axis
.
Earth’s axis
is an imaginary line that
connects the North Pole to the South Pole. Earth spins around its axis, which is tilted
relative to Earth’s orbit. Click
Earth axis angle
to set the axis angle to a realistic 23°.
4.
Collect data
: On the DESCRIPTION pane, check that
Time A
is selected. Click
Fire
. Select
the TABLE pane to see the results, and fill in the left table below. Click
Reset
, and on the
DESCRIPTION pane select
Time A + 6 months
. Click
Fire
and fill in the right table.
Time A
Time A + 6 months
Plate
Angle
Hits
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Plate
Angle
Hits
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
(Activity B continued on next page)
Activity B (continued from previous page)
5.
Analyze
: Plates
A
,
B
, and
C
all lie in the
northern hemisphere
, the half of Earth north of
the equator. Plates
E
,
F
, and
G
all lie in the
southern hemisphere
, south of the equator.
A.
Which hemisphere gets more direct sunlight at
Time A
? ______________________
B.
Which hemisphere gets more sunlight at
Time A + 6 months
? _________________
6.
Interpret
: Plate
B
is a typical northern hemisphere location, and plate
F
is a typical southern
hemisphere location. Circle the answer to each question below.
A.
On plate
B
, which season is
Time A
?
Start of summer
Start of winter
B.
On
B
, which season is
Time A + 6 months
?
Start of summer
Start of winter
C. On
F
, which season is
Time A
?
Start of summer
Start of winter
D. On
F
, which season is
Time A + 6 months
?
Start of summer
Start of winter
E.
In general, how are seasons in the northern hemisphere related to seasons in the
southern hemisphere? _________________________________________________
7.
Apply
: December 21 and June 21 are important dates called
solstices
. The
winter solstice
is the shortest day of the year. The
summer solstice
is the longest day of the year.
Answer
these questions based on a location in the Northern Hemisphere.
A.
Which date does
Time A
represent?
June 21
December 21
B.
Which date does
Time A + 6 months
represent?
June 21
December 21
8.
Summarize
: Based on what you have seen, what causes the seasons? ________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
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Part 2:
Using Starry Night
TYPE your answers into the boxes provided – no handwritten answers!
Follow these directions
carefully
for setting up Starry Night for this simulation:
1.
Open Starry Night. Toggle to collapse the SkyGuide (so it is not on the screen), and
then click to enter Full Screen mode.
2.
Set your location to “East Brunswick, NJ.”
3.
Under settings in the Toolbar, set the local horizon’s horizon style to “translucent area.”
4.
Set the date to December 21
of the current school year
(if we are in the second
semester, you will have to set it to
last year
!).
5.
Set the current time to “Sunrise.” You can find this setting under the “Time” setting in the
Toolbar - find the “preset times” drop-down menu.
6.
Find and center on the Sun.
Make sure it says, “Selected – Sun” at the bottom of the
Toolbar.
Click
🛈
to open the information panel for the sun.
7.
Use Starry Night to gather the information requested in the chart below,
leaving the “#
hrs daylight” column blank for now
.
8.
Advance the simulation to the next date in the chart (first semester students will need to
set it to next year!), and repeat steps 5 - 7.
9.
Calculate the number of hours of daylight for each of the four dates. Remember that
these are hours and minutes and there’s AM and PM, so be careful with your
calculations! Seek help if you need it. Record the answers (in HH:MM format) in the “#
hrs daylight” column.
DATE
SUNRISE
Time
(AM)
SUN’S TRANSIT TIME
(AM/PM?)
SUNSET
Time
(PM)
Total # Daylight
Hours
(hh:mm)
12/21
03/21
06/21
09/21
Now for some analysis. Keep in mind that the four dates we selected were the winter solstice,
the vernal equinox, the summer solstice, and the autumnal equinox - the dates we say each
new season begins.
10.
Explain what happens to the number of hours of daylight as we go through the year.
This is a complex pattern, so make sure you describe it accurately!
Remember that this
is a pattern that repeats, so assume that the pattern you see repeats after our data end.
11.
Go back into Starry Night. Open the SkyGuide again. Go to
Unit A
, and click on lesson
A2
. Select “
2 Days of Winter
.” Change your location to “East Brunswick, NJ,” and
change your FOV to 90°. Run the simulation for a full 24 hours, paying attention to
where (N, S, E, W, etc.) the sun rises, how much time the sun stays in the sky, how high
it gets (see the
sextant
on the screen? Use it!), where it sets (N, S, E, W, etc.), and how
long the night lasts. Record your observations here.
The more detailed, the better
.
12.
Repeat step 11, but this time, run “
3 Days of Summer
.” Record your detailed
observations here:
13.
Consider both simulations, as well as what you know about Earth and its orbit around
the sun. Why is there a difference in the number of hours of daylight as we go through
the year?
14.
Quick seemingly off-topic question:
in anything that we’ve done today, did we even once
look at how far Earth was from the sun?
15.
What was the point of question 14?
16.
Summary time!
Take all the information you have gathered in
both parts of this activity
and type out a summary of why the Earth has seasons.
The more detailed, the better.
Don’t forget to go back to Canvas and click “submit” when you are finished.
If you do not
submit on Canvas, you will not get any credit for this activity - even if you have completed
everything.