Grade Level 9-12

Night Day Summer Winter: What Causes The Earths Days and Seasons? Thaddaeus Dvorak Content Standards E4.p2H E5.p1B

Learning Objectives 1. The students will learn the reason for the change in seasons. 2. The students will learn why the lengths of day and night vary according to season. 3. Why the different seasons have different temperatures. Content The earth revolves around the sun in an elliptical path, 147 million km to one side in January and 152 million km to the other side in July. This variance in distance is what is widely thought as the reason for the change in seasons. But as we can see the earth is closer to the sun during the winter than it is during the summer. Although the distance from the sun does account for some increased energy from the sun the earths tilt is the actual reason for the change in seasons. The earth spins on a 23.5 degree tilt which means that during different times in its rotations around the sun different parts of the world are getting more direct sunlight than the rest of the earth. On June 21 at the peak of the summer solstice the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun. This means that the energy from the sun will be focused more directly on the Northern Hemisphere giving us our summer season. On December 21 at the peak of the winter solstice the earth is tilted away from the sun which means that the Southern Hemisphere is now receiving the direct energy from the sun. This puts the Southern Hemisphere in summer and the Northern Hemisphere (us) during winter. The fall and spring equinoxes take place in between the summer and winter solstices. The length of day is also affected by the tilt of the earth. During the summer solstice each latitude in the Northern Hemisphere experiences more than 12 hours of daylight and the further north you go the longer the days get. In the Arctic Circle from March 20 till September 22 because of the tilt they experience 24 hour sunlight. And during the winter they experience no direct sunlight. Also in the same way we experience more than 12 hours during the summer we experience less during the winter. This is because as the earth rotates into the fall and winter it becomes tilted away from the sun giving the Southern Hemisphere the majority of the direct sunlight and the Northern Hemisphere experiences a decrease in daylight hours as well as a drastic decrease in the temperature. Material Needed Computer, PowerPoint, projector, YouTube, whiteboard, flashlights, Globes, CBL, Protractor. Advanced Preparation Gathering materials and having them available on an open table. Anticipatory Set YouTube video and warm up. Procedures- Lesson Development 1 Anticipatory Set and warm-up. 2 Introduce the question of how the earth gets its seasons and why the lengths in days change from season to season. 3 Demonstration of lab basics for clarity of the assignment.

4 Students work on lab assignment where they will discover patterns in their data that will help them understand how to answer the class question for this lesson. a. The students will learn the effect of distance on the suns energy. The students will place the flashlight on the table and take light intensity measurements from the indicated distances. b. The students will learn the effect of angle on the suns energy. This will be done by having the students take measurements of light intensity at different angles. c. The students will learn the effect of the change in seasons has on the length of the day. 5 After the students have recorded their data we will look at it and apply it to the problem that they are trying to solve. They will then go back over the handout and answer the questions that are accompanied with each section. Checking for understanding 1. 2. 3. 4. What patterns did you see in the data you collected. (Section 1 and 2 of handout) Which position is the earth in during the winter? Summer? Why does the distance not have as much effect on the seasons as the tilt? Why do the days grow longer during the summer and shorter during the winter?

Assesment The assessment that I will use for the students grading will be the answers to the questions on the handout. Meeting the Needs of All Students Language-Diagrams of the activities on the board. Ability- Go through the activities for clarity on the directions and be available to assist during the activity. Gender- Single sex groups so students are encouraged to participate. Culture- Dont assume everyone is familiar with the geography of the United States. If there is a student from a different background be sure to include the geography of their home. Special Needs- Depends on the students IEP but if the student was not making the connection between the activities and the questions then I would give them some after class attention to make sure they were understanding the information and processes. Safety There are no safety hazards provided the students dont try to impale each other with the meter sticks. References
Ahrens, C D. Meteorology Today. Ninth ed. China: Brooks/Cole Cengage learning, 2009. Koch, Jacquelin. Gems 152 Lab #2 Light Intensity and Earth-Sun Geometry.