Read about the seasons , then answer the following questions.

1. Name the four seasons.

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2. Are the Earth's seasons caused by the differences in the distance from the Sun throughout the
year or the tilt of the Earth's axis?
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3. What is the tilt of the Earth's axis (in degrees)?

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4. During which season do the Sun's rays hit the Earth at the most direct angle?
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5. During which season are the days the shortest?

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6. What is the name of the shortest day of the year (and the beginning of winter)?
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7. What is the name of the longest day of the year (and the beginning of summer)?
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8. What is the name of a day in which the day and night are of equal duration?
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9. How many times each year do we have days in which the day and night are of equal duration?
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10. What are the names of each of these days?

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 Write T for true statements and F for the false ones in the boxes given below.

1. The solstices are days when the earth reaches its farthest northern and
southern declinations.

2. The solstice occurs on December 21 or 22 and marks the beginning of

winter (this is the shortest day of the year).

3. Equinoxes are days in which day and night are of equal duration.
4. The seasons are not the result of the tilt of the Earth's axis.
5. In astronomical reckoning, the seasons begin at the solstices and
equinoxes.
6. When it is summer in the Northern hemisphere, it is always winter in the
Southern hemisphere.

7. The seasons result from the Earth's axis being tilted to its orbital plane; it
deviates by an angle of approximately 33.5 degrees.

8. A season is one of the major divisions of the year, generally based on

yearly periodic changes in weather.

9. Seasons happen due to the yearly revolution of the Sun around the Earth
and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution.

10. Earth reaches perihelion (the point in its orbit closest to the Sun)
in January, and it reaches aphelion (farthest point from the Sun) in July

Match the correct meaning in X and Y .

 X Y
1. hibernation a. a complete change in ways of thinking,
methods of working
2. revolution b. if an animal hibernates, it sleeps for the
whole winter
3. periodic c. a measure of how hot or cold a place or
thing is
4. dormant d. happening a number of times, usually at
regular times:
5. temperature e. not active or not growing at the present
time but able to be active later

X Y
6. precipitation a. to make a light shine on something, or
to fill a place with light:
7. illuminate b. the imaginary line around which a large
round object, such as the Earth, turns:
8. atmosphere c. to show something that is usually
covered or hidden:
9. expose d. the mixture of gases that surrounds the
Earth
10. axis e. rain, snow etc that falls on the ground,
or the amount of rain, snow etc that
falls

Fills in the correct words or phrases

The seasons result from the Earth's axis being 1______________ to its orbital plane; it deviates
by an angle of approximately 23.5 degrees. Thus, at any given time during summer or winter, one
part of the planet is more directly 2__________________ to the rays of the Sun .This exposure
alternates as the Earth revolves in its orbit. At any given time, regardless of season, the northern
and southern hemispheres experience opposite seasons.

It is easy to 3__________________ the effect of the axis tilt from the change in day length, and
altitude of the Sun at noon (the culmination of the Sun), during a year.

Seasonal weather differences between 4_________________ are further caused by the elliptical
orbit of Earth. Earth reaches perihelion (the point in its orbit closest to the Sun) in January, and it
reaches aphelion (farthest point from the Sun) in July. Even though the effect this has on Earth's
seasons is minor, it does 5____________________ soften the northern hemisphere's winters and
summers. In the southern hemisphere, the opposite effect is observed.

Seasonal weather 6______________ (changes) also depend on factors such as proximity to

oceans or other large bodies of water, currents in those oceans, El Niño and other oceanic cycles,
and 7______________ winds.

In the temperate and polar 8____________, seasons are marked by changes in the amount of
sunlight, which in turn often causes cycles of 9__________________ in plants and hibernation
in animals. These effects vary with latitude and with proximity to bodies of water. For example,
the South Pole is in the middle of the continent of Antarctica and therefore a considerable
distance from the 10____________________ influence of the southern oceans. The North Pole is
in the Arctic Ocean, and thus its temperature extremes are buffered by the water. The result is
that the South Pole is consistently colder during the southern winter than the North Pole during
the northern winter.