Name: ______cameron_____________ Class Period ______________ Date

____________________
SEASONS WEBQUEST
Click on the following link to answer the following questions:
http://www.astronomy.org/programs/seasons/
1. During which season is the earth closest to the sun, summer or winter? __Winter__
Scroll down to the Direct Energy vs. Indirect Energy picture of the flashlights.
2. Direct energy always produces _____Short_____ shadows while indirect energy creates
_____Long_____ shadows.
3. Why is this important to how warm we feel?
Its good to know because we can tell that when its direct sunlight is more concentrated causing
it to warm you up but if its indirect sunlight its less concentrated causing it to not keep you as
warm.
Click on the following link to answer more questions.
http://vortex.plymouth.edu/sun/sun.html

Click on why are there seasons?
1. Explain the difference between an equinox and a solstice:
Equinox is in the spring and the fall whereas solstices are in the winter and the summer.
Solstices are when day or night will be the longest it will be that year and equinoxes are when
day and night are an equal.

2. How many of each do we have each year? ____Two_____
Name them:
Solstices: Equinoxes:
a. Winter a. Fall
b. Summer b. Spring

Click on Rotation
1. In which direction does the Earth spin on its axis? _______counter clockwise______
Click on Solstices
2. In which direction is the Northern Hemisphere tilted during mid-Spring and summer?
_______________towards the sun ________________
3. How does this affect the amount of daylight we have during this time?
_______________we get longer hours of daylight_________________
4. During what time of year does the North Pole experience 24 hours of sunlight?
_______________from mid spring to summer _________________
South Pole? _______________mid-autumn to mid-winter__________________
Click on Our Orbit
5. Draw and label the Earths position in relation to the sun during each of the 4 seasons:










Click on Temperatures

1. During what season does the Northern Hemisphere receive more concentrated energy
from the sun? (Look at the flashlight example for a clue)
_____________________________summer_________________________________.
2. During what season (time of year) does the Sun have to travel through more atmosphere?
______________________Winter (December) _____________________
If you were having to explain the reasons for the seasons to a 5
th
grader who is convinced that
seasons come from being closer or further away from the Sun explain how you would do it
below: (Include at least 3 things you learned from these sites!)
The earth is tilted at an angle and when the top and bottom parts of the earth are closer (leaning
towards) to the sun its summer for that section, and when the top or bottom parts of the earth are
further (leaning away) its winter for that section. This is all because the amount of sun hitting
the earth.

5.