Seasons, solstices & equinoxes

Seasons, solstices & equinoxes

By Lucy Brown

Review

• Earth's axis

• Hemispheres

• Seasons

Rotate

• The spinning motion of a planet on its axis

Earth's rotation

• The Sun and Moon seem to move across the sky each day because Earth is rotating on its axis.

• Earth's rotation causes day and night.

• It takes Earth about 24 hours to rotate once on its axis.

Multiple Choice

What causes day and night?

• Earth's rotation

• Earth's tilted axis

• The moon

Revolve

• The movement of an object around another object

The Revolution of Earth

• It takes about one year to complete one revolution around the sun.

• Earth has seasons because its axis is tilted as it revolves around the sun.

Multiple Choice

About how long does it take for Earth to revolve around the sun?

• One day

• One Week

• One month

• One year

Seasons

• In June, the north end of Earth's axis is tilted toward the Sun and it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

• In December, the north end of Earth's axis is tilted away from the Sun and it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

Multiple Choice

What season would it be in the Northern Hemisphere?

• Summer

• Winter

• Spring

• Fall

Solstice

• Happens in June and December

• During the summer solstice, the hemisphere tilted toward the sun will see the longest day of the year.

• During the winter solstice, the hemisphere tilted away from the sun will see the shortest day of the year.

Multiple Choice

What happens during the summer solstice?

• Day and night are an equal length

• It is the longest day of the year.

• It is the longest night of the year.

Multiple Choice

Imagine: It's Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. What will happening in the Southern Hemisphere

• It will experience the Autumnal Equinox

• It will experience the Vernal Equinox

• It will experience the Winter Solstice

• None of the options

Equinox

• Occurs in March and September

• Halfway between the solstices

• Day and night are each about 12 hours long

• Neither hemisphere is tilted toward or away from the Sun

Multiple Choice

What happens during the equinoxes?

• It is the longest day of the year.

• Day and night are about equal in length

• It is the longest night of the year.

Multiple Choice

What causes the seasons to change?

• the Earth's orbit changes its distance from the Sun
• the warming and cooling of the Earth's core
• The Earth's tilt in relation to the Sun
• The Earth's rotation on its axis

Multiple Choice

What happens when the area in which you live tilts away from the sun?

• It's summer in your area
• It's spring in your area
• It's fall in your area
• It's winter in your area

Multiple Choice

What happens when it's spring in the Southern Hemisphere?

• It's fall in the Northern Hemisphere
• It's spring in the Northern Hemisphere
• It's summer in the Northern Hemisphere
• It's winter in the Northern Hemisphere

Multiple Choice

Why does the area around the equator stay the same temperature year-round and consequently no seasons?

• It tilts towards the sun in summer, so has longer hours of daylight.

• It receives the same amount of direct sunlight year-round

• Its days are more than 18 hours long year-round

• The equator rotates slower than the poles