How can the Sun tell you the season?

What is your name?

1. Using information from the images above, which of the following patterns do you notice? Choose all correct answers. There may be more than one correct answer.

• Shadows are longer in winter when the Sun’s path is lower in the sky.
• Shadows are longer in winter when the Sun’s path is higher in the sky.
• Shadows are shorter in the summer when the Sun’s path is higher in the sky.
• Shadows are shorter in the summer when the Sun’s path is lower in the sky.

2. The Earth rotates on its axis once a day. The Moon orbits around the Earth once a month. The Earth orbits around the Sun once a year. In the image with the bridge, you can observe that the path of the Sun across the sky changes. What most likely causes that path to take as long as it does to change?

• The Earth’s rotation is most likely the cause because the pattern changes daily.
• The orbit of the Moon around the Earth is most likely the cause because the pattern changes monthly.
• The orbit of the Earth around the Sun is most likely the cause because the pattern changes yearly.

How many daylight hours are there in March?

How many daylight hours are there in November?

4. The number of daylight hours in the table below follows a pattern. First, describe the pattern that you notice. Then, look back at the images above Question 1. How do the images help to explain the pattern?