Section Review Questions Page 736

1. Section Review QuestionsPage 736

2. During different seasons, different constellations appear in the night sky because we see the stars from a different position in Earth’s orbit. • A Foucault pendulum traces out a changing path because Earth is rotating underneath. Coriolis effect and stars changing positions. • Earth’s revolution around the sun takes about 365 days. The earth also spins on its axis in 24 hours. The side that faces the sun has day and the other side has night. The whole lunar cycle takes about 4 weeks, the basis of our month.

3. 4. The year is actually 365 ¼ days long. In the 1500’s the calendar didn’t match the seasons, so leap year was introduced with and extra day every 4 years. 5. An additional hour of daylight in the evening; saving energy. 6. During summer, half of the Earth is titled toward the sun and during the winter that half is tilted away. Regions pointing toward the sun are warmer because daylight lasts longer and the sun’s rays are more vertical. 7. Earth is closer to the sun in the winter but the North pole is tilted away from the sun. Sun’s rays strike at a low angle, producing lower temperatures.

4. 8. During the summer solstice, Earth is located near the aphelion of its orbit, or the farthest distance from the sun. 9. It is hours of daylight and the angle of the sun’s rays that cause the seasons, not the distance from the sun. 10. One side of the planet would face the sun at all times and the other half would be in darkness. If earth’s axis were not tilted at an angle, we would not get the seasonal variations that we currently have.