Why the Seasons Are Not About Distance

Lab Brief #9

🎯 Your mission

Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).

⚡ The twist

Up there, the rules of down here stop working.

What you'll learn

Earth is actually closest to the Sun in early January. Seasons come from the 23.5° axial tilt: the hemisphere tilted towards the Sun receives sunlight at a steeper angle and for more hours, and so warms up.

Key words

axial tilt
The 23.5° lean of Earth's rotation axis, which causes the seasons.
angle of incidence
The angle at which sunlight strikes the ground, spreading its energy over more or less area.

Make a hypothesis first

Predict: what would happen on the moon vs. on Earth?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

torch
graph paper
protractor
dark room

⚠️ Safety first

Do not shine the torch into anyone's eyes.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "axial tilt" and "angle of incidence" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Shine a torch straight down and then at a shallow angle onto graph paper and outline the lit patch each time. Count squares to show the same light spread over more area, then relate this to winter sunlight.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

The seasons are caused by:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

Winter sunlight is weaker mainly because it strikes the ground at:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🌟 The light from the closest star (after the sun) takes 4 years to reach you.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Scale of the Solar System All lessons

🎯

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: Every sunrise and every shadow is this idea in action.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Look at the moon tonight. Notice its shape. Look again in 3 days.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “If you could visit any planet, which would you pick and why?”

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