Original Project
Weather and Climate II: Seasonal Differences
Item CL039002: In the southern hemisphere, if the maximum height the sun reaches in the sky is lower throughout the year at one place than at another place, the place where the maximum height of the sun is lower must be farther south.
The graphs below represent the maximum height of the sun in the sky over the course of a year at two different places in South America.
What must be TRUE about the two places?
- Place 1 is farther south of the equator than Place 2.
- Place 2 is farther south of the equator than Place 1.
- They are the same distance from the equator, but Place 1 is east of Place 2.
- The maximum height of the sun would be different at two places only if something is different about the places, such as one is on a mountain and the other is not.
- Distribution of Responses
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 843 | 2146 | 39% |
| Grades | |||
| 6–8 | 429 | 1122 | 38% |
| 9–12 | 410 | 1011 | 41% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 425 | 1060 | 40% |
| Female | 397 | 1024 | 39% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 702 | 1810 | 39% |
| Other | 86 | 228 | 38% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- ESS1.A Patterns of the apparent motion of the sun, the moon, and stars in the sky can be observed, described, predicted, and explained with models.
ESS1.B The orbits of Earth around the sun and of the moon around Earth, together with the rotation of Earth about an axis between its North and South poles, cause observable patterns. These include day and night; daily changes in the length and direction of shadows; and different positions of the sun, moon, and stars at different times of the day, month, and year.