Original Project
Weather and Climate II: Seasonal Differences
Item CL083002: At any time during a day there is only one point on the surface of the earth where sunlight strikes at a 90° angle.
Which of the following statements is TRUE about where and when sunlight strikes the surface of the earth at a 90° angle over the course of one day?
- At any time during a day there is only one point on the surface of the earth where sunlight strikes at a 90° angle.
- There are certain times during a day when sunlight strikes many points on the surface of the earth at a 90° angle.
- There are certain times during a day when sunlight strikes one point on the surface of the earth at a 90° angle, and there are some times that it does not strike anywhere at a 90° angle.
- Over the course of a day, sunlight never strikes any point on the surface of the earth at a 90° angle.
- Distribution of Responses
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 278 | 1110 | 25% |
| Grades | |||
| 6–8 | 135 | 559 | 24% |
| 9–12 | 143 | 551 | 26% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 132 | 520 | 25% |
| Female | 137 | 555 | 25% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 239 | 967 | 25% |
| Other | 27 | 86 | 31% |
- 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.