Original Project
Weather and Climate I: Basic Elements
Item WC093002: A plant receives the most intense sunlight in the middle of the day when the sun is highest in the sky.
A student wants to put a plant in the ground at a place where it will receive the most intense sunlight. There are three possible locations, and each one receives sunlight with nothing blocking it for only two hours a day. Below is a table showing the time of day that each location receives direct sunlight.
| Possible plant locations | Time of day the location receives sunlight |
| Location 1 | 9 - 11 am |
| Location 2 | 11 am - 1 pm |
| Location 3 | 1 - 3 pm |
At which location would the plant receive the most intense sunlight?
- At Location 1, because the sun is lower in the sky in the early morning, and the sunlight that reaches the plant will be more intense the lower the sun is in the sky.
- At Location 2, because the sun is higher in the sky in the middle of the day, and the sunlight that reaches the plant will be more intense the higher the sun is in the sky.
- At Location 3, because this location receives sunlight later in the day, and the sunlight that reaches the plant will be more intense the later it is in the day.
- The plant would get the same intensity of sunlight at Locations 1, 2, and 3. The sunlight that reaches the plant will not be more or less intense at any time during the day.
- Distribution of Responses
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 1576 | 3175 | 50% |
| Grades | |||
| 6–8 | 914 | 1918 | 48% |
| 9–12 | 660 | 1252 | 53% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 681 | 1471 | 46% |
| Female | 871 | 1642 | 53% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 1419 | 2816 | 50% |
| Other | 120 | 273 | 44% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- 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.
- Notes
- NGSS does not explicitly address how the changing position of the sun in the sky throughout the day affects the amount of energy that is transferred to Earth from the sun.