Science Assessment ~ Items ~ CL029002

One student lives at Place 1 and another student lives at Place 2 as shown below. They observe the sun as it moves across the sky during a day in the summer and a day in the winter.

As the students make their observations, how will the maximum height of the sun in the sky at Place 1 compare to the maximum height of the sun at Place 2 on those two days?

The maximum height of the sun will be lower at Place 1 than at Place 2 in the winter and higher in the summer.
The maximum height of the sun will be higher at Place 1 than at Place 2 in the winter and lower in the summer.
The maximum height of the sun will be lower at Place 1 than at Place 2 all year.
The maximum height of the sun will be the same at Place 1 and Place 2 all year.

Details
Performance
NGSS

Topic: Weather and Climate II: Seasonal Differences
Correct Answer: C
Misconceptions

Distribution of Responses

Chart showing distrubtion of responses for Item CL029002

Students Responding Correctly

Group	Correct	Total	Percent
Overall	503	2162	23%
Grades
6–8	266	1169	23%
9–12	234	980	24%
Gender
Male	241	1050	23%
Female	250	1041	24%
Primary Language
English	436	1874	23%
Other	44	212	21%

View data table

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.

Science Assessment

Item CL029002: For two places that are north of the tropical region, the maximum height of the sun in the sky is lower for the place that is farther north.