Original Project
Weather and Climate II: Seasonal Differences
The maximum height that the sun reaches in the sky at any place varies over the course of the year, and how it v…
Item WC033002: Sunlight feels warmer in the middle of the day than in the morning because the sun is higher in the sky in the middle of the day.
A student notices that sunlight feels warmer in the middle of the day than in the morning. She asks her friends why the sunlight feels warmer in the middle of the day, and she gets four different explanations. Which of the following explanations is TRUE?
- The sunlight is traveling a shorter distance in the middle of the day, and sunlight can warm things on the earth more when it does not travel as far.
- The sun itself is hotter in the middle of the day, and sunlight can warm things on the earth more when the sun is hotter.
- The sun is higher in the sky in the middle of the day, and sunlight can warm things on the earth more when the sun is higher in the sky.
- Clouds block some of the sunlight in the morning, and that is the only thing that would cause the sun to warm her more in the middle of the day than in the morning.
- Distribution of Responses
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 1929 | 4247 | 45% |
| Grades | |||
| 6–8 | 1083 | 2459 | 44% |
| 9–12 | 844 | 1779 | 47% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 875 | 2043 | 43% |
| Female | 1005 | 2100 | 48% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 1714 | 3703 | 46% |
| Other | 162 | 392 | 41% |
- 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 the changing position of the sun in the sky throughout the day or how it affects the amount of energy that is transferred to Earth.