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 WC043002: The amount of energy that is transferred from the sun to a given place on the earth's surface changes depending on where the sun is in the sky.
Does the amount of energy that is transferred from the sun to a given place on earth’s surface change during the course of a day?
- The amount of energy transferred to a given place changes depending on where the sun is in the sky.
- The amount of energy transferred to a given place only changes when the sun is blocked by clouds.
- The amount of the energy transferred to a given place does not change as long as the sun is above the horizon.
- Sunlight does not transfer energy to the earth’s surface at any time during the course of a day.
- Distribution of Responses
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 1675 | 3038 | 55% |
| Grades | |||
| 6–8 | 1007 | 1904 | 53% |
| 9–12 | 668 | 1134 | 59% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 796 | 1499 | 53% |
| Female | 838 | 1478 | 57% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 1526 | 2732 | 56% |
| Other | 96 | 218 | 44% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- PS3.B Light also transfers energy from place to place.
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 actually address the relationship between the changing position of the sun in the sky throughout the day and the amount of energy that is transferred to Earth by the sun, but many of the necessary pieces of knowledge are included.