Original Project
Weather and Climate II: Seasonal Differences
The earth’s spherical shape causes differences in the intensity of sunlight and thus the amount of energy from…
Item CL081002: Sunlight hits different places on the earth's surface at different angles because the earth is spherical.
Which of the following statements best explains why sunlight would reach one place at a 75° angle and another place at a 50° angle at a single moment in time?
- Sunlight travels from the sun to the earth along paths that are curved lines, which causes the angles to be different.
- Sunlight radiates from the sun in all different directions, which causes the angles to be different.
- Sunlight travels from the sun to the earth along straight, nearly parallel lines but the spherical shape of the earth causes the angles to be different.
- Sunlight travels from the sun to the earth along straight, nearly parallel lines but the tilt of the earth’s axis causes the angles to be different.
Answer Choice |
Overall |
Grades |
Gender |
Primary Language |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 1028 |
6–8 n = 551 |
9–12 n = 470 |
Male n = 514 |
Female n = 486 |
English n = 900 |
Other n = 96 |
||
| A. | Sunlight travels from the sun to the earth along paths that are curved lines, which causes the angles to be different. | 23% | 23% | 22% | 23% | 22% | 22% | 25% |
| B. | Sunlight radiates from the sun in all different directions, which causes the angles to be different. | 29% | 32% | 26% | 28% | 31% | 30% | 26% |
| C. | Sunlight travels from the sun to the earth along straight, nearly parallel lines but the spherical shape of the earth causes the angles to be different. | 26% | 25% | 27% | 27% | 25% | 25% | 27% |
| D. | Sunlight travels from the sun to the earth along straight, nearly parallel lines but the tilt of the earth’s axis causes the angles to be different. | 22% | 21% | 24% | 23% | 22% | 23% | 22% |