Original Project
Weather and Climate II: Seasonal Differences
Item CL091002: The shape of the earth's path around the sun is slightly elliptical (nearly circular).
Diagram 1 below shows that the earth’s path around the sun as nearly circular and Diagram 2 shows that the path as strongly elliptical.
What is the actual shape of the earth’s path around the sun?
- Nearly circular (slightly elliptical)
- Strongly elliptical
- The shape of the path changes so that some years it is nearly circular and other years it is strongly elliptical
- Neither. The earth does not move around the sun; the sun moves around the earth.
Answer Choice |
Overall |
Grades |
Gender |
Primary Language |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 2199 |
6–8 n = 1210 |
9–12 n = 980 |
Male n = 1039 |
Female n = 1084 |
English n = 1892 |
Other n = 211 |
||
| A. | Nearly circular (slightly elliptical) | 31% | 29% | 32% | 32% | 30% | 30% | 33% |
| B. | Strongly elliptical | 38% | 36% | 41% | 37% | 39% | 39% | 33% |
| C. | The shape of the path changes so that some years it is nearly circular and other years it is strongly elliptical | 21% | 24% | 18% | 21% | 21% | 21% | 23% |
| D. | Neither. The earth does not move around the sun; the sun moves around the earth. | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 11% |