Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Weather and Climate I: Basic Elements ~ Misconception WCM070

Changes in the distance between the sun and the earth control the amount of energy transferred by sunlight to a place on the surface of the earth (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.).

Items that test for misconception WCM070 in this project (Original Project) and key idea (The pattern of the rise and fall of…)
Item ID Number	Item Description	How Often the Misconception was Chosen
WC035002	It is colder in the winter at a given place than in the summer because the sun is lower in the sky in the winter so the town recieves less energy from the sun.	46%
WC034002	It is colder in the winter at a given place than in the summer because sunlight reaches that place at a smaller angle in the winter.	30%
WC035003	It is colder in the winter than in the summer because sunlight reaches the earth at a smaller angle in the winter and cannot transfer as much energy to places on the surface of the earth.	29%
WC041003	Sunlight can warm a lake by different amounts during a day depending on the position of the sun in the sky.	27%
WC105001	Sunlight transfers different amounts of energy to a lake depending on the position of the sun in the sky.	27%
WC037003	The temperature of a glass of water left outside in the sun increases more in the middle of the day than in the morning because the angle at which sunlight strikes the earth is different in the middle of the day than in the morning.	23%