EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -The earth’s spin axis is tilted with respect to its orbital plane. This is what causes the seasons. When the earth’s axis points towards the sun, it is summer for that hemisphere. When the earth’s axis points away, winter can be expected.

Detailed explanation-2: -Basically, we would not have any seasons. Earth would be warm at the equator and cold at the poles. The poles would still experience the most impact because the sun would always be low on the horizon. Other planets are also tilted such as Uranus at 97° giving the planet extreme seasons.

Detailed explanation-3: -The tilt of Earth’s axis is the main cause of the seasons. If Earth had no tilt, then the length of daylight and the intensity of solar heating seen by a person standing at a single place on the surface would be the same all year round.

Detailed explanation-4: -Remind students that the two reasons seasons occur are the tilt of a planet’s axis and its orbit around the sun.

Detailed explanation-5: -The greater Earth’s axial tilt angle, the more extreme our seasons are, as each hemisphere receives more solar radiation during its summer, when the hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, and less during winter, when it is tilted away.