Seasonal Math To the left, we have a simple, yet effective, picture of the Earth. In order to study the seasons, we will need to add a few things to our diagram. The Orbital Plane is the plane in which the Earth orbits the Sun. In our diagram, it will be flat line through the center of the Earth. The Sun is far enough away that its rays hit the t Earth roughly horizontally. The final pieces to our diagram are the Axis of Rotation for the Earth. Beginning at the Earth’s center, construct a line perpendicular pendicular to the Orbital Plane. The Earth’s Axis is tilted 23.5 degrees off of this line. The Equator is a circle around the Earth that lies in a plane perpendicular to the Axis. Axis 1. Construct and label the Orbital Plane, the Axis of Rotation, and the Equat Equator or on the diagram above. (5 points) Latitude is a measured in degrees and tells us how far a point on Earth is from the Equator. The Equator is at latitude 0 degrees. Oakland Hig High School is at latitude 37.8. The Earth’s tilt is always pointed in the same direction. This means that if the axis is tilted 23.5 degrees towards the sun (Northern Hemisphere’s Summer Solstice – June 21), ), then 6 months later, the axis will be tilted 23.5 degrees away from the Sun (No (Northern rthern Hemisphere’s Winter Solstice – Dec 22). Use a separate sheet of graph paper to answer the following questions. Use diagrams, graphs, tables or charts to help explain your answers. 2. Pretend you are lying on a beach somewhere on Earth. At what latitu latitude de would you get the most sunlight on December 22? (5 points) 3. How much sunlight (as a fraction of the maximum) will you actually get when you’re here at Oakland High School get on December 22? (5 points) 4. How much sunlight will Oa Oakland High School get on June 21? (5 points) 5. Are there places where the Sun never sets or the Sun never rises? If so, where and when are they? (5 points) Challenge: How much sunlight will Oakland High School get on any given day of the year? (5 points)

Read more about the math of the seasons at http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/SummerSolstice.html or use Wikipedia’s article as a starting point http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice (do not rely primarily on Wikipedia)