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The Reasons for the Seasons
A Webquest

Our seasons have no fixed returns,
   Without our will they come and go;
     At noon our sudden summer burns,
       Ere sunset all is snow.

James Russel Lowell

Introduction

Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills - 7.13a:   identify and illustrate how the tilt of the Earth on its axis as it rotates and revolves around the Sun causes changes in seasons

You have been hired by an educational publishing company to produce posters for middle school science classrooms. Your first poster is to be one that shows the causes of seasons on Earth.

Since many students have the wrong idea about what causes seasons (they think that they are caused by the Earth being closer to the Sun during the summer) it is very important that your poster be very accurate. Your poster will answer the question "What causes seasons"?

The Task

Use Microsoft Publisher Quick Publications to build a prototype poster that explains how the tilt of the Earth and its revolution around the Sun causes seasons.

~or~

Using a sheet of drawing paper and map colors or markers to make your poster.

The Process

You will work in teams of two.

1. Begin by understanding the misconceptions regarding seasons:

http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/~astro/lesson6.htm

http://www.astronomy.org/programs/seasons/index.html

http://www.oceansonline.com/seasons.htm

2. Review some background information on the causes of seasons.

1.  i. axis tilt:

 

http://www.brocktonpublicschools.com/schools/
high/planetarium/activities/seasons/seasons3.html

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/
astronomy/planets/earth/Seasons.shtml

http://www.materialworlds.com/sims/SolarSystem/
FourSeasons1View/WhatIf/netscape.html

http://www.eas.slu.edu/People/CEGraves/Eas138/fg02_04.jpg

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/upload/img/seasons-full_20030416094506.gif

http://seis.natsci.csulb.edu/rbehl/incident.jpg

 

ii. Revolution around the Sun

http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/6h.html

http://www.physicalgeography.net/
fundamentals/6hrevolution.html

http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/ content/visualizations/es0408/es0408page01.cfm?chapter_no=04

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/images/imageshtml/earth-tilt.gif

http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/projects/data/Seasons/seasons.html

 

 iii. Angle of sunlight

http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/animation/
atmosphere/earth_revolution.html

http://cwx.prenhall.com/bookbind/pubbooks/
lutgens3/medialib/earthsun/earthsun.html

http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Sunangle.htm

http://sunshine.chpc.utah.edu/labs/sunangle/
sunangle.html?
ASPIRE_Session=94b70d025bc12d9baa604078a4b68aee

http://www.uwm.edu/~kahl/CoVis/Seasons/

 

 iv. Direct / indirect energy

http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/News/2001/News-AutumnalEquinox.asp

http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~blackman/ast104/seasons.html

http://www.msnucleus.org/membership/html/k-6/uc/earth/3/uce3_3a.html

General Information:

http://www.teachersdomain.org/6-8/sci/ess/earthsys/lp_seasons/index.html

http://www.astronomy.org/programs/seasons/index.html

http://curriculum.calstatela.edu/courses/builders/
lessons/less/les1/seasons.html

http://www.vu.msu.edu/preview/
geo206/seasons_orbit/seasons_orbit.html

http://www.scienceu.com/observatory/
articles/seasons/seasons.html

http://www.ecology.com/ecology-today/tilting-earth/

Evaluation

Conclusion

You should now have an understanding of the true causes of seasons. Think about this: what would happen if any one of the variables (angle, energy, tilt, revolution) changed? How would that affect the seasons?