Day and night, the year, and why we have seasons

Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   Early January about 147 million km; early July about 152 million km. Esme's friend says summer happens because Earth gets closer to the Sun. Which response is best?

   • Disagree: the axis flips toward the Sun each summer
   • Agree: both hemispheres get closer, so both get summer
   • Disagree: Earth is closest in January, in northern winter
   • Agree: closer means hotter, so summer comes then
2. 2.

   A video claims low winter sunlight is stronger because it arrives at a slant. Jun checks the claim. Which response is best?

   • Agree: low sunlight packs more energy into each spot
   • Disagree: winter comes because Earth is farther away
   • Disagree: slanted light spreads, so each spot gets less
   • Disagree: daylight is 12 hours, so angle cannot matter
3. 3.

   “Orbit diagram, top view, not to scale:” Suppose Earth's axis had no tilt at all. What would Luz's town in Ohio get all year long?

   • Strong seasons from distance alone
   • Days near 12 hours and no strong seasons
   • Summer weather, since the Sun stays high
   • The same seasons, since the axis tips anyway
4. 4.

   Suppose Earth's tilt were bigger than its real 23.4°. What would happen to summers and winters in the north, according to Milo's notes?

   • Summers and winters would both be more extreme
   • Nothing would change, since distance sets seasons
   • Winter light would be stronger, since it is lower
   • Both hemispheres would share one season
5. 5.

   Suppose Earth kept its tilt but its orbit were a perfect circle. Would Noah still have seasons?

   • No, since the distance would stay the same
   • No, since the axis would stop tipping back and forth
   • Yes, but both halves would have summer together
   • Yes, because the tilt still changes the sunlight

6. Read this first

   Use the table

   City	June and December	hours of daylight
   Phoenix	Arizona (33°N) June about 14	December about 10
   Sydney	Australia (34°S) June about 10	December about 14

7. 6.

   Pia compares daylight in Phoenix and Sydney. Why are their longest days about six months apart?

   • Sydney is closer to the Sun in December
   • The cities share seasons, so the table is wrong
   • Earth's axis switches direction twice a year
   • Each has summer when its hemisphere leans sunward
8. 7.

   Sydney, Australia (34°S) about 10; Quito, Ecuador (0°) about 12; Phoenix, Arizona (33°N) about 14; Anchorage, Alaska (61°N) about 19. Ren sorts a table of June daylight in four cities, from the equator to Alaska. What pattern do the numbers show?

   • Cities nearer the Sun get longer days
   • The farther north a city is, the longer its June days
   • The four cities share the same summer season
   • Days are 12 hours, so these numbers are rounded

9. Use the table

   City and Noon Sun height	noon Sun height above the horizon on December 21
   Sydney	Australia about 80°
   Phoenix	Arizona about 33°

10. 8.

    On December 21, Tala compares noon Sun heights. Which city gets more energy on each patch of ground, and why?

    • Phoenix, because low sunlight is stronger
    • Sydney, because its sunlight is more direct
    • Phoenix, because it is closer to the Sun then
    • Neither, since both get 12 hours of daylight
11. 9.

    Zee carries a tilted globe around a lamp. At spot P, the globe's North Pole leans toward the lamp. Which season is the model showing for the north?

    • Summer, since the north gets direct light
    • Winter, since the tilt must turn as it moves
    • Summer for both halves of the globe
    • Winter, since the globe is farthest from the lamp
12. 10.

    In Bo's model, the globe's North Pole is turned to face the lamp at every spot. What is wrong with this model?

    • The globe should move closer to the lamp in summer
    • Earth's axis keeps pointing the same way all year
    • The globe should show one season on both halves
    • Nothing; Earth's tilt follows the Sun around