Reasons for the Seasons

Question:  How does the tilt of Earth’s axis affect the light received by Earth as it revolves around the sun?

Hypothesis:  I think that since the Earth wobbles on its axis, these wobbling might cause parts of the Earth to be closer to the sun than others.  This may cause the seasons.

1.)     When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, which areas on Earth get the most concentrated light?  Which areas get the most concentrated light when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere?

When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the Earth gets the most concentrated light on the Southern Hemisphere, whereas when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it has the most concentrated sunlight.

2.)     Compare your observations on how the light hits the area halfway between the equator and the North Pole during winter and during summer. 

In the summer, the area halfway between the equator during the North Pole is more concentrated than in the winter.

3.)    If the squares projected on the ball from the acetate become larger, what can you infer about the amount of heat distributed in each square?

 

The amount of heat will have become less, because if the square stretches, that means that there is more room for heat in each square.  The more space there is, the less concentrated the heat is, and the cooler each square will be overall.

4.)    According to your observations, which areas on Earth are consistently coolest?  Which areas are consistently warmest?  Why?

Areas in the north and south sections of Earth, such as the north and south poles, are consistently cool.  This is because even when our planet tilts towards the sun, they do not have the highest concentration of sunlight.  This means that they will not be as warm as other parts of the Earth.  Areas that are consistently warmest are those near the Equator, in between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.  This is because since they are in the middle of the planet, the tilting of Earth won’t really affect them.  They will always have a fairly high concentration of sunlight. 

5.)    What time of year will the toothpick’s shadow be longest?  When will the shadow be shortest?

The toothpick’s shadow will be longest when the Earth model is tilted toward the sun, because the there will be the farthest distance from the base of the toothpick to the section of the model that is in shadow.  The toothpick’s shadow will be longest during summer for the northern hemisphere, and shortest in the winter. 

6.)    How are the amounts of heat and light received in a square related to the angle of the sun’s rays?

The amounts of heat and light received in a square relates to the sun’s rays, because since the earth is round, the squares must bend.  Some of them become gooey rectangles.  This means that sunlight must also bend to cover Earth.

 

Conclusion: 

The Earth’s tilting causes the seasons.  This is because since our planet is on an axis, part of it will always be tilted away from the sun.  If the Earth never tilted, either the northern or southern hemisphere might be too cold for human habitation and we wouldn’t have the seasons.  Since this is not true for Earth and our planet tilts so that part of the year, the northern hemisphere is closer to the sun, and another part of the year, the southern hemisphere is closer to the sun, we have the seasons.  My hypothesis was semi-correct.  I think that I guessed what was happening, but I didn't know how to word it correctly.  I said "wobbles," when I think I meant "tilts."