1. Warm-UP
NoteBook – ORGANIZE
Earth, Moon and Sun Study Guide
Vocabulary
Warm-UP/Notes
2/12/2015 WARM-UP – True or False
The sky seems to turn because Earth stays still.
Mass is the force that keeps a satellite in orbit around an object in space
Earth is a satellite of the sun.

2. 2.1 Earth rotates on a tilted axis and orbits the sun.
Earth’s rotation causes day and night
Earth’s gravity pulls objects toward the center of the Earth
As the Earth turns so do you BUT you keep the same position with what is below your feet; the view above your head changes.
North, South, East and West are based on the Earth’s rotation
Axis of Rotation – an imaginary line running through the center of the Earth; its ends are the north and south poles. Any location on the Earth moves from WEST to EAST as the Earth turns.

3. At any one time ½ of the Earth is in darkness and ½ is in sunlight
It takes 24 hours for the Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis.
Sunlight = daytime
middle of sunlight side=noon
Darkness = night
middle of dark side = midnight

4. Earth’s tilted axis and orbit cause seasons
Sun’s gravity causes the Earth to be pulled toward the sun’s center
Earth moves sideways, at nearly a right angle to the sun’s direction.
This causes a round orbit
Revolution – motion of one object around another. (revolve)
The Earth revolves around the sun – 365 days /1 year
Video: The movement of the Earth

5. Earth is tilted on it’s axis at a 23.5 degree angle
Earth’s axis is always tilted the same direction in space.
Earth’s orbit is not a perfect circle
Earth is closer to the sun in January than it is in July
Seasonal Patterns
Seasons –patterns of temperature changes and other weather trends over the course of a year.
Amount of sunlight = temperature change tilt of Earth’s axis
As the Earth travels around the Sun, the area of sunlight in each hemisphere changes.

6. Equinox – sunlight shines equally on the northern and southern hemispheres; ½ of each hemisphere is in sunlight and ½ is in darkness – sunlight centered on the equator
September Equinox - beginning of Fall in the northern hemisphere beginning of Spring - southern hemisphere
March Equinox beginning of Spring – northern hemisphere beginning of Fall - northern hemisphere

7. Solstice – the area of sunlight is at its greatest in one hemisphere and is at a minimum in the other hemisphere
December Solstice
Northern Hemisphere
North pole seems to tilt away from the sun
North pole in complete darkness
Winter solstice
2. Southern Hemisphere
South pole seems to tilt toward the sun
South pole is in complete sunlight
Summer solstice

8. Opposite of December solstice
June Solstice
Opposite of December solstice
North pole seems to tilt toward the sun
Beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere
South pole seems to tilt away from the sun
Beginning of winter in the Southern Hemisphere

9. Angle of light affects temperature
Angles of Sunlight
Angle of light affects temperature
Sun high in the sky
Sun low in the sky
Sunlight strikes close to a
right angle
Sunlight strikes at a
slant
Energy of sun is concentrated
Energy of sun is spread out
Shadows are short
Shadows are long
sunburn
warms less

10. Lengths of Days
The farther you get from the Equator, the more extreme the changes in day length become
Close to the poles – Sun does NOT set for 6 months at a time
Near the equator – daylight and darkness are almost equal year-round; about 12 hours each
Video: Seasons