Earth's tilt
I can explain why it is winter in the southern hemisphere when it is summer in the northern hemisphere.
Earth's tilt
I can explain why it is winter in the southern hemisphere when it is summer in the northern hemisphere.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- In summer there are more daylight hours, compared to winter, the Sun appears higher in the sky and it is warmer.
- When it is summer in northern hemisphere countries it is winter in southern hemisphere countries.
- Earth spins on an axis that is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees.
- In June, the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, so has summer.
- In June, the southern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, so has winter.
Common misconception
Earth moves closer to the Sun in the summer and further away in the winter.
Remind students that Earth's orbit is nearly a perfect circle with the Sun at the centre so Earth's distance to the Sun does not significantly change over a year, and also that not everywhere on Earth has a warmer season at the same time, or at all.
Keywords
Summer - Summer is the warmest season, when the Sun is highest in the sky and there are more hours of daylight.
Winter - Winter is the coldest season, when the Sun is lowest in the sky and there are fewer hours of daylight.
Hemisphere - A hemisphere is half a sphere.
Axis - The axis of a spinning object is the imaginary line around which it spins.
Tilt - Something is tilted if it is at an angle to the horizontal or vertical.
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Video
Loading...