SECTION
1 Earth and the
TEKS 3B, 3C, 6A, 6C, 21B Sun’s Energy
What You Will Learn… If YOU lived there...
Main Ideas You live in Chicago and have just won an exciting prize—a trip
1. Earth’s movement affects to Australia during winter vacation in January. As you prepare for
the amount of energy we
receive from the sun.
the trip, your mother reminds you to pack shorts and a swimsuit.
2. Earth’s seasons are caused You are confused. In January you usually wear winter sweaters and
by the planet’s tilt.
a heavy jacket.
The Big Idea Why is the weather so different in Australia?
Earth’s movement and the
sun’s energy interact to create
day and night, temperature
changes, and the seasons.
Building Background Seasonal differences in weather are
an important result of Earth’s constant movement. As the planet
Key Terms moves, we experience changes in the amount of energy we receive
solar energy, p. 26
from the sun. Geographers study and explain why different places on
rotation, p. 26
revolution, p. 27 Earth receive differing amounts of energy from the sun.
latitude, p. 27
tropics, p. 29
Earth’s Movement
Energy from the sun helps crops grow, provides light, and warms
Earth. It even influences the clothes we wear, the foods we eat,
Use the graphic organizer online
to take notes on Earth’s movement and the sports we play. All life on Earth requires solar energy,
and the seasons. or energy from the sun, to survive. The amount of solar energy
places on Earth receive changes constantly. Earth’s rotation, rev-
olution, and tilt, as well as latitude, all affect the amount of solar
energy parts of the planet receive from the sun.
Rotation
Imagine that Earth has a rod running through it from the North
Pole to the South Pole. This rod represents Earth’s axis—an
imaginary line around which a planet turns. As Earth spins on
its axis, different parts of the planet face the sun. It takes Earth
24 hours, or one day, to complete this rotation. A rotation is one
complete spin of Earth on its axis. As Earth rotates during this
24-hour period, it appears to us that the sun moves across the
sky. The sun seems to rise in the east and set in the west. The
26 Chapter 2
VIDEO
Solar Energy Secrets of the
Sun
Earth’s tilt and rotation cause 23.5°
changes in the amount of energy we
receive from the sun. As Earth rotates
on its axis, energy from the sun cre- North
ates periods of day and night. Earth’s Pole
tilt causes some locations, especially
those close to the equator, to receive
more direct solar energy than others.
Sun’s Rays
Eq
uat
or
ANALYSIS
skill Analyzing Visuals
Is the region north or south of the
equator receiving more solar
energy? How can you tell? South
Pole
sun, however, does not move. It is actually Tilt and Latitude
Earth’s rotation that creates the sense of Another factor affecting the amount of
the sun’s movement. solar energy we receive is the planet’s tilt.
Earth’s rotation also explains why day As the illustration shows, Earth’s axis is not A CADEMIC
changes to night. As you can see in the straight up and down. It is actually tilted V OCABULARY
illustration, solar energy strikes only the factor cause
at an angle of 23½ degrees from vertical.
half of Earth facing the sun. Warmth and At any given time of year, some locations
light from the sun create daytime. At the on Earth are tilting away from the sun, and
same time, the half of the planet facing others are tilting toward it. Places tilting
away from the sun experiences the cooler toward the sun receive more solar energy
temperatures and darkness of night. Earth’s and experience warmer temperatures.
rotation causes regular shifts from day to Those tilting away from the sun receive
night. As a result, levels of solar energy on less solar energy and experience cooler
Earth constantly change. temperatures.
A location’s latitude, the distance north
Revolution or south of Earth’s equator, also affects the
As Earth spins on its axis, it also follows amount of solar energy it receives. Low-
a path, or orbit, around the sun. Earth’s latitude areas, those near the equator like
orbit around the sun is not a perfect circle. Hawaii, receive direct rays from the sun all
Sometimes the orbit takes Earth closer to year. These direct rays are more intense and
the sun, and at other times the orbit takes produce warmer temperatures. Regions
it farther away. It takes 365¼ days for Earth with high latitudes, like Antarctica, are
to complete one revolution, or trip around farther from the equator. As a result, they
the sun. We base our calendar year on the receive indirect rays from the sun and have
time it takes Earth to complete its orbit colder temperatures.
around the sun. To allow for the fraction
of a day, we add an extra day—February Reading Check Finding Main Ideas What
29—to our calendar every four years. factors affect the solar energy Earth receives?
Planet Earth 27
The Seasons Winter and Summer
Does the thought of snow in July or 100- The change in seasons is created by Earth’s
degree temperatures in January seem odd tilt. As you can see in the illustration below,
F OCUS ON to you? It might if you live in the Northern while one of Earth’s poles tilts away from
R EADING Hemisphere, where cold temperatures are the sun, the other tilts toward it. During
The prefix hemi-
common in January, not July. The planet’s winter part of Earth is tilted away from the
means half. What
does the word changing seasons explain why we often sun, causing less direct solar energy, cool
hemisphere connect certain weather with specific times temperatures, and less daylight. Summer
mean?
of the year, like snow in January. Seasons are occurs when part of Earth is tilted toward
periods during the year that are known for the sun. This creates more direct solar
a particular type of weather. Many places energy, warmer temperatures, and longer
on Earth experience four seasons—winter, periods of daylight.
spring, summer, and fall. These seasons are Because of Earth’s tilt, the Northern and
based on temperature and length of day. In Southern hemispheres experience opposite
some parts of the world, however, seasons seasons. As the North Pole tilts toward the
are based on the amount of rainfall. sun in summer, the South Pole tilts away
The Seasons: Northern Hemisphere
Winter and Spring The North
As Earth orbits the sun, the tilt of its axis March 21 Pole tilts away from the sun in win-
toward and away from the sun causes SPRING ter, causing cooler temperatures. In
the seasons to change. Seasons in the
the spring, temperatures gradually
Northern Hemisphere change at about
rise as the North Pole begins to
the same time every year.
point toward the sun.
Analyzing Visuals As the
Northern Hemisphere experiences
winter, what season is it
in the Southern December 21
Hemisphere? WINTER
June 21 North Pole
SUMMER
Tro
p ic o
f Cancer
Summer and Fall Summer’s
warm temperatures are the result Equ
Tro ato r
of the North Pole’s tilt toward p ic o
the sun. As we move away from f Ca
the sun in the fall, temperatures prico
rn
slowly decline.
South Pole September 22
FALL
28 Chapter 2
from it. As a result, the Southern Hemi- FOCUS ON C ULTURE
sphere experiences winter. Likewise, when
it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere, it The Midnight Sun
is fall in the Southern Hemisphere. Can you imagine going to sleep late at night with the sun
shining in the sky? People who live near the Arctic and
Spring and Fall Antarctic circles experience this every summer, when they
As Earth orbits the sun, there are periods can receive up to 24 hours of sunlight a day. The time-lapse
photo below shows a typical sunset during this period—
when the poles tilt neither toward nor
except the sun never really sets! This phenomenon is known
away from the sun. These periods mark
as the midnight sun. For locations like Tromso, Norway, this
spring and fall. During the spring, as part means up to two months of constant daylight each summer.
of Earth begins to tilt toward the sun, solar People living near Earth’s poles often use the long daylight
energy increases. Temperatures slowly start hours to work on outdoor projects in preparation for winter,
to rise, and days grow longer. In the fall the when they can receive 24 hours of darkness a day.
opposite occurs as winter approaches. Solar
Predicting How might people’s daily lives be affected by the
energy begins to decrease, causing cooler midnight sun?
temperatures and shorter days.
Rainfall and Seasons
Some regions on Earth have seasons marked
by rainfall rather than temperature. This
is true in the tropics , regions close to the
equator. At certain times of year, winds
bring either dry or moist air to the tropics,
creating wet and dry seasons. In India, for
SUmmary and PReview Solar energy is
example, seasonal winds called monsoons crucial for all life on the planet. Earth’s
bring heavy rains from June to October position and movements affect the
and dry air from November to January. amount of energy we receive from the
sun and determine our seasons. Next,
Reading Check Identifying Cause and you will learn about Earth’s water supply
Effect What causes the seasons to change? and its importance to us.
Section 1 Assessment ONLINE QUIZ
Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and Places Critical Thinking
1. a. Identify What is solar energy, and how does it 3. Identifying Cause and Effect Use your notes and
affect Earth? the diagram to identify the causes of seasons.
b. Analyze How do rotation and tilt each affect
Cause
the amount of solar energy that different parts of
Effect: Earth’s changing seasons
Earth receive?
Cause
c. Predict What might happen if Earth received less
solar energy than it currently does?
2. a. Describe Name and describe Earth’s seasons.
b. Contrast How are seasons different in the North-
Focus on Writing
ern and Southern hemispheres? 4. Describing the Seasons What are the seasons like
c. Elaborate How might the seasons affect where you live? In your notebook, jot down a few
human activities? notes that describe the changing seasons.
Planet Earth 29
