Discover: Hey Sun, What's Your Angle?

Have you ever noticed how much cats like sleeping in the rays of the Sun? You probably already know why – sunshine makes for a very warm place to take a nap!

Cats may not understand science, but they do know where the warm spots are in a house. You have learned already that warm air rises, so it is more likely you are going to find a cat sleeping upstairs on a sofa rather than on the floor in the basement. Cats also seek places with bright sunshine because the Sun's rays carry heat energy.


Even during daytime hours, the Sun does not get high in the sky during an Alberta winter.

Convincing a cat to go outside during cold winter days is difficult. In winter, the Sun's rays strike Alberta much less directly and from further away, which means we do not get as much energy from the Sun as we do in summer. You can prove this very easily yourself with a flashlight. Point a flashlight directly at your palm from a short distance, and the light will appear much brighter than if you hold the flashlight toward your palm at an angle from further away.

  Video

Watch this video: Winter and summer seasons are due to the Sun’s rays hitting Earth at various angles.

Follow the link and use the following information to login:

Username: 0099 

Password: students

Remember that Earth spins as it travels around the Sun.  When Alberta does not face the Sun, it is night, and there is no energy from the Sun.  That is why nights are usually colder than days are.

Uneven heating by the Sun is responsible for warmer and cooler temperatures, which drives much of Earth's weather.  You can explore this further in this activity.

The Sun has even less effect in winter because much of the Sun's rays just bounce off the bright white ground.

 

What effect does the angle of the Sun have on weather?

Resources

Notebook

Click here to download the instructions for this activity. Save to your Weather Notebook.


  Skill Builder

Click a link below to learn how to: 

construct a diagram in Google Docs