O level Space physics

1. Thinking about the topic Star
Wars…
What is 4.5 billion years old and
travels at 1,038 miles per
hour……?

2. STAR WARS
Day, night and the seasons.
Objectives
• To identify that day and night is caused by the
rotation of the earth on it’s axis.
• To identify that the seasons are caused by the
earth rotating around the sun

3. How long is one day?
24 hours
How long is one year?
365¼ days
The Earth spins on its axis,
which is tilted at an angle of
23.5°. It is always the same
direction.
The earth also rotates around
the sun
This causes day and night and the seasons.
Day and night

4. sunlight
It take the Earth 24 hours
to complete one rotation
about its axis.
Day and night

5. What time is it?
 It is 04:00 in London.
What time is it in other
parts of the Earth?
Place GMT Time
Casablanca +1
Pretoria +2
Antanarivo +3
Philippines +8
05:00
06:00
07:00
12:00
Casablanca
Philippines
Antanarivo
Pretoria

6. The rotation of the Earth

7. The seasons
Summer
in the UK
Winter
in the UK
Fall
in the UK
Spring
in the UK

8. What is the season?

9. east west
Copy the diagram above and add two ‘sun lines’
– one line for summer and one line for winter.
fall
The position of the Sun and the seasons
summer
winter

10. What have you learnt?
It is Winter in Britain because....
1) The Sun shines on us for a shorter time in Winter
than in Summer so we get less heat.
2) The Sun's rays reach us at an angle, 'spreading-out'
the heat over a larger part of the Earth.
Neither 1 nor 2
Both 1 and 2

11. Answer Worksheet then see if you can answer these
extension questions
Q. What causes seasons?
Q. Why are the seasons in the Southern
Hemisphere opposite to those in the the
northern hemisphere?
Q. Why are the days longer in the
summer than the winter?