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PSCI 103: Introductory Physical ScienceSummer Session II: Summer, 2020Week 6 Review Questions (40 points)1. The dates of the equinoxes and solstices are given in the table below. Determine the number of days for each season during the 2020 – 2021 calendar year.20202021Spring begins, March 20, 2020Spring begins, March 20, 2021Summer begins, June 21, 2020Summer begins, June 21, 2021Autumn begins, September 22, 2020Autumn begins, September 23, 2021Winter begins, December 21, 2020Winter begins, December 21, 2021March 20, 2020 – June 21, 2020June 21, 2020 – September 22, 2020Number of days:Number of days:September 22, 2020 – December 21, 2020December 21, 2020 – March 20, 2021Number of days:Number of days:Which season has the greatest number of days? What does this imply about the speed of the earth as it orbits the sun at this location? Which season has the fewest number of days? What does this imply about the speed of the earth as it orbits the sun at this location? It is the gravitational attraction between the sun and the earth that keeps the earth in its orbit. Remember Newton’s Second Law of Motion, it states that in order to accelerate a mass a force must be applied to it. What can you say about the relationship between the magnitude of this force and the distance the earth is from the sun? Construct a statement (or series of statements) that illustrates the relationship between the duration of winter and summer, the distance from the sun, and speed of the earth as it orbits the sun.Most people would expect that the earth is closer to the sun during the summer and farther from the sun in the winter. As you have seen this is not true. What factor is responsible for the degree of heating the earth’s surface as the earth orbits the sun?Bob says, “The seasons are a quarter of an orbit”, Suzy says, “The seasons are a quarter of a year.” Who’s right? How do you convince the other they are wrong?Then, Bob says, The Earth is closer to the sun in the summer which explains why the Earth is warmer.” Suzy says, “If that is true, then why does the Southern Hemisphere have winter when we have summer? Aren’t they closer to the sun too?” Please settle this argument.2. In the 2002 thriller Insomnia, Al Pacino plays a Los Angeles detective whose murder investigation takes him to northern Alaska in the summer. As the arctic Sun never sets, he finds himself unable to sleep, and he is gradually driven to madness by the pressures of the investigation and the unrelenting sunshine. Is it true that there is endless daylight in the arctic summer? What happens in the winter? In this section you will investigate seasonal changes for several locations on Earth. Open Seasons Around the WorldOn the DESCRIPTION pane, use the Latitude slider to set the latitude for Providence, RI.Set the speed slider to its maximum value. Select the YEAR GRAPH tab and click Play (). The simulation will automatically pause at the end of one year. The graphs show how many hours of daylight there are and the total solar energy that impacts that location in a day (we will return to this graph in a later laboratory). Record the data from the graph for the number of daylight hours in Providence at the beginning of each season. Reset the Gizmo and allow the program to run for a full year at each of the other locations, recording the hours of daylight at the completion of one year.Hours of DaylightLocationLatitudeVernal EquinoxSummer SolsticeAutumnal EquinoxWinter SolsticeBarrow, AK71.0o NFairbanks, AK65.0o NProvidence, RI41.5o NAtlanta, GA33.0o NHonolulu, HI21.0o NBuenos AiresArgentina33.0o SExamine the data for locations in the northern hemisphere, how does changing the latitude of the location effect the number of hours of daylight at the equinox?Does Fairbanks experience a polar day or night? Use the data to support your answer.Does Barrow experience a polar day or night? Why is this answer different for Barrow than for Fairbanks?Construct a general statement that describes the changes in the hours of daylight at the Winter and Summer Solstices as the latitude increases (more northerly).Compare the data for Atlanta and Buenos Aires. What’s similar about their hours of daylight during the year, and how does the data differ?3. As you have seen, the hours of daylight are different for different locations, we have seasons because of the tilt of Earth's axis. What would happen if the Earth were more or less tilted? To find out, try the following steps. Select the DESCRIPTION tab and set the Latitude to the latitude of Providence (41.5o N). Click and drag the Earth axis angle slider back and forth, observing the effect on the diagram of the Earth. Set the Earth axis angle to 0°. Set the speed to maximum and click Play (). Select the YEAR GRAPH tab and observe the resulting graphs for the hours of daylight and record the data from the graph for the number of daylight hours at the beginning of each season. Reset the Gizmo and allow the program to run for a full year at the other axis angles.Hours of DaylightEarth’s AxisVernal EquinoxSummer SolsticeAutumnal EquinoxWinter Solstice0o47.0o-23.5oHow are the hours of daylight altered by changing the earth’s axis to 0o? How would this affect seasonal changes worldwide? How are the hours of daylight altered when increasing the tilt of the earth’s axis to 47o? How would affect seasonal changes worldwide? How does reversing the tilt alter the daylight and seasonal changes worldwide? ................
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