Exercise 2 The Earth

1. In daytime it is light. At night it is dark.

(a) Give two reasons why this happens.

(2 marks)

(b)

(i) The Sun is shining. Its position early in the morning is shown in the picture.
Draw a Sun on each of the other dotted lines in the picture to show its height at the times given. (1 mark)

(ii) Why does the stick form a shadow when the Sun shines?
(1 mark)

(iii) At what time would the shadow of the stick be shortest?

(1 mark)

(iv) Explain why the shadow is shortest at that time.

(1 mark)

(v) Why does the Sun appear to move across the sky

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 Exercise 2 The Earth

2. The diagram below shows the Earth, the Sun, the Moon and an artificial satellite.

(a) On the diagram, label the Earth, the Sun and the Moon. (3 marks)

(b) Which of the following is a source of light?

(1 mark)

(c) Define what artificial satellite is.

(1 mark)

(d) The curve shows the path of the Sun in the sky from sunrise to sunset in England one day in
summer.

(i) On the curve, mark the position of the Sun at 9.00 am. Label this point A. (1 mark)

(ii) The Sun seemed to move from point B to point C. How many hours did this take?
(1 mark)

(e) On the diagram above, draw the path of the Sun from sunrise to sunset on a day in winter. (1 mark)

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 Exercise 2 The Earth

2. David lives in Britain. He sees that the Sun seems to move across the sky.
(a) Where does the Sun rise in the morning?
(1 mark)

(b) (i) At what time of day is the Sun highest in the sky?
(1 mark)

(ii) In which direction will David see the Sun when it is highest in the sky?
towards the north

towards the south

towards the west

towards the east

(1 mark)

(c) Where does the Sun set in the evening?

(1 mark)

(e) Light from the Sun takes about 8 minutes to get to the Earth.
How long does light from other stars take to get to the Earth?
more than 8 minutes

8 minutes

less than 8 minutes

zero minutes
(1 mark)

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 Exercise 2 The Earth

3. The Sun appears to move across the sky each day. The drawing shows the position of the
Sun at mid-day on the 21st March.

(a) (i) Draw the path which the Sun appears to take from sunrise to sunset on the 21st March. Label
the path ‘March’. (1 mark)

(ii) Put an arrow on the line you have drawn to show the direction in which the Sun appears
to move across the sky. (1 mark)

(b) Draw another line to show the path which the Sun appears to take from sunrise to sunset
in December. Label the path ‘December’. (1 mark)

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 Exercise 2 The Earth

5. In the diagram below, the dotted line shows the orbit of the Earth around the Sun.

Four different positions along this path are markked A, B, C, and D.

The arrows show the direction of the Earth’s motion around the Sun.
Northern Ireland has summer when the Earth in position A.
(a) On the diagram above, draw the axis of rotation of the Earth in posiiton C. (1 mark)

(b) What are the seasons in the southern hemisphere when the Earth is in positions B and D?
B

D
(2 marks)

(c) The length of a day changes over the year.

Explain why.

(2 marks)

(d) Why is it colder in winter and warmer in summer?

(1 mark)

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