Inquiry 3.3 Summer vs Winter Ecliptics
Directions: Write down the following answers on a sheet of notebook paper. Remember to put part of the questons into your answer.
Procedure:
1)Copy the Data table below onto your sheet of notebook paper.
2)Put the “summer” side of the paper on the SEM board and place the blue peg in the center of where all the summer shadows meet. Place a binder clip on each side of the SEM board to hold the paper in place. The metal sides of the clip can be folded backwards so the SEM board sits more evenly on the table.
3)The string on the flashlight MUST be pulled tight the entire time.
4)Hold the flashlight up behind the blue peg so the shadow formed completely fills the outline for shadow #1.
5)Continue to hold the flashlight in place while another member of your group measures the DISTANCE FROM THE TABLE TOP TO THE BOTTOM OF THE FLASHLIGHT in cm. The ruler should be straight up and down and NOT at an angel.
6)Record the height of the “Sun” (flashlight) on your data table and make sure to include the decimals if necessary.
7)Move the flashlight so the shadow made by the peg fills space #2. Repeat steps 2-4 for all the summer shadows.
8)After finding the height of the “Sun” for all the summer shadows, flip the large white paper over to see the summer shadows.
9)Repeat steps 2 through 5 for all of the winter shadows.
10)Make a line graph of the winter shadows using blue colored pencil.
11)Make a line graph of the summer shadows using a red or orange colored pencil.
12)Write a conclusion using the analyzing data questions.
Data Table 3.3
Analyze the Data / Conclusion:. Look at the what the data tells you (analyze the data).
- What is the highest point in cm of the summer’s ecliptic according to your data?
- What is the highest point in cm of the winter’s ecliptic accordng to your data?
- How do the highest piont(s) in the summer’s ecliptic compare to the highest point(s) of the winter’s ecliptic?
- How does the path of the summer ecliptic compare to the paht of the winter ecliptic. (Look at your graph)
- What causes the shadows to be longer in one season than the other seasons and the angle the light is at.
Conclusion:
Rewrite all the answer to the analayzing data questions down in paragraph form.