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SavannahYear 8
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ScienceElectricity, magnetism and space26 min★★ difficulty

Seasons, day length and the light year

The Earth's tilt, not its distance from the Sun, is why summer days are long and warm while winter days are short and cold.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Physics: space physics: Understand the seasons and the Earth's tilt, day length at different times of year, and the light year as a unit of astronomical distance

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Understand the seasons and the Earth's tilt, day length at different times of year, and the light year as a unit of astronomical distance

Key learning points

  • • Earth's tilt and the seasons
  • • Day length through the year
  • • The light year

This lesson at a glance

  • 26 minutes
  • 14 parts to scroll through
  • 3 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

seasonslengthastronomicaldistance

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 14 · Discover7%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 14

Watch first

Seasons, day length and the light year

An English teaching video on this topic from Lammas Science. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Understand the seasons and the Earth's tilt, day length at different times of year, and the light year as a unit of astronomical distance

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 14

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Earth's tilt and the seasons

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 14

Learn

Earth's tilt and the seasons

Earth's axis is tilted at about 23.5° from vertical. As Earth orbits the Sun over a year, this tilt means different hemispheres lean towards or away from the Sun at different times, causing the seasons — not changes in distance from the Sun.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 14

Learn

Day length through the year

When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun (summer), it receives more direct sunlight for longer, giving long days and short nights. In winter, tilted away from the Sun, days are short with more indirect, weaker sunlight.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 14

Quick check

What mainly causes the seasons on Earth?

6

Reset break

Part 6 of 14

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
7

Quick check

Part 7 of 14

Quick check

What is a light year a measure of?

8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 14

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · The light year

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 14

Learn

The light year

A light year is the distance light travels in one year — about 9.46 trillion kilometres. It is used to measure vast astronomical distances because using kilometres would produce impossibly large numbers; the nearest star beyond the Sun is over 4 light years away.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 14

Quick check

During Northern Hemisphere summer, why are days longer?

11

Challenge round

Part 11 of 14

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

12

Challenge round

Part 12 of 14

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

As Earth orbits the Sun over a year, this tilt means different hemispheres lean towards or away from the Sun at different times, causing the ____ — not changes in distance from the Sun.

A light year is the ____ light travels in one year — about 9.46 trillion kilometres.

It is used to measure vast ____ distances because using kilometres would produce impossibly large numbers; the nearest star beyond the Sun is over 4 light years away.

13

Mastery quiz

Part 13 of 14

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Seasons, day length and the light year

3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. What mainly causes the seasons on Earth?

  2. 2. What is a light year a measure of?

  3. 3. During Northern Hemisphere summer, why are days longer?

14

Lesson round-up

Part 14 of 14

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Case study

Why the school greenhouse failed

A science club grew tomato plants in the school greenhouse. In June the plants grew well: leaves were dark green and the fruit set quickly. In July the club went away for two weeks and left the greenhouse door shut. When they came back, the leaves were curled and pale and most of the fruit had dropped.

The club had a data logger inside. It showed the temperature reached 46 °C on several afternoons and the soil moisture fell close to zero. The club knew photosynthesis needs light, water and carbon dioxide, and that enzymes in a plant work best in a narrow range of temperature. Above that range the enzymes stop working properly.

The club repeated the summer with the door propped open and a water bottle drip on each pot. Temperature peaked at 31 °C and the plants survived.

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Name the variable the club changed the second time, and one variable they kept the same.
  2. Explain, using the words photosynthesis and enzymes, why the plants were damaged in July.
  3. Write a conclusion for the club's report, saying how far the evidence supports it.

  • Method and results

    Writing

    Write the aim, what you changed, what you measured and what you kept the same, then record your results in a table.

    1 page + results table

  • Conclusion

    Writing

    Explain what your results show and why, using the scientific words from the lesson. Say how you know you can trust them.

    6–8 sentences

  • Labelled diagram

    Diagram

    Draw the apparatus or the process in pencil, label it fully, and photograph it.

    1 labelled diagram

  • Reading and notes

    Reading

    Read the lesson text again and write the key ideas in your own words.

    Half a page of notes

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 14 · Watch & discover

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    Understand the seasons and the Earth's tilt, day length at different times of year, and the light year as a unit of astronomical distance

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