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🌏 Primary Maths & Science Games · Grade 6 science · The moving Earth

Earth’s Orbit and the Seasons

Local Calculation · Private

Many children think summer is hot because the Earth is closer to the Sun, but the Earth is actually closest in early January. Seasons come from the tilted axis as the Earth orbits. Drag the Earth first, then try the levels.

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How to play

  1. In Explore, drag the Earth on its orbit or the date slider, tap “Orbit” to play, or jump to an equinox or solstice.
  2. The close-up shows sunlight, where the Sun is overhead and your chosen place. Readouts give the overhead latitude, the season in each hemisphere, day length, noon Sun height and the shadow of a 1 m stick.
  3. Untick “Axis tilted 23.5°”: the Sun stays over the equator and days are always about 12 hours, so the seasons disappear.
  4. Five levels: drag the Earth to an equinox or solstice → seasons north and south → where the Sun is overhead → why seasons happen → noon Sun height and shadows.

Curriculum unit

Primary science, grade 6: the Earth’s movements, orbit, the tilted axis and how the seasons form (Jiaoke science, grade 6 volume 1, unit 2).

For parents and teachers

Mistakes are grouped as reading the axis at the solstices, direction of the orbit, order of the seasons, seasons in each hemisphere, the overhead Sun, causes of the seasons, noon shadows and noon Sun height (north/south mixed up, angle from overhead). The most common misconception is “summer is when we are closer to the Sun”; compare with the tilt switched off.

FAQ

Why do we have seasons?
The Earth’s axis is tilted about 23.5° and keeps pointing the same way as it orbits, so the overhead Sun moves between the tropics and day length and noon Sun height change through the year.
Is summer hot because the Earth is closer to the Sun?
No. The Earth is closest to the Sun in early January, during the northern winter, and the two hemispheres have opposite seasons.
Where is the Sun overhead at the solstices?
At the June solstice it is overhead at the Tropic of Cancer (23.5°N), at the December solstice at the Tropic of Capricorn, and at the equator at the equinoxes.