Some students think that the orientation of Earth’s axis of rotation with respect to the Sun does not change during the year

Earth and Space

Misconception RESEARCH REVIEW

Resources to address this

  • The movement of the Earth and the seasons (11-14)

    This is a simple but effective demonstration of the daily and annual movement of the Earth.

    The first activity is essential to grasp the point that the axis of rotation of the Earth is tilted at 23.5 ° to the plane in which it orbits the Sun. This means that the angle of incidence of the Sun's rays will vary between winter and summer.

    View Resource

References

  • Victor, R. L., () How Different Variants of Orbit Diagrams Influence Student Explanations of the Seasons Science Education, 94, 985-1007.

    Paper digest

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RESEARCH REVIEW Earth and Space

Some students assume the Earth, Sun and Moon are approximately the same size

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RESEARCH REVIEW Earth and Space

Some students observe the Sun moving up and down and this explains why it gets dark at night and light during the day

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RESEARCH REVIEW Earth and Space

Some students think that at 12 o’clock noon, the Sun should be directly overhead of the observer

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