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Reasons for the seasons - Rebecca Kaplan

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Why do some regions experience full-time heat while others are reckoning with frigid temperatures and snow? And why are the seasons reversed in the two hemispheres? Rebecca Kaplan explains how the shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun and the Earth's tilt on its axis affect the amount of sunlight each region receives.

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Would the Earth have seasons if the rotational axis was not tilted?
Explain your reasoning.
05/23/2013
Avatar for Mr Shetler
Mr Shetler • LESSON IN PROGRESS

Yes but not as great of difference as it it now. According this video the earth gets closer and farther from the sun.

05/26/2013
Avatar for Roberta Moreno
Roberta Moreno • COMPLETED LESSON

I would believe that there would be minimal season changes if any because the middle portion of the Earth would receive the brightest part of the sun.

06/06/2013
Avatar for Jaidyn Weight
Jaidyn Weight • COMPLETED LESSON

Yes, but they would be much different to what they are now. If the Earth rotated around a 90 angle and the Earth's orbit was perfectly or very close to circular, then seasons would be not of this planet. Literally!

06/06/2013
Avatar for Sh-ba Khepra
Sh-ba Khepra • LESSON IN PROGRESS

I have a question somewhat related to this. Apologies for the slight diversion.

How would a non-titled affect the polar ice-caps?

08/22/2013
Avatar for madison Soule
madison Soule • COMPLETED LESSON

we would still have seasons,they would just be altered from current locations and the temperatures would be very different form what they are now.

10/01/2013
Avatar for Allison Ulrich
Allison Ulrich • COMPLETED LESSON

No, Earth would not have seasons if the rotational axis was not tilted. The climates at the North and South Poles wouldn't change; as they do now. We have seasons because the Earth rotates on its axis; and as a result of that, the North and South Poles are exposed it more sunlight in the summer and less in the winter.

02/16/2014
Avatar for Matthew Swigert
Matthew Swigert • COMPLETED LESSON

Yes, but they would essentially be a spring or autumn type experience. The hemispheres would experience roughly the same season, with varying degrees of temperature based on the degree of latitude from the equator.

03/13/2014
Avatar for Vishwarath Taduru
Vishwarath Taduru • COMPLETED LESSON

Both hemispheres would have the same affects of weather change simultaneously,

04/16/2014
Avatar for Dan Poliquin
Dan Poliquin • COMPLETED LESSON

Id say that there would be seasons because the earth with be straight up and down and it would spin which would cause seasons

11/07/2014
Avatar for Sydney Rowan
Sydney Rowan • LESSON IN PROGRESS

no it would be spring and fall the whole year

11/07/2014
Avatar for Estefany Aguilar
Estefany Aguilar • LESSON IN PROGRESS

yes, the earth will still have seasons just they will be different because it wont be tilted. The north pole and south pole will always be cold because they will never have son.

03/02/2015
Avatar for denisse campos
denisse campos • LESSON IN PROGRESS

I would say yes but the the same seasons as we do today and maybe not at all.

06/14/2015
Avatar for Miranda Aleshire
Miranda Aleshire • COMPLETED LESSON

No. Although I think the Earth might have different climates/temperatures in different areas at times, the Earth would not have "exact" seasons if the axis was not tilted. The climates at the North and South Poles wouldn't change so much as they do now. We have seasons because the Earth rotates on its axis, and because of this, the North and South Poles both are exposed to more sunlight in the summer and less sunlight in the winter.

02/15/2016
Avatar for Jennifer DiMario
Jennifer DiMario • COMPLETED LESSON

Yes, I still think we would have season changes, but they would not be like the seasons we have now.

04/09/2016
Avatar for raahim memon
raahim memon • COMPLETED LESSON

Yes, but not as now . Of course there will be a difference but the difference will be like 5 degrees. Also now the Earth get closer and farther from the sun but if the axis was not tilted and was a straight vertical line, the Earth will less get closer and less get farther from the sun.

08/07/2016
Avatar for Deanna Maxfield
Deanna Maxfield • COMPLETED LESSON

There would be seasons but there would be only two (spring/fall) rather than four.

03/06/2017
Avatar for zoltan Lukacs
zoltan Lukacs • COMPLETED LESSON

Yes, but not all of the the same seasons as we have now would exist because the same amount of solar energy "shines" on to every place on Earth throughout the entire year.

06/06/2017
Avatar for Griffin Roberts
Griffin Roberts • COMPLETED LESSON

First of all, there would be seasons, but based on regions not time spans, meaning it would be always hot at the equator, and always cold at the north poles. Meaning also that the regional temperatures on a climatic level would be constant and unchanging (effected by weather, and discarding the CO2 atmospheric buildup). Next, the days would be the same relative length. The poles would also have much shorter days due to the shorter length of rotation. Also the north and south poles would be much colder due to the constant low amounts of solar energy hitting it.

08/31/2017
Avatar for Keira Monroy
Keira Monroy • COMPLETED LESSON

No, the Earth would not have seasons if the rational axis wasn't tilted because it would completely change everything. Some things wouldn't change as much, such as the north and south poles which would still be cooler and then the equator which would still be warm.

09/14/2017
Avatar for Samuel Soetratma
Samuel Soetratma • Adelaide, Australia • LESSON IN PROGRESS

The Earth does not have a rotational axis as the Earth is flat, we all know that. The earth is surrounded on all sides by an ice wall that holds the oceans back. This ice wall is what explorers have named Antarctica. Beyond the ice wall is a topic of great interest to the Flat Earth Society. To our knowledge, no one has been very far past the ice wall and returned to tell of their journey. What we do know is that it encircles the earth and serves to hold in our oceans and helps protect us from whatever lies beyond.

11/02/2017
Avatar for Harrison Goldsmith
Harrison Goldsmith • LESSON IN PROGRESS

They would have seasons but just altered from current location.

THE EARTH IS FLAT, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GRAVITY

11/02/2017
Avatar for Alyssa Vandenberg
Alyssa Vandenberg • COMPLETED LESSON

I believe there would not be seasons. If the Earth was just sitting vertically on its axis, each day the Earth will complete one rotation. Throughout the year, the vertical rotations will continue happening and the Earth will continue its orbit, but it would only get closer and further away from the Sun because of its slightly oblong orbit. Because of the slightly oblong orbit, there would be a temperature change, but it would not be drastic enough for them to be considered seasons. That is just what I am thinking!

05/31/2018
Avatar for Heather Shores
Heather Shores • LESSON IN PROGRESS

This is a test.

08/16/2018
Avatar for shiloh livingston
shiloh livingston • LESSON IN PROGRESS

That’s really not true

03/19/2020 • 
IN RESPONSE TO Sh-ba Khepra Show the comment
Avatar for Kai Revere
Kai Revere • COMPLETED LESSON

no because then the sun would be lined up with the equator and the earth will continue to heat up with out cooling down and then humanity would die because of the harsh atmoshpere

04/01/2020
Avatar for Stephanie Peyton
Stephanie Peyton • LESSON IN PROGRESS

Yes, Earth would still have seasons, but they wouldn't be the same. The seasons would change based on your location on Earth. Half of the Earth would be in one season while the other half is in another, also depending on the months of the year.

04/08/2020
Avatar for Jaida Dericho
Jaida Dericho • COMPLETED LESSON

No, there wouldn't be any seasons because the axis tilts us towards or away from the sun, if there was no axis, the temperature would be the same all around earth, so therefor we would not have seasons

04/17/2020
Avatar for Tolina Mckinney
Tolina Mckinney • COMPLETED LESSON

If earth was not tilted on a axis, we wouldn't have any seasons. we wouldn't have seasons because the axis tilts us towards or away from the sun, and if you're tilted torwards the sun the sun you would have summer. if you're tilted away from the sun, you have winter. if there was no axis, the temperature would be the same all around the earth, so therefore we would not have seasons. 

04/17/2020
Avatar for Sarah Evans
Sarah Evans • LESSON IN PROGRESS

if the Earths axis WAS tilted 90 degrees then night and day times would be the same

04/20/2020
Avatar for Gracelyn Williamson-Gaither
Gracelyn Williamson-Gaither • LESSON IN PROGRESS

No because the axis tilt is one of the reasons for the seasons.

04/24/2020
Avatar for Gracie Ann Pinheiro
Gracie Ann Pinheiro • COMPLETED LESSON

it is flat the earth is.

04/29/2020
Avatar for Gracie Ann Pinheiro
Gracie Ann Pinheiro • COMPLETED LESSON

the earth is very flat.

04/29/2020
Avatar for William Koppelmann Koppelmann
William Koppelmann Koppelmann • COMPLETED LESSON

I believe there would not be seasons. If the Earth was just sitting vertically on its axis, each day the Earth will complete one rotation. Throughout the year, the vertical rotations will continue happening and the Earth will continue its orbit, but it would only get closer and further away from the Sun because of its slightly oblong orbit. Because of the slightly oblong orbit, there would be a temperature change, but it would not be drastic enough for them to be considered seasons. That is just what I am thinking!

05/03/2020
Avatar for Karimah McCray
Karimah McCray • COMPLETED LESSON

I think the earth would have seasons but they would be a little bit different and not as strong as they are now.

05/05/2020
Avatar for Thomas Darke
Thomas Darke • COMPLETED LESSON

no because the earth would experience the same amount of sunlight with the same amount of cooling time meaning one endless season

05/17/2020
Avatar for Taylor Francis
Taylor Francis • COMPLETED LESSON

Yes, but the seasons would be very minimal and the affects would not be as great.

05/17/2020
Avatar for Tom Seton
Tom Seton • COMPLETED LESSON

It wouldn't have seasons because the tilt is what creates seasons.

05/17/2020
Avatar for Tom Seton
Tom Seton • COMPLETED LESSON

No, that is not true, as the tilt creates the seasons

05/23/2020 • 
IN RESPONSE TO  Show the comment
Avatar for Malaya Martinez
Malaya Martinez • COMPLETED LESSON

i think no because the sun would be hitting the same spot so the season would be the same

09/25/2020
Avatar for David Hanes
David Hanes • COMPLETED LESSON

I think it wouldn’t because since the axis isn’t tilted, it wouldn’t change the day and night hours in a given day.

11/05/2020
Avatar for Nyommie Nash
Nyommie Nash • COMPLETED LESSON

yes it gets closer on the season or the times

11/18/2020 • 
IN RESPONSE TO Mr Shetler Show the comment
Avatar for Nyommie Nash
Nyommie Nash • COMPLETED LESSON

i agree

11/18/2020 • 
IN RESPONSE TO Roberta Moreno Show the comment
Avatar for Armani Campbell
Armani Campbell • COMPLETED LESSON

yes,but,an earth without a tilt would be stratified into climate bands that would get progressively colder as you moved away from the equator.

03/01/2021

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