Home › JCE (Botswana) › Science › Earth and the Sun › At midday in summer the Sun is high in the sky. …
At midday in summer the Sun is high in the sky. Why does that make the ground warmer?
ASunlight strikes the ground more weakly
BSunlight travels a much shorter path
CSunlight strikes the ground more directly
DSunlight becomes hotter as it moves
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. Sunlight strikes the ground more directly
1. The Sun sends out the same amount of energy all year round.
2. What changes is the angle at which its rays land on the ground.
3. When the Sun is high, the rays arrive almost straight down.
4. The same amount of energy is then packed into a smaller patch of ground.
5. When the Sun is low, the same rays spread over a much wider patch.
6. Spread out energy warms each part of the ground less, which is why winter is cooler.
7. The rays do not gain heat on the way, so that option is wrong.
_Source: Siyavula Natural Sciences Grade 7 (CC BY 4.0), Earth's seasons summary_