Reason for the Seasons

This video lesson explains why we have seasons on Earth. Specifically, it examines the Earth-Sun relationship. Viewers will learn it isn't just that the Earth rotates every 24 hours or even that it revolves around the Sun ever 365.25 days. Rather, what is special is that the Earth is titled that means that the Sun's energy (solar insolation) is distributed unevenly on the Earth's surface.

The big takeaway--beyond the fact that the Earth's seasons are caused by the Earth's revolution and tilt--is that latitude is an extremely important factor in determining what makes up the characteristics of a location.

Mr. Rueschhoff uses models to show the stages of this Earth-Sun relationship throughout the year to explain what Solstices and Equinoxes are. He concludes by breaking latitude into three bands (High, Middle, and Low) and explain how these three latitude bands have uniquely different seasons--it's not just Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter!

A lesson that can be viewed and appreciated by all, but is specifically designed to address standards in the Texas Education Knowledge Standards (TEKS) for the World Geography studies course.