Think of Earth as a ball with a rod through it, standing for the axis. This makes it easier to imagine Earths orientation in spa
ce relative to other objects like the Sun. Now consider the Sun as another ball. Imagine the Sun located in the center of a disk, kind of like a Frisbee. The planets in the solar system would be positioned on the Frisbee but at varying distances from the Sun. The area we are imagining as a Frisbee is actually called the plane of the ecliptic. It is the plane of Earths orbit around the Sun. Earths axis is not oriented perpendicular to the plane of its orbit. It is tilted at 23.5 degrees from the perpendicular. Why is this an important detail? This orientation in space, relative to the Sun, has great influence on Earths seasonal changes. QUESTION 1
In paragraph 4, what word or phrase gives you a clue to what the word perpendicular means?
A ball is thrown straight up from a rooftop 320 feet high. The formula below describes the ball's height above the ground, h, in feet, t seconds after it was thrown. The ball misses the rooftop on its way down and eventually strikes the ground. How long will it take for the ball to hit the ground? Use this information to provide tick marks with appropriate numbers along the horizontal axis in the figure shown.
