The seasons

What causes the seasons on Earth?

Earth's elliptical orbit brings it closer to the sun when it is summer and further away during winter	22.5%	[ 18 ]
Light rays from the sun bounce off at odd angles due to Earth's atmosphere	5.0%	[ 4 ]
The Earth is tilted on its axis	61.3%	[ 49 ]
The moon rotates around the Earth so that it absorbs heat during certain times of the year	0.0%	[ 0 ]
Large clouds of hot gas inbetween the Sun and the Earth magnify the heat	1.2%	[ 1 ]
idk, gold?	10.0%	[ 8 ]
Total Votes:			[ 80 ]

[carrot138]

After watching a video today I am curious to see how people will answer this poll question. I'm not going to write the answer here, but feel free to look it up (or look at the rest of the board since I'm sure that someone will post it).

[Silent Snowflake Storm]

I WAS going to pick the gold one untill I actually read the choices xD

[Dr Dimari]

I learned this when I was 7; that was a hell of a long time ago. And one of the answers is misleading for the northern hemisphere; as during our summer we are actually FURTHER away from the sun than in winter, when we are closer; due to the elliptical orbit.

[VoijaRisa]

Pretty easy given I have a degree in astronomy......

[carrot138]

Dr Dimari

I learned this when I was 7; that was a hell of a long time ago. And one of the answers is misleading for the northern hemisphere; as during our summer we are actually FURTHER away from the sun than in winter, when we are closer; due to the elliptical orbit.

Hmm, well the orbit is not very elliptical and that is not the cause of the seasons, so I don't really understand the problem with the answer choice.

[jmsilvercat]

Overqualified to answer here, but I'm guessing there's a pretty high statistical likelihood of wrong answers if you pull from the population as a whole.

[carrot138]

jmsilvercat

Overqualified to answer here, but I'm guessing there's a pretty high statistical likelihood of wrong answers if you pull from the population as a whole.

The video said that people have many misconceptions such as this one as well one about what causes the phases of the moon. Even people that have had a good education can have holes in their knowledge.

[bigmanlittlepackage]

The Earths tilts making some parts of the planet have more sun exposure than other parts at different periods of the 365 day orbit. Learnt it in year 6. I know I probably got it wrong somewhere though.

[whateverfloats]

Isn't this kind of basic? Like grade 5 material?

Anyway, I'm assuming that this program was deploring of science education, saying that many people can't even answer a basic question like this? But the people who come to the Science and Technology board on Gaia are a little self-selecting. They have an interest in science and so are more likely to know about this stuff.

But I do agree that something needs to be done about science education. I once met an 18 year old girl who didn't know that the sun was a star. eek

[youve_been_killered]

This reminds me of a time when I was a visitor at a Physics class. The teacher asked:
"Did you know that if you let go of a pen on the moon, it would float away?"
Everyone except my friend and I thought he was wrong, so he said:
"Well, why didn't the astronauts float away?"
Professor: "Because they were wearing heavy boots"

We almost burst out laughing, but then my friend said:
"So why would the pen float away?"
Professor: "Because there is no gravity on the moon"
Friend: "If what you say is true, then why would the astronauts not float away, if there is no gravity, then the weight of your boots would not matter"
Professor: *Chuckles* "I think you should study up more before you try to outsmart me"

And it was depressing because EVERYONE thought he was right.

[whateverfloats]

youve_been_killered

This reminds me of a time when I was a visitor at a Physics class. The teacher asked:
"Did you know that if you let go of a pen on the moon, it would float away?"
Everyone except my friend and I thought he was wrong, so he said:
"Well, why didn't the astronauts float away?"
Professor: "Because they were wearing heavy boots"

We almost burst out laughing, but then my friend said:
"So why would the pen float away?"
Professor: "Because there is no gravity on the moon"
Friend: "If what you say is true, then why would the astronauts not float away, if there is no gravity, then the weight of your boots would not matter"
Professor: *Chuckles* "I think you should study up more before you try to outsmart me"

And it was depressing because EVERYONE thought he was right.

I've heard that before...Wasn't it on Reddit?

[youve_been_killered]

whateverfloats

youve_been_killered

This reminds me of a time when I was a visitor at a Physics class. The teacher asked:
"Did you know that if you let go of a pen on the moon, it would float away?"
Everyone except my friend and I thought he was wrong, so he said:
"Well, why didn't the astronauts float away?"
Professor: "Because they were wearing heavy boots"

We almost burst out laughing, but then my friend said:
"So why would the pen float away?"
Professor: "Because there is no gravity on the moon"
Friend: "If what you say is true, then why would the astronauts not float away, if there is no gravity, then the weight of your boots would not matter"
Professor: *Chuckles* "I think you should study up more before you try to outsmart me"

And it was depressing because EVERYONE thought he was right.

I've heard that before...Wasn't it on Reddit?

I read it somewhere, but I couldn't remember the whole story and didn't find the link so I sort of lied a bit. But I HAVE had people tell me this before.

[whateverfloats]

youve_been_killered

I read it somewhere, but I couldn't remember the whole story and didn't find the link so I sort of lied a bit. But I HAVE had people tell me this before.

Yeah. But a physics teacher would just HAVE to know how gravity works. That's their job.

[youve_been_killered]

whateverfloats

youve_been_killered

I read it somewhere, but I couldn't remember the whole story and didn't find the link so I sort of lied a bit. But I HAVE had people tell me this before.

Yeah. But a physics teacher would just HAVE to know how gravity works. That's their job.

Well, you know how those communist colleges work.