Final Report: December, 2002

Hi to all Project Schools,

This is Zellers Elementary (5th grade) from Strongsville, Ohio, U.S.A. We found this project to include the subject areas of math and science.

During this project, we used thermometers to measure the daily temperature (12:00 p.m.) in degrees Fahrenheit, and then converted into degrees Celsius. At the end of the week, we calculated the "mean" temperature in degrees Celsius. Each day we looked in the newspaper and wrote down the time of sunrise and sunset. We found the total number of minutes of daylight. At the end of the week, we calculated the "mean" number of daylight minutes.

Some of the areas of the earth receive more sunlight than others due to the tilt of the earth's axis, and its position in its orbit around the sun. Some places are hotter than others depending on their latitude. The sun's rays shine most directly near the middle of the Earth (at the equator). Those latitudes that are closest to "0" tend to be warmer. The tilt of the earth's axis tends to be more in effect as the latitudes are farther away from the equator.

We plotted data on two different graphs to see if there was a relationship between latitude and temperature, and latitude and number of daylight minutes. We found a relationship between temperature and latitude. Coordinates "clumped" in the higher latitudes with lower temperatures, and in the lower latitudes with higher temperatures. We found that the daylight minutes were higher for the southern hemisphere latitudes. We believe this is because the tilt of the earth's axis, and its path in the orbit around the sun is at a place where the southern hemisphere is receiving the most direct sunlight.

Most of us would have liked to have some background information first before participating in the project because we didn't understand the purpose. After completing the project, we have a better understanding of the relationship between the Sun and the Earth. We sharpened our skills about latitude and longitude. We enjoyed seeing the results from around the world. We also had fun finding temperatures and averages.

E-mail: gnezda@strongnet.org