?Describe the seasons that you would experience in Australia in comparison to those in Germany

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

ANSWER: Student answers may vary somewhat, but overall need to demonstrate knowledge that Australia is located in the Southern Hemisphere, whereas Germany is located in the Northern Hemisphere.
?
After June 21st, the Southern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun. Nights are long, days are short, and solar rays come in at an angle, which means that air temperatures are fairly low. The June solstice marks the astronomical beginning of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, however, summer does not "officially" begin until the Sun is over the Tropic of Capricorn (231/2S) on December 21st. So, when it is winter and June in the Southern Hemisphere, it is summer and June in the Northern Hemisphere. Conversely, when it is summer and December in the Southern Hemisphere, it is winter and December in the Northern Hemisphere.
?
We know Earth comes nearer to the Sun in January than in July. Even though this difference in distance amounts to only about 3 percent, the energy that strikes the top of Earth's atmosphere is almost 7 percent greater on January 3 than on July 4. These statistics might lead us to believe that summer should be warmer in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere. However, this is not the case. A close examination of the Southern Hemisphere reveals that nearly 81 percent of the surface is water, compared to 61 percent in the Northern Hemisphere. The added solar energy due to the closeness of the Sun is absorbed by large bodies of water, becoming well mixed and circulated within them. This process keeps the average summer (January) temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere cooler than average summer (July) temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere. Because of water's large heat capacity, it also tends to keep winters in the Southern Hemisphere warmer than we might expect. Another difference between the seasons of the two hemispheres concerns their length. Because Earth follows an elliptical path as it journeys around the Sun and because the ellipse is slightly off-center from the Sun, the total number of days from the vernal (March 20) to the autumnal (September 22) equinox is about 7 days longer than from the autumnal to vernal equinox. This means that spring and summer in the Northern Hemisphere not only last about a week longer than northern fall and winter, but also about a week longer than spring and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Hence, the shorter spring and summer of the Southern Hemisphere somewhat offsets the extra insolation received due to a closer proximity to the Sun.