Question

How far do I have to go to the north or south to find a latitude where I can experience 24 continuous hours of darkness or (6 months later) 24 continuous hours of daylight?

A. 66.5 degrees north and south (the Arctic and Antarctic Circles)

B. 23.5 degrees north and south (the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn)

C. 90 degrees north and south (the North and South Poles)

D. 60 degrees north and south (the Polar Front)

Answer 1

Option (A)

Step-by-step explanation:

The earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5° and this tilt plays an important role in the occurrence of seasons. Due to this, the sunlight is not equally provided at all the places on earth.

During the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, sunlight is directly perpendicular to the earth's surface at the Tropic of Cancer. The sun is present directly overhead in this region. At its north locations, the sun comes to its highest position over the horizon and at this position, it takes the maximum amount of time to travel across the sky. Due to this, the places in the northern hemisphere gets 12 hours of day-time. On the other hand, the places in the south hemisphere experiences less than 12 hours of day-time.

The places in the polar region i.e. above the Arctic Circle receives sunlight for about 24 hours and the places below the Antarctic Circle experiences darkness for almost 24 hours.

Thus, the correct answer is option (A).