Passage I

Solar time is determined by the position of the Sun relative to a meridian (an imaginary line that passes through the northernmost and southernmost points of the horizon, dividing the visible sky into 2 equal halves). At solar noon, the Sun appears to cross the meridian. A solar day is the period between one solar noon and the next. Because the Sun’s apparent motion is not uniform, a solar day is generally not the same length as a mean day, which is exactly 24 hrs (1,440 min). See Figure 1.

Figure 2 shows how the difference between solar time and mean time (time as indicated by a clock) varies throughout the year.

6. Based on Figure 1, the longest solar day of the year is approximately how much longer than the shortest solar day of the year?

Answer and Explanation

Your Answer is

Correct Answer is G

Explanation

Looking at Figure 1, the longest solar day should be the point with the largest ordinate, and the corresponding time length is about 1440.45; the shortest solar day should be the point with the smallest ordinate, and the corresponding time length is about 1439.62; The difference is about 1440.45-1439.62=0.83, so option G is the closest.