Astronomy clicker question: hours of daylight

Astronomy 210, Fall Semester 2008
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students were asked the following clicker question (Classroom Performance System, einstruction.com) at the end of their learning cycle, during a review session before a midterm:

If the Sun rises in the southeast horizon, as seen by an observer in San Luis Obispo, CA, how many hours will there be before the Sun sets on that day?
(A) Less than 12 hours.
(B) Approximately 12 hours.
(C) More than 12 hours.
(D) (The sun will not set below the horizon on that day.)
(E) (I'm lost, and don't know how to answer this.)

Section 70160
(A) : 15 students
(B) : 7 students
(C) : 7 students
(D) : 0 students
(E) : 0 students

This question was asked again after displaying the tallied results with the lack of consensus, with the following results.

Section 70160
(A) : 26 students
(B) : 0 students
(C) : 1 student
(D) : 0 students
(E) : 0 students

Correct answer: (A)

The Sun will set in the southwest later that day, meaning that this is some date between the autumnal equinox and the vernal equinox, thus there will be less than 12 hours of daylight from sunrise to sunset.

Pre- to post- peer-interaction gains:
pre-interaction correct = 51%
post-interaction correct = 96%
Hake (normalized) gain = 92%