Here's the answer, with explanations to help you understand the concepts:
**When the sun's rays strike Earth directly, that region receives a higher concentration of heat energy and is what causes that area to be warmer.**
Here's why:
* **Angle of incidence:** When the sun's rays hit Earth directly (at a 90-degree angle), the energy is focused over a smaller surface area. This means more solar energy is absorbed per square meter of Earth's surface, leading to increased temperatures.
* **Sunlight spreads out:** When the sun's rays strike Earth at an angle, the same amount of sunlight is spread out over a wider area. This dilutes the energy, causing the area to receive less heat.
* **Atmospheric path:** Sunlight hitting Earth directly travels through a shorter amount of atmosphere. Less atmosphere means less absorption and scattering of the sun's energy, allowing more of it to reach the surface.
**Important Note:** The most direct angle of sunlight and most intense heat does not always occur at the equator! Due to Earth's tilted axis, the region where the sun hits most directly changes throughout the year.
Let me know if you want to learn about the solstices and equinoxes and how they relate to this!
