What does rotation do?

Answer 1

As Earth rotates around the sun, our seasons change. This happens due to the Earth being tilted on its axis. When the Earth is on that side of the sun where its North pole is tilted toward the sun, the sun's rays fall more directly down on the Northern Hemisphere, and that hemisphere experiences summer. (At this same time, the sun's rays will be falling more obliquely on the Southern Hemisphere, and it will be experiencing winter.) Six months later, when the Earth is on the opposite side of the sun, its North Pole will be tipped away from the sun, and the sun's rays will fall more obliquely on the Northern Hemisphere, thus causing winter there. (And, again, at this same time, the sun's rays will now be falling more directly down on the Southern Hemisphere, and it will be experiencing summer.) Interestingly -- at least for folks in the Northern Hemisphere -- we are actually slightly closer to the sun during our winter than we are in our summer.

The above concerns the Earth's rotation around the sun. The Earth, of course, also rotates about its own axis. This causes our day and night: when your side of the planet is facing the sun, it's daytime. But as the planet rotates, your side turns away from the sun and then it's night. Luckily, it will keep on rotating and as your side turns toward the sun we get first the dawn and then another daytime.