Towards the end of unit 2 the discussion turns to time keeping and clocks. You should be aware that a standard wall clock will say one thing and a sundial (which is set up properly) usually reads something else. For example, if the sundial reads 12 noon (high noon), the sun is directly on the meridian, but the clocks probably read something other than 12:00 (noon) ... but not always! Your mission is to find the day (or days) that a wall clock and a sundial will both read 12 noon (simultaneously) for an observer in Milwaukee. You must also support your answer with the correct logic.
First you have eliminate any day in which daylight saving time is in effect because that causes the greatest discrepancy between the sun and the clocks (one full hour). In 2014, these dates range from March 9 to November 2.
Since Milwaukee has a longitude of 88 degrees west and we use a clock set for the center of our time zone (at 90 degrees west), Milwaukeeans always have a sun which is 8 minutes ahead of the clocks (or the clocks are behind the sun).
We can never get rid of this effect so we need to find days that will directly compensate for it. We need to know which days the clocks are 8 minutes ahead of the sun. That is where we need to consult the equation of time. This chart shows you that on January 12th & March 19th the clocks are 8 minutes ahead of the sun (or the sun is behind the clocks by 8 minutes). However, daylight saving time is effect on March 19th.
The only day (in Milwaukee) where the sun is exactly on the meridian at noon is January 12th.
If you have learned the Stellarium program, this is easy to check. Just go to Milwaukee on January 12th @ noon. Draw in the meridian and track the sun. The sun should be directly on the meridian.
..... or just go to this page, look at the column called "solar noon". Note: I will want you actually figure this out, not just look it up ... so this page is only for a check.