What Happens to the Shadow of a Stick Throughout the Day?

Students learn that shadows are created when objects block light from shining on the ground. Students are asked to trace the shadow of a stick five times throughout the day.

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Transcript:


In the last video I said to go outside, observe your shadow, and write down what you see. What did you observe? Take a minute to review your observations. Maybe talk about it with somebody. If you want you can pause the video.


First of all, could you see your shadow? If not, you might have noticed that it was cloudy outside. If you did see your shadow, where was the Sun? You might have noticed that the Sun is always on the opposite side of you from your shadow. Right now the Sun is in this direction, and my shadow is in this direction. If I turn around, my shadow is still in this direction. That's because the Sun is shining light on the ground, and my body is blocking light from hitting the ground.


But I'm still wondering, why was my shadow shorter at lunchtime and longer the next morning? Let's do an activity to study shadows throughout the day. You can do the same activity where you live. You will need to wait for a sunny day and find a place on the ground that is sunny all day.


You will need something long and thin like a pencil, a stick, or a sewing needle. You'll need something to hold it upright in the ground like modeling dough, or clay, or tape, and you'll need a piece of chalk.


Use your tape or your clay to stand your stick upright in the ground. Your going to trace the shadow of your stick five times throughout the day to see how the shadow might change throughout the day. Try tracing the shadow in the early morning, the late morning around lunchtime, in the afternoon, in the evening. Each time you trace the shadow, write the time next to that tracing. We'll talk about what's you observed in the next video.


See you then!