Discovering Shadows



  1. Discovering shadows


    1. •Outdoor Shadow Activity
      1. •Find a partner
      2. •One person produces the shadow; the other draws the shadow outline
      3. •Draw one shadow with person facing the sun; another with shoulder to sun
      4. •How are the two shadows the same; how are they different


    2. •What is a shadow?


    3. •What do you need to produce a shadow?




  2. Direction and length of shadows


    1. •Use dry erase marker and flashlight; work in groups of two or three (turn room lights down)
      1. •Stand a dry erase marker on end and illuminate it with the flashlight
      2. •How do you change the length of the shadow?
      3. •How do you change the direction of the shadow?


    2. •With the room lights turned back up and the flashlight off
      1. •How many shadows do you see
      2. •Why are there more than one?




  3. What affects the shape of a shadow compared to the shape of the object?


    1. •Shadows of two dimensional objects


    2. •Shadows of three dimensional objects


    3. •Observe shadows of an object in different orientations to determine the object.




  1. What affects the size of a shadow?


    1. •Finding the area of the object.
      1. •Lay the square or triangle on a sheet of graph paper and draw around it. This will be your object. How many squares does the object fill? (If the line passes through a square count that square as one that lies inside.)


    2. •Measuring the size of the shadow
      1. •Attach a popsicle stick to your object.
      2. •Tape a sheet of graph paper to white board and place the object between the flashlight and graph paper. (Make sure the flashlight is at least 1 meter from the object.
      3. •Use a piece of masking tape to mark the location of the marker board, object, and flashlight.
      4. •draw the outline of the shadow.
      5. •How many full squares are within the outline? (If the line passes through a square count that square as one that lies inside.)
      6. •Find the perimeter of the shadow
      7. •(For older students you can actually measure the marker board - object and object - flashlight distances.


    3. •Measure the size of the shadow again.
      1. •Place a new sheet of graph paper on the marker board
      2. •Place the marker board and flashlight where they were before. Place your object at a new location and note if it is closer to the marker board or farther away.
      3. •draw the outline of shadow.
      4. •How many full squares are within the outline? (If the line passes through a square count that square as one that lies inside.)
      5. •Find the perimeter of the shadow


    4. •Compare the shadow areas and perimeters from the two trials. The largest shadow occurs when the object is ...

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