Shadows: How They Form and Change Through the Day
Exploring light, objects, and the Sun
Shadows: How They Form and Change Through the Day
Exploring light, objects, and the Sun
Science - Grade 2-3
- 1
What two things are needed to make a shadow?
Think about a flashlight shining on a toy.
A shadow forms when light shines on an object and the object blocks some of the light. - 2
Mia stands outside on a sunny day. Her body blocks the sunlight. What forms on the ground?
A shadow forms on the ground because Mia blocks some of the sunlight. - 3
True or false: A clear glass window usually makes a dark shadow because all light is blocked. Explain your answer.
Think about whether you can see light through a window.
False. A clear glass window lets most light pass through, so it does not usually make a dark shadow. - 4
Look at a tree in the morning. The Sun is low in the sky. Will the tree's shadow usually be long or short?
The tree's shadow will usually be long because the Sun is low in the sky in the morning. - 5
At about noon, the Sun is high in the sky. How is a person's shadow usually different from the morning shadow?
A high light often makes a shorter shadow.
At about noon, a person's shadow is usually shorter because the Sun is higher in the sky. - 6
In the late afternoon, the Sun is low again. What usually happens to shadows?
In the late afternoon, shadows usually become long again because the Sun is low in the sky. - 7
A ball is placed between a lamp and a wall. Where will the ball's shadow appear?
The object blocks the light before it reaches the wall.
The ball's shadow will appear on the wall on the side away from the lamp. - 8
Draw or describe where the shadow would be if the Sun is shining from the left side of a toy car.
The shadow would be on the right side of the toy car because shadows form on the side away from the light. - 9
Why can shadows change direction during the day?
Morning, noon, and afternoon sunlight come from different places in the sky.
Shadows can change direction because the Sun appears to move across the sky during the day. - 10
Sam sees his shadow on the ground. He walks closer to a streetlight at night. How might his shadow change?
Moving an object closer to a light can change the shadow it makes.
His shadow might change size and position because he is moving closer to the light source. - 11
Which object will make a clearer shadow: a solid book or a clear plastic bag? Explain why.
A solid book will make a clearer shadow because it blocks more light than a clear plastic bag. - 12
A class measures a flagpole shadow at three times: morning, noon, and afternoon. When will the shadow probably be shortest?
The highest Sun usually makes the shortest shadow.
The shadow will probably be shortest at noon because the Sun is highest in the sky then. - 13
Label the light source, the object, and the shadow in this scene: a flashlight shines on a cup and a dark shape appears behind the cup.
The flashlight is the light source, the cup is the object, and the dark shape behind the cup is the shadow. - 14
Why do you not see a strong shadow outside on a very cloudy day?
Clouds can make sunlight softer.
You do not see a strong shadow because clouds spread out or block much of the sunlight, so the light is not as bright and direct. - 15
Put these times in order from shortest shadow to longest shadow: noon, early morning, late afternoon.
The order is noon, early morning, and late afternoon. Noon usually has the shortest shadow, while early morning and late afternoon usually have long shadows.