SME
Grade 5 Science · Earth & Space Science
Patterns of Earth and sky: shadows, day and night, stars
Record a stick’s shadow through the day, and see it shrink toward noon and grow again.
Record and look
260
150
90
150
260
8 a.m.
10 a.m.
Noon
2 p.m.
4 p.m.
8 a.m.
10 a.m.
Noon
2 p.m.
4 p.m.
Shadow (cm)
260
150
90
150
260
The shadow was shortest at noon (90 cm), when the sun was highest.
It is longer early and late.
Tap a bar at the height you want.
Assumptions
•
Earth turns once a day, so the sun seems to move across the sky.
•
Measure the shadow of a meter stick at the same spot every two hours.
•
Morning shadows point west. Afternoon shadows point east.
•
Tap a bar to change that hour’s shadow.
Topic check
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