Lab Guide 10: Earth & Space

Name: ______________________ Date: ________

Shadow Catcher ☀️

Build a real sundial out of a paper plate and track the rotating Earth using the Sun's shadow!

Supplies:

Paper Plate Plastic Straw Sharpened Pencil Crayon or Marker Compass (or Phone) Bright Sunny Day

How to Track the Sun:

1

Make the Clock Dial:

Write the number 12 on the top edge of your paper plate. Write other hours around the edge like a clock.

2

Set the Shadow Gnomon:

Poke a hole in the very center of the plate using your pencil. Insert the plastic straw so it stands up straight!

3

Test & Align:

Take your plate outside at noon. Point the 12 toward North. Watch the straw shadow fall directly on the 12!

Shadow Tracker:

At 12:00, shadow pointed north

Shadow moved as hours passed

Shadow got longer in afternoon

Flip to see how Earth's spin creates shadows!

Draw Your Plate Clock:

The Science Story

The Sun Dial Clock ☀️

Before we had electronic smartwatches, clocks on our walls, or alarms on our phones, how did ancient humans know when it was time to wake up, hunt, or gather for dinner? They didn't have batteries—so they looked to the sky and asked the giant, bright Sun!

To us standing on the ground, it looks like the Sun slowly travels across the sky, rising in the east and setting in the west. But guess what? The Sun is actually sitting completely still in the center of our solar system! It is our home planet, Earth, that is constantly spinning in space like a giant, slow-moving carousel. This spinning motion is called rotation. It takes exactly 24 hours for the Earth to complete one full spin, which creates our day and night!

As the Earth spins, the light from the Sun hits objects on the ground from different directions. When light hits a solid object like a tree, a house, or our plastic straw, the light cannot pass through it. This blocks the light rays and creates a dark, empty shape on the opposite side. We call this a shadow.

Because the Earth keeps spinning, the angle of the sunlight changes every single minute. This causes the shadow of our straw to slowly creep around our paper plate clock. By marking where the shadow falls at each hour, we built a sundial! The standing pointer is called a gnomon. Sundials are the oldest clocks in history, letting us track the rotating Earth using shadows!

Show What You Know (6 Questions):

1. What is the spinning motion of the Earth called?

Rotation Gravity

2. Why does the Sun seem to move across the sky?

Earth is spinning Sun is flying

3. How long does it take Earth to make one full spin?

24 Hours 1 Hour

4. What is a dark shape created by blocked light called?

A Shadow A Magnet

5. What is the standing pointer of a sundial called?

Gnomon Clock hand

6. Why does a shadow move around the paper plate dial?

Earth is spinning The plate is loose

Great job, Solar Spotter! You completed the advanced Lab 10 questions.

Shadow Catcher Lab Guide

Shadow Catcher Lab Guide

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