Howardites

Worksheet for the lesson Shadows on the Moon: why craters show up best at half Moon (Year 3). Printing gives the pupil copy; open the answers below first to print them as a teacher copy on a separate page.

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Shadows on the Moon

Name:Date:

Keep the object 40 cm from the torch. Change only the height of the torch, and measure the shadow each time.

Height of the torch (cm)Length of the shadow (cm)
10
20
30
  1. Finish the sentence: the lower the torch, the … the shadow.
  2. Predict the shadow length if the torch were 15 cm high.
Craters lit from straight above
Craters lit from low at the side
  1. Why are craters easier to see at half Moon than at full Moon?
Answers for the teacher
  1. Typical results: about 40 cm at 10 cm, about 13 cm at 20 cm and about 8 cm at 30 cm. Measurements will vary because torch shadows have fuzzy edges.
  2. The lower the torch, the longer the shadow.
  3. At 15 cm, between the 10 cm and 20 cm results; about 20 cm is the ideal answer, but any value between them shows the pattern.
  4. Lit from above, the craters show few shadows and look flat. Lit from the side, each rim casts a long shadow into the crater.
  5. At half Moon, the Sun is low over the craters near the line between light and dark, so their rims cast long shadows. At full Moon the light falls straight on them and the shadows are short.

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