Watching Shadows to Understand Day and Night

Place a stick upright in the ground and check how its shadow changes throughout the day. The shadow moves as the Sun appears to move across the sky.

• Mark the shadow’s tip every hour.
• Notice how the shadow is longest in the morning and evening, and shortest at noon.

What’s Happening?

As Earth rotates, the Sun seems to move in the sky, changing the angle of sunlight and the length of shadows.