SUN GAUGE
Measure the height of your school with the use of the sun
RN: 11021502 - EARTH SCIENCE & ASTRONOMY > ENVIRONMETAL SCIENCE
SUITABLE GRADES
7 & 8
DIFFICULTY
1
TIME REQUIRED
<12 hrs
SUPERVISION
ADVISED
INTRODUCTION [METHOD]
There are many fascinating ways of determining the height of a tall building without having to physically measure its facade. Think of some ways to measure the height of your school building with relative accuracy and ask some of your friends to help. This science experiment is based on the general idea that tall objects cast longer shadows than short objects do:
STUFF YOU NEED [MATERIALS]
- YARD STICK
- TAPE MEASURE
- CALCULATOR
- PAPER
- PENCIL
HOW TO PROCEED [PROCEDURE]
- Observe the shadow that a tall building, such as your school building, or any other tall objects makes on a sunny day.
- Place a yardstick vertically in the ground near the building and measure the height of the stick that protrude above the ground, as well as the length of the shadow that is cast by the stick, and record your results.
- Now, directly after measuring the yard stick, without allowing a lot of time to pass and the position of the sun in the sky to change, use the measuring tape to measure the length of the shadow made by the building from its base.
- Work out how many times the length of the shadow of the yard stick goes into the shadow of the building to work out the height of the building accurately (see the 'Why it works' calculation below).
WHY IT WORKS [CONCLUSION]
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GLOSSARY [TERMS]
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