Suitable For
Grade 7
Difficulty
3
Time Required
<2 Days
Supervision
Advised
What’s it about?
At the same time the Egyptians invented the ‘shadow clock’, other cultures also developed a need to organize their time more efficiently. Amongst others, the Chinese, Greeks and the Romans developed another device for telling the time known as a ‘sundial’. Sundials do not necessarily work better than shadow clocks, it is just a slight variation to the shadow clock. Make your own ‘sundial’ to tell the time in this science experiment:
Topics covered
Time, Shadow clock
What will I need?
- PROTRACTOR
- STIFF CARD
- COMPASS
- THICK CARDBOARD
- GLUE
- SCISSORS
Procedure (Method)
Unfortunately, this section is only available in the e-book version of the project.
How does it work?
Unfortunately, this section is only available in the e-book version of the project.
In the above science experiment we have built a time indicating device called a ‘sundial’. This works because of the fact that shadows change direction, depending upon the time of day. The position of the sun in relation to a specific location on earth changes throughout the day as the earth rotates around its own axis every 24 hours. A ‘sundial’ like this one, uses a shadow’s position to tell the time. The position of a shadow on the semi-circle depends on the time of day, but it also depends on the season of the year. That’s because the sun’s position at a certain time of day is different in different seasons.
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Why not check out the full worksheet in one of our popular e-books?
This particular science project can be found in any of the following Experiland e-books:
Experiland e-books contain detailed steps, including illustrations, to complete the science projects from start to finish.
