Seasonal Change
Earth and Space
Seasons: Torch and board
Classroom Activity
for 11-14
In this activity students use a lamp and piece of paper to show how the light from the Sun spreads out more when it strikes the Earth at an angle.
Apparatus and Materials
-
Each student will need
- Large piece of card
- Board to which card can be fixed
- Lamp with cardboard cylinder
- Two different coloured marker pens
Procedure
- Put a cardboard cylinder around the end of the lamp to provides a rougly circular area of light.
- Draw a line around the area where the light falls when the card is perpendicular to the light source,
- Repaet for when the board is at an angle.
Teaching Notes
The demonstration shows that when light hits a surface at an angle it is spread out over a greater area than if it strikes the surface perpendicularly. Any energy transfer is therefore spread over a greater area.
In place of the card, a photocopied map could be used to make the demonstration look more like a part of the Earth's surface.
