Hey there! Have you ever wondered what makes a shadow? Let’s find out together!
Shadows are created when something blocks light from a light source, like the sun. Imagine the sun shining down, and a tree stands in its way. The tree blocks the sunlight, and a shadow appears on the ground!
Let’s do some fun experiments to learn more about shadows. We’ll use different objects to see how they make shadows.
First, let’s look at a plastic clipboard. You can see right through it, and it doesn’t make much of a shadow. Objects like this are called transparent because they let almost all the light pass through.
Next, we have a plastic lid. It’s a bit harder to see through than the clipboard. This type of object is called translucent. It lets some light through but not all. The shadow it makes is lighter and not as dark.
Finally, let’s look at some unit cubes. These cubes don’t let any light through, so they make very dark shadows. Objects like these are called opaque.
Let’s compare the shadows made by our three objects:
Did you know that clouds can also make shadows? When the sun shines, and clouds block it, shadows appear on the ground. Let’s guess some shadows:
Today, we learned that shadows are made when light is blocked. Different objects make different kinds of shadows:
Isn’t it amazing how shadows work? Now, let’s have fun making shadow puppets! See you next time!
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Shadow Hunt: Go on a shadow hunt around your home or school. Look for shadows made by different objects. Can you find shadows made by transparent, translucent, and opaque objects? Draw a picture of each shadow you find and label it with the type of object that made it. Share your drawings with a friend and see if they can guess what made each shadow!
Shadow Puppets Show: Use your hands or cut out shapes from paper to create shadow puppets. Shine a flashlight or lamp on the shapes to cast shadows on a wall. Try making different animals or characters. What happens to the shadow when you move the light closer or farther away? Experiment with making the shadows bigger or smaller and put on a shadow puppet show for your family!
Shadow Diary: Keep a shadow diary for a week. Each day, observe the shadows outside at different times (morning, noon, and afternoon). Draw the shadows you see and note how they change throughout the day. Why do you think the shadows look different at different times? Discuss your observations with your classmates and see if they noticed similar changes.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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Welcome to Kids Academy! [Music]
Bali, try and guess these shadows.
It’s a dinosaur! Good one! How about this one?
Ruff, ruff, ruff! Nice!
Hey Andrew, what makes a shadow?
That’s a good question, Molly! Let’s check it out.
As we learned in earlier lessons, light comes from a light source like the sun. If that light gets blocked by another object, like a tree, it creates a shadow. Blocking sources of light can create different types of shadows.
Now, let’s step into the light lab and do some experiments with different objects to see what kind of shadows we can make.
The first object we’re going to use is a plastic clipboard. You can see I can see my hand right through the clipboard; most light is passing through it. If I hold it in front of my light source like this, it doesn’t make much of a shadow. Objects like this that let almost all light through are called transparent.
Our next object is this plastic lid. Now, this plastic lid may look transparent like the clipboard, but you’ll notice if I put my hand behind it, it’s much more difficult to see my hand through it. Objects like this are called translucent. Translucent means that some of the light can pass through, but not all of it. Translucent objects leave a shadow like this. You can see the inside of the shadow is kind of light; some of the light is passing through, but some of it is being blocked. If I hold the plastic lid up to the light, it will dim the entire surface. If I hold it closer down like this, you can see the sharp outline of a translucent object while still letting some of the light come through in the middle.
The last object we’re going to use are unit cubes. Now, you can already tell from the shadow in the background that this object doesn’t let any light pass through. The closer I get to the surface, the darker my shadow gets. But if I put it in front of my light source, it will completely block out all the light. An object that doesn’t let any light through like this is called opaque. These objects make very solid shadows, like the one you see here.
Take a look at our three objects again: we have our opaque unit cubes, our transparent clipboard, and our translucent plastic lid. Take a look at the shadows they make. Our transparent clipboard lets the most light through and barely makes any shadow. Our translucent plastic lid makes a little bit of a shadow, but you can still see the light through it. And our opaque unit cubes make a really dark shadow, blocking all the light out.
[Music]
As sunlight comes down to Earth, sometimes it gets blocked by clouds. The clouds will make shadows like this. Try and guess the objects that made these different shadows.
This shadow here was found at a restaurant; it’s created by these wooden letters.
This shadow is created on a curb near the road; it’s a fire hydrant shadow.
[Music]
What about this shadow here? It was made by a little girl.
Today we learned that if light traveling from a light source gets blocked, it creates a shadow. Different objects can create different types of shadows.
Transparent means all light passes through; these objects are almost invisible. Translucent means sunlight can pass through, and opaque means no light can pass through. Opaque objects make really good shadows.
That’s a lot of cool stuff about shadows! Let’s get back to our shadow puppets. See you pals! See you next time!
[Music]
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This version removes any informal language and maintains a more polished tone while preserving the educational content.
