In Year 3, we have begun looking at a new topic in science called ‘Light’.

To start this topic, we have needed to understand what light and dark really means. We also needed to understand how shadows are formed.

During our lesson this week, we looked at how a light helps to form a shadow and how the angle of the light can change the shape and size of a shadow.

We used torches in class (with the lights off of course) and shone the light at a blank surface. Then, with our partner, we tested different objects around us and held it up into the light to form a shadow. We learnt that:

When the object is closer to the light source, the shadow will be bigger as it is blocking more of the light.

When the object is further away from the light source, the shadow will be small as it is blocking a lot less of the light source. 

If we angle the light source to the left or right of the object, the shadow will be in the opposite direction to the light and will be longer.

If the light source is directly above the object, the shadow will be directly under the object.

Here are some pictures of us using our torches to observe the changes in the shadows.