---
title: "Shadows"
description: "Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in shadow length and direction, day and night cycles, and seasonal star patterns"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/shadows-mt_tMLsTPQHwF
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/shadows-mt_tMLsTPQHwF.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Shadows

Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in shadow length and direction, day and night cycles, and seasonal star patterns

Subject: Science · Area: Space Systems & Earth's History · Ages 10 to 11
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/shadows-mt_tMLsTPQHwF

## Ready when they can

- Measure and record shadow length and direction at different times of day
- Create a graph showing how shadow length changes throughout the day
- Connect shadow patterns to the sun's apparent position and Earth's rotation

## Lesson: Graphing shadow patterns

Every day your shadow changes without you touching anything. It stretches out long in the morning and evening, then shrinks small around midday. You already know shadows form when your body blocks sunlight, and that Earth's spin causes day and night. Now you'll learn how to turn what you measure into a graph, a picture that shows the pattern at a glance.

*(drawing: This graph shows one shadow's length at three times. Notice how it dips down at noon and rises again.)*

**Example.** Priya taped a stick to the ground and measured its shadow three times: 8 AM, noon, and 4 PM. Each time she wrote down the length in inches and which way the shadow pointed. When she plotted her numbers on a graph, the dots made a dip in the middle, just like the sun's height in the sky.

**Tip.** When you read a shadow graph, look for the low point. That's when the sun was highest overhead, which is usually near midday, not midnight.

**Recap.** Shadows are longest in the morning and evening and shortest at midday, and graphing your measurements shows that pattern clearly.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [How Shadows Form](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/how-shadows-form-mt_Oru08pKlxd)
- [Earth's rotation and day/night](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/earths-rotation-and-day-night-mt_q15w--Fb5H)