Making your own sun dial
Sundials can be large and complicated like the one at Cottesloe, or as simple as a stick, stuck in the ground.
You can try making your own by placing a stick in the ground, and measuring the length of the shadow at various times of the day. You can use a Primary Connections investigation planner to help you focus on what changes, what stays the same, and what it is that you need to measure.
Then, record your observations in a Tinkerplots data sheet, and discuss any patterns you can observe.
When you have finished your investigation, try making a sundial using the template below. To use this sundial, you will need to know which direction is south, and what your latitude is.
You can try making your own by placing a stick in the ground, and measuring the length of the shadow at various times of the day. You can use a Primary Connections investigation planner to help you focus on what changes, what stays the same, and what it is that you need to measure.
Then, record your observations in a Tinkerplots data sheet, and discuss any patterns you can observe.
When you have finished your investigation, try making a sundial using the template below. To use this sundial, you will need to know which direction is south, and what your latitude is.
Making a digital sundial
Finally, you can use the application Geometer's Sketchpad to build a digital sundial.
The video below demonstrates one way that you can achieve this.
Consider the angles that you can see in the diagram. How do these measurements change? Is there are relationship between the height of the stick, the length of the shadow, and the size of the angle?
The video below demonstrates one way that you can achieve this.
Consider the angles that you can see in the diagram. How do these measurements change? Is there are relationship between the height of the stick, the length of the shadow, and the size of the angle?