Maps and our place in the world
Track a shadow to find north
Can a shadow tell you which way is north and how the Earth is turning?
Watch first
Take a quick trip around all seven continents of the world.
What you need
Tick each one as you find it — 0 of 5 ready.
Stay safe: Never look straight at the Sun. Choose ground away from cars and stay where an adult can see you.
Plan the fair test
- Change: The time of day
- Measure: The length and direction of the shadow
- Keep the same: Same stick, same spot, same flat ground, measured from the base each time
Objectives this evidences
- Identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones (including day and night)
- Use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world
Do it, one step at a time
Step 1 of 5
- Step 1. Stand the stick upright on flat open ground in the morning and mark the tip of its shadow.
- Step 2. Measure the shadow's length and write down the time.
- Step 3. Come back every hour, mark the tip again and record the length and the time.
- Step 4. Join your marks with chalk. The shortest shadow points almost exactly north from the stick.
- Step 5. Draw a line graph of shadow length against time, and mark on it when the shadow was shortest.
What should happen
Shadows are long in the morning, shortest around the middle of the day, then long again — because the Earth turns and the Sun climbs.
Think about: Someone doing this on the same day in Australia gets a shadow pointing the other way. Why does the hemisphere matter?
Write up your result
A sentence or two is enough to save it.
The lessons behind this practical
Each one opens with the same short film, and the film has a written transcript underneath if reading is easier than watching.
Now the quiz for this topic
Questions come from the lessons behind this practical, so nothing is asked that has not been taught.
Quiz
Maps and our place in the world quiz
6 questions from the lessons in this stage. No timer, and you can try again as many times as you like.