Offline science library · use your browser’s Print menu for paper or PDF.

PIP’S STARHAVEN · ACTIVITY SHEET · CHILDREN

Half-lit Moon tabletop

20 minutes · A small ball · A low-power flashlight · Paper · An adult helper

Your investigation

  1. Use a low-power flashlight as a pretend Sun indoors. Keep its beam away from eyes.
  2. Place a ball on a table. Stand at different positions around it, leaving the lamp in the same place.
  3. Sketch how much of the ball’s lit half you can see from four positions. Do not use your head to block the lamp.
  4. Label the sketch “a lighting model; sizes and distances not to scale.”

Think, draw, explain

Has the ball changed shape?

Does the lamp illuminate only the little crescent you can see?

Compare your explanation with the grown-up answer guide after you have tried.