Exploring Solar Energy: The Sun, Shadows, and Their Impact on Our Lives

1. Solar Energy Investigation 1 – Sun Tracking

2. Part 1 – Shadow Play Main Ideas/Content • The Sun • The Sun is a star that is the source of most of the energy on Earth. • Energy from the Sun reaches us as heat and light. • Moonlight, as well as wind, are caused by the Sun. • The Sun also contributes to the water cycle and the formation of fossil fuels.

3. Part 1 – Shadow Play • People collect solar energy and use it to heat homes, run machines, cook food, etc. It is also used to power spacecraft. • The Sun is made up mostly of hydrogen, but also helium. • Scientists measure the Sun’s light, heat, and radio waves from Earth using telescopes and satellites; they use space probes in space.

4. Part 1 – Shadow Play • Shadows • Shadows are created when any type of light shines. • Opaque objects, like bodies, block light from the Sun, creating a shadow behind the object. • Shadows have two different levels of darkness. • Shadows created by artificial light change more than shadows created by sunlight. • Shadows change during the day because the position of the Sun changes.

5. Part 1 – Shadow Play Vocabulary Words • Spectrum – pattern of colors that make up the Sun’s light • Radiation – energy particles • Shadow – the dark area created by an object that stops light • Orientation – a position or arrangement in relation to another position or location • Umbra – darker area in the middle of a shadow • Penumbra – lighter area around the edges of the shadow