Question

1. explain why shadows change length during the day. use the words cause and effect in your answer.

Explanation:

Cause: The Earth rotates on its axis, and as it does, the position of the Sun in the sky changes throughout the day. The angle at which sunlight hits an object (like a person, a tree, or a building) changes because the Sun’s apparent position moves from east to west. When the Sun is low in the sky (e.g., early morning or late afternoon), the sunlight has to travel through a longer path of the atmosphere and hits objects at a more oblique angle, creating longer shadows. When the Sun is high in the sky (around noon), the sunlight hits objects more directly (closer to a 90 - degree angle relative to the horizontal), so shadows are shorter.

Effect: The changing length of shadows throughout the day has several effects. For example, in agriculture, the length of shadows can affect the amount of sunlight that reaches crops, influencing their growth. In architecture and urban planning, the length of shadows from buildings can impact the amount of natural light that reaches streets, parks, or neighboring buildings, affecting the comfort and functionality of those spaces. For time - telling in ancient times, people used the changing length and position of shadows (like with a sundial) to tell the time of day.

Answer:

Cause: Earth’s rotation changes the Sun’s apparent position, altering the angle of sunlight hitting objects. When the Sun is low (morning/afternoon), the oblique angle of sunlight creates long shadows; when high (noon), the direct angle creates short shadows.
Effect: Impacts agriculture (sunlight for crops), urban planning (building shadows on light availability), and was used for ancient time - telling (e.g., sundials).