Explore How Shadows are Formed by Different Materials

Light and shadows are inextricably linked - that means that you cannot have a shadow without a source of light.

But what about the object that the light is shining on? Does the shadow depend upon what that object is made of? If it's see-through, dark-coloured, made of plastic -  does that make a difference?

Let's recap:

Opaque materials - let no light through. They block the light rays and create dark shadows.

Translucent materials - let some light through in little spots all over, which makes a fainter shadow than an opaque material.

Transparent materials - let a lot of light through and can be seen though, like glass in windows or glasses. 

In this activity, we are going to be looking at different materials and thinking about the shadows they make.

Let's see what we can see!