Making a Simple Sundial

  Sundial Designer  Web Designer

This activity allows students to make their own paper sundial from a template. You can find the template and instructions at the following website:

http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/Academy/Earth/Sundial/Sundial-ConstructSimple.html

Here are some post activity questions:

1) Does your sundial time equal your watch time?

2) When does a sundial not work?

3) If the earth rotates every 24 hours (approximately), how many degrees does the sun  appear to move in one hour? In four minutes? (Hint: one full rotation of the earth is 360 degrees).

4) The sun's diameter in the sky is about 0.5 degree. About how long does it take for the Sun to appear to move its own diameter across the sky?

5) Why don't we use local solar time instead of time zones in our everyday lives?

6) Why do time zones generally run north-south instead of east-west?

7) Does a sundial work the same in the Northern Hemisphere as in the Southern Hemisphere?

8) How would a sundial be different at the North Pole? The South Pole?

9) If you read the sundial 100 miles directly north of you, would the sundial read the same time? Would the shadows be the same length?

These questions can be found at:

http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/Academy/Earth/Sundial/Sundial-Questions.html