It is movie night, and the room is dark. Rocket holds a flashlight so Raven can find the popcorn bowl.
He points the beam at the couch. The bowl is on the table. Raven still cannot see it.
"Aim it over here," she says. "What do you notice about where the light goes?"
Rocket swings the beam. It lights a stripe straight across the table and lands on the bowl.
Nova makes a shadow puppet bird with her wings in the beam. "My hint," she says. "Light does not curve around corners."
Light travels outward from a source in straight lines.
When an object blocks light, it makes a dark area behind it. That dark area is a shadow.
To see an object, light travels a path. It goes from the source, to the object, then into your eyes.
If anything blocks that path, you cannot see the object.
A shadow has the outline of the object that blocks the light.
Light cannot bend around the object, so a dark shape forms behind it.
Move the light, and the shadow moves too. It always falls on the side away from the light.
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| Light travels outward from a source in straight lines. | ? |
| A shadow forms where light is blocked. | ? |
| Light curves around objects to fill in shadows. | ? |
| To see an object, light must travel from it into your eyes. | ? |
You traced light like a scientist! Tomorrow you build a box that proves it.