Question

Does the distance of an object from a light source affect the size of the shadow?

Carrying out my Investigation:

To make it a fair test, I decided to keep the light source and the position of the light

source the same. I also measured the diameter of the shadow using the same unit

of measurement (centimetres). The only thing that I changed was the position

and the size of the ball.

What I found out during my investigation: During the investigation I found out that when the ball was closet to the light source (torch) it made a bigger shadow and when the ball was the furthest away from the light source it made a small shadow. The size of the shadow was measured by its diameter in centimetres.

Shadows

Shadows are formed when an opaque object blocks the light. A shadow can change size depending on the distance the object is from the light source. However, a shadow is always the same shape as the object that casts it. This is because when an object is in the path of light travelling from a light source, it will block the light rays that hit it, whilst the rest of the light can continue travelling. Therefore, the shadow it casts is exactly the same shape.