Notes About
Shadow Measurements

Dates of Measurements
Try to measure the shadow of your meter stick as close to the dates listed as possible. If you don't have school on the dates given, or if cloudy weather makes measurements impossible, simply make a note of the date on which you did take your measurements. They will vary substantially over the months, so a few day's difference won't be significant.

Time of Day of Measurements
1) The actual time of high noon depends on your location in your time zone. (It's noon at 12:00 pm only in the middle of the time zone. On the eastern edges, noon arrives before 12:00; on the west edges, noon arrives after 12:00.) Your local noon takes place exactly halfway between sunrise and sunset.

• To calculate local noon, insert your state and city or town in the form on the following Web site. Then find the time that's halfway between sunrise and sunset.
• Complete Sun and Moon Data for One Day

2) During Daylights Savings Time, time shifts later by one hour, so noon occurs at 1 p.m. (in the center of the time zone.)

Remember
If you're exchanging data with another class, figure out what works best for you. As long as you make your measurements at the same times and on the same dates, you will be able to accurately compare and contrast data from two geographic locations.