Time: What is it?

By Craig Ellison

Essential Question: How did people tell time before watches? Was it accurate?

Directions:

1. Take part in the scavenger hunt on “Time”. Type your answers in Microsoft Word and save it as “lastnamesolar”

2. Print out a copy of the Sun Clock Diagram

3. Study your sun clock diagram and wait for teacher instructions. We will all go outside (on a sunny day) and see if we can determine the time by using the sun.

4. Answer the “Putting it all together” questions. Type your answers in paragraph form and save it as “lastnamewrapup”. Be sure to put the title in WordArt.

Materials:

Computer

MS Word

Sun Clock Diagram

Pencil

Compass (I’ve got one)

One Sunny Day

Scavenger Hunt

1. What was one of the earliest tools humans used?

2. What are obelisks?

3. What are Gnomon?

4. Did the Romans have sundials that could fit on their wrist like a watch?

5. Take a look at these 15^th and 16^th century sundials. Tell me the names of 3 of them.

6. In Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, where was the sundial located?

7. How many sundials are located in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets?

8. Do we really have 24 hours in a day? If not, what are we doing to solve this problem? Read the 3^{rd and 4th paragraphs} for the answer.

9. How did Ben Franklin use a sundial to tell time? How did he tell his neighbor’s what time it was?

10. Which direction does the compass needle point?

11. How is this different than geographical north?

12. Which one will we use for our sundial?

13. What is magnetic declination?

14. How does a shadow tell time?

15. What is standard time and when was it created?

16. Why do you have to put your pencil on a particular day of the month?

Putting it all together:

1. Write 2 paragraphs describing some of the interesting facts you discovered while on your scavenger hunt.

2. Write 2 paragraphs describing your experiences while making and using your sundial.

3. Copy and paste 3 pictures of sundials that you found. Use this website.