Transparant, translucent, opaque

Opaque, translucent or transparent? We have been learning how shadows are formed and why some shadows are darker than others.

We know that if an object blocks the path of light, the area behind the object is darker as the light cannot reach the other side. But why are some shadows darker than others?

We set up an experiment by cutting out people from different sorts of paper see what happened when we shone a torch on them.

• Tissue paper
• Coloured card
• Paper towel
• Black sugar paper
• Clear plastic
• White paper

First we made predictions of which we thought would have the lightest to the darkest shadow. Which do you think?

Have a look at some of our photos and see if you agree.