| Directions: |
Your clinometer should look like
this.
|
| 1. Tape
the protractor to the straw. |
| 2. Insert
the straw into the middle of the Styrofoam. |
| 3. Use
the modeling clay to secure the straw in a fixed position on the front
and back of the Styrofoam. |
| 4. Tie
the string at the 0° mark of the protractor. |
| 5.
You may fix some of the clay or some other weight to the bottom of the
string. |
| 6. You
are now ready to use your clinometer. |
|
| 7. Before
you go outside with your clinometer, discuss how you will use it to determine
the angle of the sun. How will you know when the clinometer is angled just
right? |
| Let's
go outside: I hope the sun is out! |
 |
| Now is
the time to test your theory about, "When is your clinometer angled just
right?" |
| Line
your clinometer so that sunlight shines through the straw. |
| You should
see a shadow of the Styrofoam in the ground, and there should be a "circle"
of light in it. |
|
| Is it
a circle or an oval? If it's a circle, the clinometer is angled correctly.
If not, adjust the Styrofoam board until it is. |
| Record
the angle the string is indicating on the protractor. |
| What
angle is the sun? You do have to make adjustments for the position the
protractor was in when we started. 90° is
actually straight up. Where was the 90°
indicated when we started? How can we account for that now? Better start
thinking again. |
|
| You're
going to have to do same math here. And you wondered when you would ever
use that "math stuff." |
