Faubion Middle School's Noon Project Page

Faubion Middle School's

Noon Shadow Observation Project '97 Page

Only until Noon Transit at Faubion MS on March 21, 1998 and Noon Project'98.

The Noon Shadow Project at Faubion Middle School

On Thursday March 20, 1997 Faubion Middle School students took part in the 1997 version of the Noon Shadow Project. It was the first time that we have taken part in a world-wide investigation. Taking part in the project were 60 students from Mr. Cole's 8th grade algebra and algebra prep classes and 30 students from Mrs. McClaskey's 6th grade language arts class. The project was a collaborative effort where 8th grade students were teamed with 6th grade students to take part in the investigation.

The students used meter sticks, poster boards, and pencils to measure the shadow of the Sun at noon. Our local noon time is approximately 12:34 PM. We began to take measurements at 12:15 PM. to record the length of the shadow at 2 minute intervals until 12:45 PM. There were 15 groups participating. After the measurements were completed, Mrs. McClaskey's class recorded the lengths of the shortest shadows on the poster boards. Then the results were given to Mr. Cole, and his students analyzed the data. It was decided collaboratively that the optimal length of the noon-time shadow for a meter stick was 62 cm.

The right triangle formed by the meter stick, the shadow, and the path of the Sun's rays is used to calculate the angle of the Sun. The data collected at sites all over the world was compiled at Arundel High School in Gambrills, Maryland.

The participating schools submit their shadow length at Noon, the latitude, and longitude for the school to the above site. The information is placed in a spreadsheet formulated to calculate the North/South circumference of the Earth which is actually 40008 kilometers. Mr. Cole's students analyzed the data submitted to Arundel High School. Mr. Cole created an Excel spreadsheet to make the calculations necessary to find the circumference of the Earth from the length of the noon-time shadow. This activity demonstrated the power of the spreadsheet and how to write formulae needed to solve mathematical problems. The resulting spreadsheet has been converted to an HTML table and can be viewed on the Faubion Noon Calculation Page. The page also contains the Excel formulae used with an explanation of each mathematical calculations.

The Faubion Internet Club sought to find the websites of the participating schools who have websites. The results were compiled into a table. Each cell contains a graphic image from the respective school's website and a link to that website. The table can be viewed at our Noon'97 Schools Around the World Page.

Mrs. McClaskey's sixth grade language arts classes wrote Sun poetry to enhance their learning experience. The poems are so good that we decided to post them all on the following page. Congratulations to all of the students who submitted their Sun Poems to us. View them now at Faubion's Sun Poetry Page.

We have enjoyed participating in Noon Project '97 and hope that you will enjoy a tour of our Noon Project '97 pages. If your school would like to participate in next year's project please let us know.

We would like to give special thanks to Kathleen Smith, Project Coordinator and her students at Central Academy in Champaign, Illinois. Also, we want to thank Arundel High School for their great submission page. Again, thanks to all of the students and their teachers who participated in Noon '97. See you soon for Noon '98.

Since 23 March 1997