Light and Shadows — Answers
Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 5 energy, light, sound & electricity worksheet.
Success TutoringWorksheetsAnswer sheetYear 5 · Science · Energy, Light, Sound & ElectricityLight and Shadows — Answers
Part A: How light behaves
Read the passage. Then circle the best answer.
Light sources make their own light, like the Sun, a light bulb or a candle flame. Most things we see are not light sources — we see them because light reflects (bounces) off them and travels into our eyes.
Light travels in straight lines. When an object blocks the light, a dark area forms behind it. This is a shadow. Shadows form on the side of the object away from the light.
Materials can be transparent (let almost all light through, like clear glass), translucent (let some light through, but you cannot see clearly, like tissue paper or a frosted bathroom window) or opaque (let no light through, like wood or cardboard). Opaque objects make the darkest shadows.
Smooth, shiny surfaces such as mirrors reflect light very well. That is why you can see your reflection in a mirror.
- ALight bounces off an object.
- BAn opaque object blocks light.
- CLight passes through an object.
- DThe object gives off darkness.
Answer: An opaque object blocks light.
Light travels in straight lines. An opaque object stops the light, leaving a dark area behind it — a shadow.
- Aclear glass
- Ba wooden board
- Ctissue paper
- Da brick
Answer: tissue paper
Tissue paper lets some light through, but you cannot see clearly through it.
- Athe Sun
- Bthe Moon
- Ca mirror
- Da white wall
Answer: the Sun
The Sun makes its own light. The Moon, mirrors and walls only reflect light.
- AIt gets smaller.
- BIt disappears.
- CIt changes colour.
- DIt gets bigger.
Answer: It gets bigger.
Closer to the light, the toy blocks more of the light, so the shadow gets bigger.
- ALight from your eyes hits the book.
- BLight reflects off the book into your eyes.
- CThe book makes its own light.
- DThe book absorbs all the light.
Answer: Light reflects off the book into your eyes.
We see objects when light bounces (reflects) off them and enters our eyes.
Part B: Materials and light
- clear window glass
- frosted glass
- a metal tray
- opaque
- transparent
- translucent
Answer: clear window glass → transparent; frosted glass → translucent; a metal tray → opaque
Answer: straight
Answer: reflects
Also accept: bounces.
Answer: No. The Moon does not make its own light; it reflects light from the Sun.
Part C: True or false?
Write True or False.
Answer: False
Shadows form on the side away from the light, where the light is blocked.
Answer: False
Transparent materials let almost all light through, so they make little or no shadow. Opaque materials make the darkest shadows.
Answer: True
Only light sources make their own light; everything else is seen by reflected light.
Answer: True
Around the middle of the day the Sun is highest in the sky, so shadows are shortest.
Part D: Working scientifically: shadow size
You can try this at home with a lamp, a small toy and a ruler.
Ava shines a lamp at a wall in a dark room. She holds a small toy between the lamp and the wall at different distances from the lamp and measures the height of the shadow each time.
Answer: The distance between the toy and the light.
Answer: The height (size) of the shadow on the wall.
Answer: Any two of: the same toy, the same light, the same wall, the toy facing the same way, measuring the shadow the same way.
Model answer: The closer the toy is to the light, the bigger its shadow. This is because light travels in straight lines: when the toy is close to the light it blocks a wider spread of light rays, so a larger area of the wall is left dark.
Success criteria:
- States the pattern: closer to the light gives a bigger shadow
- Uses the idea that light travels in straight lines
- Explains that the object blocks more of the light
Marking tips
- Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
- For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
- Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.
Great work. Here's what to try next: