Year 5 Science · Physical sciences
Use the world of torches, glowstone and solid blocks to investigate where light comes from, why it always travels straight, and how shadows are cast.
Section 1 · Where light comes from
By the end of this section I can tell a light source from something that only reflects light, and explain why light always travels in a straight line — so I can predict where light will and won't reach in a Minecraft build.
Tick each one when you can do it without help.
A light source makes its own light. A torch, a lava block, glowstone, the Sun and a campfire all emit light. Most things in Minecraft — grass blocks, wool, even the Moon at night — do not make light; they only reflect light from a source so you can see them.
A glowstone block glows on its own, so it is a source. A stone block next to a torch looks bright only because it reflects the torch's light — remove the torch and it goes dark. The Moon works the same way: it shines by reflecting sunlight, not by making light.
Check yourself
The Moon looks bright at night. Is the Moon a light source?
A glowstone block glows on its own. A piece of coal ore only looks bright when a torch is near. Which one is the true light source?
Light never bends around corners on its own. Each ray leaves a source and keeps going straight until it hits something. That is why a torch beam through a gap in a wall lands in a direct line with the gap — and why the edge of a shadow is sharp, not blurry.
A ray is one thin line of light. Many rays together make a beam. Because each ray is straight, you can predict exactly where light lands by drawing a straight line from the source through any opening.
Interactive · torch ray visualiser
Change the number of rays the torch fires out. Watch which rays the stone block blocks and which pass over or under it.
Check yourself
Why can't light from a torch reach you around a corner without a mirror? Complete the idea: light travels in ______.
A torch shines through a gap in a wall, and the bright spot on the floor is exactly in line with the torch and the gap. What property of light does this prove?
Section 2 · Blocking the light
By the end of this section I can describe how a shadow forms, sort materials by how much light they block, and predict how a shadow's size and direction change when the light moves — so I can light a Minecraft build on purpose.
Tick each one when you can do it without help.
A shadow is the dark area created when an object blocks light. Because light travels in straight lines, it cannot bend around a solid block to fill in the gap behind it — so a dark region appears on the side away from the source.
Opaque blocks all light (stone, wood, a player's body) — sharp shadow. Translucent lets some light through (tinted glass, leaves) — soft, faint shadow. Transparent lets almost all light through (clear glass, air) — little or no shadow.
Check yourself
A clear glass pane lets almost all light pass straight through. Is it opaque, translucent, or transparent?
A solid obsidian block lets no light through at all and casts a sharp, full-dark shadow. Which word describes it?
A shadow always falls on the side of the object away from the light. Move the light, and the shadow moves too. A light that is low and to the side stretches the shadow long across the ground; a light high overhead squashes the shadow short.
Interactive · shadow caster
Drag the slider to move the torch (light source) left and right across the sky. Watch the block's shadow swing and change length.
Check yourself
At sunrise the Sun is low on the horizon. Are the shadows it casts longer or shorter than at midday?
You move a torch much closer to a solid block. What happens to the shadow the block casts on the wall behind it?
Same Year 5 Science outcomes, rebuilt around whatever your child is into this week - dinosaurs, Minecraft, horses, you name it.
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