Explain how a shadow is formed?

Question

This is for some important homework for my little sister! Please can you help?

Answer 1

An opaque object placed in the path of light obstructs it(path of light) and produces a dark patch on the screen placed behind it(opaque object), known as the opaque object's shadow. There are two kinds of shadow:

i) Shadow formed by a point source of light(umbra)
ii)Shadow formed by an extended source of light(umbra and penumbra)

Answer 2

A shadow is a region of darkness where light is blocked. A shadow occupies all the space behind an opaque object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, or reverse projection of the object blocking the light.

Shadow is also an acoustical phenomenon caused by an object placed in front of a source of sound.

The closer to 90 degrees the angle between an elongated object and the direction of the light it blocks, the bigger its shadow. The smaller the angle between the direction of the light and the surface on which the shadow occurs, the longer the shadow is. If the object is close to the light source, the shadow is large. If the surface is curved there are further distortions.

For a non-point source of light, the shadow is divided into the umbra and penumbra. The wider the light source, the more blurred the shadow.

If there are multiple light sources there are multiple shadows, with overlapping parts darker, or a combination of colors. For a person or object touching the surface, like a person standing on the ground, or a pole in the ground, these converge at the point of touch.

Answer 3

light travels in straight lines. If something blocks the light, the "shadow" is the space where the light was blocked.

Answer 4

The first two answers are perfect. Nothing more to add.