SCIENCE FOR THE FIFTH GRADE 



THE SUN, STARS, AND PLANETS. 

 1. Time of Sunrise and Sunset. 



Did you see the sun rise this morning? Was it too 

 early for you? Does the sun always rise before you do? 

 What time did the sun set last night? Does the sun 

 always set at that time? Watch the time of sunrise and 

 sunset for several days and keep a record of your results. 



The days are longer in summer than in winter be- 

 cause the sun rises earlier and sets later than in winter. 

 The longest day of the year is June 21 and the shortest 

 day is December 21. On two days of the year the sun 

 rises at six o'clock in the morning and sets at six o'clock 

 in the evening. These two days are half way between 

 June 21 and December 21. Count the days on a calendar 

 and tell what are the dates of these two days. These 

 days are called the Equinoxes, meaning equal nights. 



You will discover, if you keep a record of the time 

 of sunrise and sunset, that the sun always rises as much 

 before noontime as it sets after noontime. See Experi- 

 ment 3. Thus the forenoon and the afternoon are of the 

 same length. What can you say of the number of hours 

 between sunset and midnight and the number of hours 

 between midnight and sunrise? 



2. Experiments. 

 We can learn from teachers and from books or we 



Elem. Sci. 1 



