Question

You have learned that during a solar eclipse the moon passes between the sun and the earth. During a lunar eclipse, the earth passes between the sun and the moon. In this experiment you will simulate both a solar and lunar eclipse.

These supplies are needed:

A large ball about the size of a basketball to represent the earth
A small ball about the size of a tennis ball to represent the moon
A strong light of about 100 watts or more
A method for darkening the room

Note: If your room is difficult to darken, you may use the sunshine as a source of light. You may also want to use cardboard circles in place of balls. Cut one large circle about 8 inches in diameter to represent planet earth. Label it earth. Cut one small circle about 3 inches in diameter. Label it moon.

Procedure:

1. Place the large ball (basketball) about 12 feet from the light source. Then, place the small ball (tennis ball) in the shadow of the large ball. If you are using cardboard circles in place of the balls, hold the large cardboard circle up in the sunshine. Then, place the moon (small cardboard circle) in earth's shadow. When you have lined up the balls or cardboard in this manner, you have made a shadow fall on the moon. This shadow represents an eclipse of the moon.

2. Now, shift the balls or cardboard to make the shadow fall on the basketball or largest cardboard. In effect, the sun is being darkened. If you were an observer on the earth, this condition would be a solar eclipse. When the moon comes between the sun and planet earth, a solar eclipse occurs.

The preceding illustration shows how an eclipse can be artificially made. The moon (tennis ball) is darkened by a shadow. This shadow represents a lunar eclipse (moon eclipse). You can reverse the position of the tennis ball and the basketball to represent a solar eclipse.

What did you observe?

Answer 1

A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, casting a shadow on Earth that either fully or partially blocks the Sun's light in some areas. This only happens occasionally, because the Moon doesn't orbit in the exact same plane as the Sun and Earth do.

Step-by-step explanation:

I am guessing in your experiment there, the ball had a complete shadow over it, to show you how a solar eclipse works or looks.