How the Ancient Egyptians Told Time

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How the Ancient Egyptians Told Time 

Written by Hannah Buerano

A long time ago, people didn't have watches or clocks. Instead, people used the sun and shadows to tell time. They did this through the help of a sundial. The 1.1 Egyptians were the first ones to 1.2 the sundial. They placed a stick on the ground. It then 1.3 a shadow that moved with the sun. It told the time when a day began!

The stick was called a gnomon. The word sounds a lot like "No, Mon." It needed to point to the true north, people said. If it did not point to the true north, the sundial's time would be very, very wrong. Oh no! At different times of the day, the gnomon's 1.4 was at different positions. It landed on some numbers like one or two and maybe a little more until the day was through.

Did you know that the length of the shadow changed, too? The shadow was shortest at noon when the sun was high in the sky. It was the longest in the afternoon when the sun was just about to go. Goodbye!

Today, 1.5 can still be seen all over the world. The dial's position is different everywhere you go because the Earth is not flat. The farther north you go, the longer the shadows will be. To see short shadows on a sundial, the south is where you need to be.

Read and answer the following questions.

How the Ancient Egyptians Told Time 

Written by Hannah Buerano

A long time ago, people didn't have watches or clocks. Instead, people used the sun and shadows to tell time. They did this through the help of a sundial. The ancient Egyptians were the first ones to invent the sundial. They placed a stick on the ground. It then cast a shadow that moved with the sun. It told the time when a day began!

The stick was called a gnomon. The word sounds a lot like "No, Mon." It needed to point to the true north, people said. If it did not point to the true north, the sundial's time would be very, very wrong. Oh no! At different times of the day, the gnomon's shadow was at different positions. It landed on some numbers like one or two and maybe a little more until the day was through.

Did you know that the length of the shadow changed, too? The shadow was shortest at noon when the sun was high in the sky. It was the longest in the afternoon when the sun was just about to go. Goodbye!

Today, sundials can still be seen all over the world. The dial's position is different everywhere you go because the Earth is not flat. The farther north you go, the longer the shadows will be. To see short shadows on a sundial, the south is where you need to be.

Source: Mobymax Reading Stories G2.7-2.9

Based on the title alone, what is this article likely to inform you about?

When there were no clocks and watches, what tool did people use to tell the time?

Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

What can be inferred from paragraph 4?

What is the main purpose of the passage?

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Choose the underlined part that needs correction.

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