Curated OER
Shadows & Light, Science & Puppetry
Lights, shadows, action, and inquiry await your artistic scientists. They explore the way light travels, absorbs, reflects, and transmits through shadow play. They create folktale-inspired shadow puppets, explore the science of light,...
Curated OER
Heat Absorption and Radiation
Students experiment with the concepts of absorption and reflection of radiant energy.
Curated OER
An Introduction to Light Unit-Third Grade
Third graders are introduced to light in an eight part unit which includes activities, additional resources, and rubrics for each part. Students address topics such as energy, reflection, absorption, and refraction through hands-on...
Curated OER
Learning Light's Properties
Students examine the properties of light and the behavior of light during interference. In this electromagnetics lesson students explain behaviors of light.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Light Reflection and Absorption
Students discover what types of objects reflect and absorb light. In this science inquiry activity, students use flashlights to determine whether different objects absorb or reflect light.
Curated OER
Radiation Budget Lesson: Exploring Albedo
Students experiment with sunlight and temperature. They study the definition of albedo, or the percentage of incoming sunlight that is reflected, rather than absorbed.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Albedo, Reflectivity, and Absorption
What is reflectivity, and what does it have to do with the Earth's climate? As reflectivity is measured by albedo, scientists can gather information on Earth's energy balances that relate to global warming or climate change. Budding...
Curated OER
Light Can Heat Too!
Third graders explore absorption and reflection of light energy. For this solar energy lesson, 3rd graders explore how light energy transfers to heat energy through the construction of a solar water heater. Students will discuss and...
Curated OER
Let There Be Light!
Fourth graders conduct experiments involving reflected light, absorption of light, refracted light, and colors absorbed by light. In this light lesson plan, 4th graders write about the results of their experiments as well.
Curated OER
Light Reflections
Students explore light. In this physical science light lesson, students display objects on a projection screen and investigate how light absorbs, refracts, transmits and reflects. Students discuss common features of light based on their...
Curated OER
Light Week
First graders experiment with prisms to explore sequence of colors of light created.
Curated OER
Reflection and Absorption of Light
Students use a microcomputer connected to a light sensor and temperature probe to explore the reflection and absorption of radiation for different surfaces. Students follow instructions in this guided inquiry based lab and are then asked...
Curated OER
Modeling Hot and Cold Planets
Students, in teams, design and construct models of two planets, one hot and the other cold, using a variety of materials. They attempt to create the models out of substances that will actually show the greatest temperature differences...
Curated OER
Blinded by the Light
Students recognize that the colors they see are a result of the reflection of light. In this light and color lesson, students predict what color will be produced when lights are mixed. They identify the three primary colors and secondary...
Curated OER
Urban Heat Islands: An Introduction to Energy Transfer and Transformation
Elementary school physical scientists explore kinetic mechanical energy by dropping a golf ball on different surfaces. They discuss how human made materials might react to light differently from nature made materials. This lesson plan...
Center Science Education
Looking Into Surface Albedo
How does the color of a surface affect the heating of the earth? Middle school science classes experiment with color and surface albedo to determine the relationship. The website has tabs for an overview, teacher's instructions,...
Curated OER
Iron in Foods
Students determine the amount of iron in a sample of cereal. In this iron lesson plan, students use a computer colorimeter to measure the amount of light absorbed by the solutions. They create a calibration curve using standard solutions...
Curated OER
Albedo and Irradiation of Surfaces
Here is a physical science activity where pupils place thermometers inside of a white and a black paper pocket and place them under a lamp. They record and compare the temperature increase over a ten-minute period. Have your class...
Curated OER
Obtain a visible spectra of chlorophyll a
Students become familiar with the concept of spectroscopy or the study of the interaction of matter with electromagnetic radiation. They prepare solutions and measure absorbance at different wavelengths. Pupils comprehend that mater and...
Curated OER
Colorimetric Determination of the Concentration of Blue Food Coloring in Sport Drinks
Seventh graders determine the amount of blue food coloring in sports drinks and plot the concentration and absorbance data. They summarize the data and determine why companies need to know the amount of chemicals in their products.
Curated OER
Physical Principles in Living Systems
Seventh graders experiment with white light, plane mirrors, and curved mirrors in order to demonstrate the physical principles of living systems. In this physical principles lesson plan, 7th graders take 3 days to discover what happens...
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Black Carbon - a Dusty Situation
Introduce your young meteorologists to black carbon produced by the burning of fossil fuels by showing the video, "Changing Planet: Black Carbon." Viewers discover that deposition of this carbon on polar ice impacts the absorption of...
Curated OER
Frozen Film
Students discover how light reflects off surfaces. In this hands-on demonstration, students examine how variations in color are produced by light interference.
Curated OER
Frozen Film
Students are introduced to the topic of light interference through this hands-on activity. They observe how light reflects off two surfaces and then meets to form an interesting variation of color on a film surface.