Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Mixing Light to Make Colors

For Students 3rd - 8th
You know how to make new colors by mixing paint or crayons. For example, you get green by mixing yellow and blue, or orange by mixing red and yellow. With paint, blue, yellow, and red are primary colors, which you can use to make other...
eBook
Physics Classroom

The Physics Classroom: Light Waves and Color: The Path Difference

For Students 9th - 10th
After looking at a representative two-point source interference pattern with accompanying order numbers, students investigate the rationale behind the numbering system, and develop some mathematical equations that relate the features of...
eBook
Physics Classroom

The Physics Classroom: Light Waves/color: Two Point Source Interference Pattern

For Students 9th - 10th
Students investigate the underlying causes of two-point source interference pattern. They also discover that the spatial separation between the antinodal and nodal lines in the pattern is related to the wavelength of the waves.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Color of Salts Flame Test

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This laboratory exercise is designed to introduce students to salts and their unique color given off while burned. Students will obtain several salt solutions to observe the color of flame when burned.
eBook
Physics Classroom

The Physics Classroom: Light Waves/color: Electromagnetic and Visible Spectra

For Students 9th - 10th
This illustrated physics tutorial explains the electromagnetic and visible spectra of light using illustrated examples and interactive practice problems.
Unit Plan
University of New South Wales (Australia)

University of New South Wales: School of Physics: Physclips:the Nature of Light

For Students 9th - 10th
Physiclips thoroughly presents mechanics concepts about light with animations and film clips. Learn about light and color, wavelengths, speed of light, electromagnetic waves, Young's experiment, and photons.
Interactive
Florida State University

Florida State University: Molecular Expressions: Refraction of Light

For Students 9th - 10th
Manipulate the incident angle, color of light, wavelength, and medium to see how the refracted angle is affected.
Handout
NASA

Nasa: Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: Visible Light

For Students 9th - 10th
Visible light waves are the only electromagnetic waves we can see. We see these waves as the colors of the rainbow. Each color has a different wavelength. Red has the longest wavelength and violet has the shortest wavelength. When all...
Handout
Georgia State University

Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Color

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Georgia State University discusses the location of visible light on the electromagnetic spectrum. Includes the wavelength values for various colors of light within the visible light spectrum.
Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Chemistry Simulation: Neon Lights

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Neon lights are a type of discharge tube. Observe how electrons create colored light in a hydrogen gas discharge tube. Can you figure out why hydrogen's emission spectrum contains more than one color of...
Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: Color Spectrum Chart With Frequencies and Wavelengths

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the visible light spectrum and learn the frequencies and wavelengths for each of the primary and secondary colors.
Interactive
Space Telescope Science Institute

Amazing Space: Star Light, Star Bright

For Students 6th - 8th
An online exploration where students learn the basics about light and the properties of waves and the electromagnetic spectrum. Students will also learn how to measure wavelength and frequency so they can understand the electromagnetic...
Unit Plan
University of Colorado

University of Colorado: Physics 2000: Temperature and Absolute Zero

For Students 9th - 10th
A thorough, multipage discussion of color and color television sets that explains how an image is formed on the television using red, green, and blue light. Understandable discussion, excellent graphics, and many interactive Java applets.
Activity
Physics Central

Physics Central: Physics in the Snow: Snowy Colors

For Students 6th - 8th
A simple experiment through which students observe the connection between color and heat and prove that dark-colored objects and light-colored objects heat at different rates, even when exposed to the same heat or light source.
Activity
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Plix: Wavelengths

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] In this interactive you will drag the red line left or right to explore how color and wavelength are related to each other. You will need a sign-in to access this media, but it will be well worth your...
Interactive
South Carolina Educational Television

Etv: Nasa Online: Light: Scattering Light

For Students 9th - 10th
An introduction to the concept of the visible light spectrum provided in an animated format.
Lesson Plan
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

Ucar: Blue Skies and Red Sunsets

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Find out how some wavelengths of light are scattered more than others producing blue skies and red sunsets.
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: The Energy of Light

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this introduction to light energy, students learn about reflection and refraction as they learn that light travels in wave form. Through hands-on activities, they see how prisms, magnifying glasses and polarized lenses work. They also...
Graphic
Curated OER

Georgia State University: Color

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Georgia State University discusses the location of visible light on the electromagnetic spectrum. Includes the wavelength values for various colors of light within the visible light spectrum.
Graphic
Curated OER

Georgia State University: Color

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Georgia State University discusses the location of visible light on the electromagnetic spectrum. Includes the wavelength values for various colors of light within the visible light spectrum.
Handout
Georgia State University

Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Dispersion

For Students 9th - 10th
The phenomenon of light dispersion is explained with a formula and a practice form for calculating Abbe's number.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Graphing the Rainbow

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students are introduced to different ways of displaying visual spectra, including colored "barcode" spectra, like those produced by a diffraction grating, and line plots displaying intensity versus color, or wavelength. Students learn...
Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: Wavelength of Visible Light Spectrum

For Students 9th - 10th
Explains where visible light fits into the electromagnetic spectrum and the wavelengths for the different colors we see.
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Jewel Box Sun

For Students K - 1st
See the sun like you have never seen it before! Using a specialized telescope, NASA developed images of the sun created from a wide range of wavelengths of light. Each wavelength is represented by a different color making a beautiful...