This activity is designed for students to apply their knowledge of mathematics and physics to "real life" situations. Students are presented with the situation that they are on a camping trip and wish to know the wavelength emitted by a...

Describes the characteristics of light, presents two formulas for calculating its wavelength, and provides a table of the different wavelength ranges across the electromagnetic spectrum.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Students investigate diffraction of light and the interference patterns that are produced through constructive and destructive interference of the waves. Students...

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.

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...

In this interactive activity adapted from the University of Utah's ASPIRE Lab, students will learn how to measure wavelengths and see how wavelength affects the color of the light that we see.

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...

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...

How did scientists figure out the structure of atoms without looking at them? Try out different models by shooting light at the atom. Check how the prediction of the model matches the experimental results.

Read about the visible light spectrum and learn the frequencies and wavelengths for each of the primary and secondary colors.

Explains what spectrophotometry is, the types of spectrophotometers, and what they are used for.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Explains what causes single slit interference of light and how to find the wavelength of a single slit interference pattern using a formula.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Explains the terms diffraction, interference, and interference patterns. Describes the double slit experiment and how to determine the wavelength of a double slit...

The following videos show sunspots using wavelengths of light that the human eye cannot see. Watch sunspots emerging on the earth's surface, a sunspot moving across the earth's surface, and the rotation of the sun as a sunspot evolves...

In this very detailed lesson plan from NASA, students investigate wavelength and frequency within the electromagnetic spectrum.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Students learn what an electromagnetic wave is, gain a feel for the main parts of the spectrum, and work on problems involving basic properties of electromagnetic...

Discover what neutron stars and pulsars are and view pictures of them. Includes links to additional resources and lesson plans.

Find out whatever you wanted to know about rainbows and how they form. Check out the section on folklore regarding rainbows too.