Cornell University
Light Waves: Grades 9-12
Explore the behavior of light waves with a lab activity. Scholars build new vocabulary through experimentation and observation. Using different mediums, they model reflection, refraction, transmission, diffusion, and scattering of light.
PBS
Light Absorption: Effects of Light | UNC-TV Science
Beat the summer heat by exploring the properties of color. Scientists view a video explaining the relationship between light absorption and energy transfer using variables including intensity, time, and wavelength. A multiple-choice...
Curated OER
Color, Light, and Excited Electrons
Investigate color, light and excited electrons and produce waves using slinkys. Your high schoolers will observe a continuous spectrum with a prism and an overhead projector. They observe flame tests to identify elements and they observe...
Curated OER
How to verify the relationship between the wavelength and frequency of light
Pupils collaborate in heterogeneous groups with each student having a different role. They comprehend the relationship between the frequency and wavelength of light. They record their observations in a table that is included on this...
Curated OER
Light
In this light worksheet, students match 12 terms related to light and the electromagnetic spectrum to their definitions, they order waves by their speed, they analyze the energy and wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum and they...
Curated OER
Light
In this light worksheet, students read what makes light, the speed of light, and the electromagnetic spectrum. Students complete 12 matching, 8 fill in the blank, and 9 word problems.
Curated OER
Stations of Light
Student groups rotate through four stations to examine light energy behavior: refraction, magnification, prisms and polarization. They see how a beam of light is refracted (bent) through various transparent mediums. Young scholars...
Curated OER
The Bending and Bouncing of Light
Learners investigate refraction and reflection of light. In this light lesson, students perform 3 activities to observe light interacting with matter by using a flashlight. They explore refraction using a glass of water and reflection...
Curated OER
The Energy of Light
Young scholars discuss different ways engineers use light. In this engineering instructional activity, students are introduced to the properties of light and the way light is used. They view a demonstration of light waves using a slinky,...
Curated OER
Photosynthesis
Students recognize the importance of plants as they perform an experiment involving photosynthesis. Students determine the optimum wavelength of light for photosynthesis by exposing plants to different colors of light, collecting data,...
CK-12 Foundation
Light Wave
Do radio waves create light? It's more difficult to understand the things we can't see than those that we can. The simulation compares the relatively small range of visible light to the entire electromagnetic spectrum. It graphs the size...
Multiverse
Rainbows of Light: The Visible Light Spectrum
Rainbows can teach us about the visible light spectrum. Learners observe multiple items that clearly display a rainbow to develop better connections. The lesson then explains wavelength using a rope to make waves.
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Understanding Wave Motion - Slinky vs. Snaky: Which Spring is Dominant?
Ride the wave to an understanding of refraction! The first in a series of two inquiry-based lessons challenges learners to create transverse waves with two different types of springs. As their wave hits an object, they observe the change...
Curated OER
The Grating Spectrometer; Light and Wavelengths
Students create a paper model that demonstrates wave interference for 3 wavelength from 2 sources. In this light and wave lesson, students use a real spectrometer and observe and measure the wavelength of spectral lines. Students then,...
Curated OER
Color at Light Speed
Rainbow science anyone? learners put the color specturm, frequency, light waves, and wavelengths into a light speed context. They use algebraic formulas to determine the speed of each light wave length. A great way to connect math and...
Colorado State University
Why Are Clouds White?
Is it possible to change the color of clouds? A three-part activity explores the scattering of light by the water droplets that make up clouds. After observing a demonstration, curious scholars conduct their own investigations of the...
Curated OER
Atomic Absorption Determination of Zinc and Copper in a Multivitamin
Advanced lab apprentices prepare zinc and copper solutions to which they will compare the same minerals from a multivitamin. Using absorption spectroscopy, they analyze the contents of the multivitamin for concentration. This lab can be...
Curated OER
Light 3: All Those Seeing Color, Say Eye!
Students explore the nature of light. They use on-line articles and a worksheet to explore the roles of the eye and brain in the perception of color. They draw and label a diagram illustrating the movement of light.
American Chemical Society
Isolation of Phytochrome
Why do soybean plants that are planted weeks apart in the spring mature simultaneously in the fall? Four independent activities cover the history of phytochrome research, scientist collaboration, the electromagnetic spectrum, and...
Curated OER
X-ray Spectroscopy and the Chemistry of Supernova Remnants
This link takes you to a comprehensive unit that delves into emission spectra and supernovas. There are four parts: How and where elements are created, electromagnetic radiation, spectroscopy, and the newest technology for studying our...
Curated OER
Using Bubbles to Learn about Light Interference
Students explain the wave properties of light.
Curated OER
Diffraction of Laser Light, Polarization and Color Filters
Students investigate light behavior by conducting a series of experiments. In this physics lesson, students calculate the wavelength of the light source using an equation. They determine what color is produced when light of different...
Glynn County School System
Light, History, Gravity, Distance, Relativity, and Space-Time
Let the star's color be the guide! The color of a star indicates its temperature and its mass and distance affect the gravitational force. The lesson presentations address these concepts as well as how the theory of special relativity...
Virginia Department of Education
Light and the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Lead your class in a fun-filled team activity that encourages collaboration while learning important concepts. Pupils actively participate in a discussion on the experimental design and the role of mirrors. They perform group activities...