Scholastic
Study Jams! Light
Let there be light in your classroom with a video that explains that light travels in waves, the electromagnetic spectrum contains seven colors, and the color of an object depends on which light waves it reflects and absorbs. With...
Curated OER
Typical Conceptual Questions for Physics I - Light and Quantum
This is a stellar overview of everything light and quantum! There are 30 multiple choice questions, none of them requiring any mathematical computation. There are a few diagrams to analyze: light rays striking reflective and refractive...
Curated OER
Color
An interesting set of details about the light spectrum, these slides explain how objects reflect and absorb light to affect how they appear to the human eye. The differences in mixing lights or pigments is explained and some everyday...
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.
Curated OER
Light
Students explore light. In this light wave physics lesson plan, students construct periscopes, kaleidoscopes, color wheels, and pinhole cameras. Students observe and record characteristics of light demonstrated through the...
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
Color
Students study the elements of color in paint and light. In this color science instructional activity, students discuss colors in their world, white light, and rainbows. Students mix three primary paint colors to make various secondary...
Curated OER
I'll Build You A Rainbow
Sixth graders conduct a variety of experiments to explore types of light and the concept of refraction. They observe objects in water, use water and prisms to create rainbows and combine light filtered through colored cellophane to...
Curated OER
Color
In this colors of light worksheet, students read information about color and list in order the 7 colors of light. Students answer 4 questions and draw colored ray diagrams to explain the answers.
Florida State University
Florida State University: Light and Color: Sources of Visible Light
This site discusses primary lighting sources and gives information on the different properties and spectral characteristics of each. Also includes links to some interactive Java applets.
American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History: Ology: See the Light
Reflection, refraction, and the colors that make up white light is explored through lab activities after reading a brief background about light energy.
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Physics 2000: Quantum Atom
Several pages with an interesting discussion of the visible light spectrum and atomic absorption and emission line spectrum. Features excellent graphics, thorough and understandable discussion, and many interactive Java applets.
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Color Vision
An interactive simulation that teaches about photons, monochromatic light, white light, and rainbows through changing wavelengths, beams, filters, and color combinations. This simulation can either be downloaded or played online and...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Dispersion
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Students investigate the dispersion of light through a prism and solve practice problems involving this phenomenon.
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Color Vision
Make a whole rainbow by mixing red, green, and blue light. Change the wavelength of a monochromatic beam or filter white light. View the light as a solid beam, or see the individual photons.
Georgia State University
Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Characterizing Color
This site from Georgia State University discusses the meaning of the terms hue, saturation and brightness. Thorough, meaningful explanations and outstanding graphics.
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Ucar: About Rainbows
This site from the University Corporation of Atmospheric Research provides an illustrated article about the phenomenon of rainbows.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: All That Glitters
This Ocean Explorer lesson plan (PDF) explores the questions: What colors, if any, are visible down in the deep sea? What is bioluminescence? Students will learn about white light (visible light), the quantity and quality of light as...
Project Britain
Primary Homework Help: Color Investigation Puzzle
Try making words on the screen disappear by changing the background color of this page. Add or subtract red, green, or blue, and see how light is made up of many different colors.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Study Jams! Science: Energy, Light and Sound: Light
A video and a short quiz on the basic concepts and vocabulary for understanding light energy.
Museum of Science
Museum of Science and Industry: Online Science: Three Colors of Light
An experiment where students combine solutions from red, green, and blue glow sticks to make different colors and to make white light.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Visual Spectrum
In this activity, students make simple spectroscopes (prisms) to look at different light sources. The spectroscopes allow students to see differing spectral distributions of different light sources.
Utah Education Network
Uen: I'll Build You a Rainbow
In these three activities, students explore the colors of the spectrum in white light.
Synopsys
Synopsys: Learn About Optics
Highly informational optic site for kids provides everything one might want to know about light. Various topics include light basics, controlling light, lenses, complex lenses, what's cool about lasers and much more!