Curated OER
Stellar Spectral Fingerprints
Students listen as the teacher introduces Newton's early discovery of the diffraction of light. They use multiple sources of light (fluorescent, incandescent, sunlight, etc) to bend the light. They first use a prism then a diffraction...
Colorado State University
Can You See Beyond the Rainbow?
There's more to light than ROYGBIV! An enlightening laboratory investigation has learners explore the world of infrared light. When they use goggles that take away visible light, they experience how things look with only infrared light.
PBS
Blow the Roof Off!
Blow the minds of young scientists with this collection of inquiry-based investigations. Based on a series of eight videos, these "hands-on, minds-on" science lessons engage young learners in exploring a wide range of topics from making...
Bowels Physics
Light, Reflection, and Mirrors
Explore the connection of light, reflection, and mirrors. A comprehensive lesson introduces the basics of light in relation to reflection and mirrors. After an explanation of the vocabulary, the presentation shows how to create ray...
Teach Engineering
Designing a Spectroscopy Mission
In this mind-bending activity, young engineers explore this question of whether or not light actually bends. Using holographic diffraction gratings, groups design and build a spectrograph. The groups then move on research a problem...
Curated OER
Light and Geometric Optics
It's time to see the light with a unit that focuses on light and geometric optics, including concave and convex mirrors. A variety of experiments, worksheets, and online activities are included.
Discovery Education
It's Getting Hot in Here
Class members engage in a STEM experiment and investigate how materials affect heating in a house by creating models of houses and using different top surface materials. They record the temperature inside the models and consider what the...
Towson University
The Crucial Concentration
Which sports drink provides the best pick-me-up after the big game or grueling workout? It may not be the one you'd think! Food science is the focus in a surprising lab activity. Pupils use colorimetry to determine the amount of protein,...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Colour—Gifted and Talented Chemistry
Add a splash of color to your chemistry class! Science scholars discover the principles behind color through a wide variety of hands-on activities. Lessons include dyes, chromatography, and flame tests.
American Museum of Natural History
See the Light
It's time to see the light! Scholars perform three different experiments with light to reveal properties using a great remote learning resource. The pupils see how light reflects from a surface and refracts through different materials....
University of Colorado
Marvelous Martian Mineralogy
All you need is light. Groups use a reflectometer to find the reflectivity of specific chemical compounds. Learners compare the graphs of the reflectivity of the known compounds to Martian soil. Using the graph comparisons, scholars...
University of Colorado
Enceladus, I Barely Knew You
Use spectral knowledge to make discoveries on a distant moon. Small groups gather information from images of one of Saturn's moons. The moon orbits within the E-ring made up of mainly water ice. Using information about the composition of...
Curated OER
Practical Illustrations of Astronomical Concepts Relating to the Solar System
Eighth graders are introduced to concepts related to the Solar System. In groups, they participate in an experiment in which they must describe a ray of light and how it travels. They draw a diagram of the electromagnetic spectrum and...
Curated OER
HW Unit 10:7-Light
In this light worksheet, students answer twenty six questions about sound and light and how they both travel. They also answer questions about different types of waves in the electromagnetic spectrum such as radio waves, visible light,...
Curated OER
Chloroplasts and Pigments
In this plant pigments activity, students compare the function of 3 types of pigments: chlorophylls, carotenoids, and phycobilins. This activity has 23 fill in the blank, 3 drawing, and 2 short answer questions.
Curated OER
How Long Would It Take To Travel To the Stars?
Students consider the amount of time that it would take to get to the star, Sirius using various modes of transportation, some practical and some whimsical. The practicality of physically going to another star system is explored in this...
Curated OER
Bioluminescence 2009: Living Light on the Deep Sea Floor Expedition - Now You See Me, Now You Don't
Students examine bioluminescence and camouflage of deep sea creatures. In this deep sea creatures lesson, students investigate the visible and near-visible light spectrum. They work in small groups to complete a light, color, and...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Types of Radiation
Learn about radiation, and what everyday items produce radiation, with a series of activities about heat transfer. Kids go over basic information about electromagnetic waves and ionizing radiation before performing several experiments...
NASA
Space-Based Astronomy on the Internet
Young scientists compile everything they have learned into a report in the fifth and final lesson in a unit on the visible light spectrum. Access to photos from observatories, telescopes, and satellites allows learners to compare and...
Curated OER
To See or Not to See: The Colors of Light
Seventh graders describe and conduct an experiment that identifies the physical properties of light. They explore sources of visible light and an electromagnetic spectrum. Students explain the conversion of one form of energy to another.
Curated OER
Elements
For this elements worksheet, students determine the atomic number, mass, number, electrons, protons, and neutrons for elements. Students review the electromagnetic spectrum. This worksheet has 1 graphic organizer and 13 multiple choice...
Curated OER
Spectral Surprise
Students create spectral colors. In this hands-on science lesson, students examine the electromagnetic spectrum as they follow steps to create a model that separates and displays light.
Curated OER
Energy: Light -- Spinning Color Wheel
Second graders make spinning color wheels to determine how energy effects what colors look like. They paint or color a color wheel with the seven colors of the spectrum. Next, the spin the wheel to determine what happens. In order to...
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.