INVESTIGATING LIGHT AND COLOR
Grades: 3, 4, 5
Related Subjects: Science, Visual & Performing Arts
Medium:
Sculpture
Class time required: 1 X 50 minute session
Author: Museum of Photographic Arts
Summary Students investigate the
properties of light. They begin with an exploration of the visible light
spectrum and follow up with an investigation into the primary colors of light.
Materials
• Flashlights
• White
paper
• Colored
cellophane or filters blue, green, red)
• Old
CDs
• Colored
pencils or markers
• Small
objects (blocks, balls, corks, etc.)
• Prisms
(optional)
• Glossary
terms: electromagnetic
spectrum , primary
colors of light , primary
colors of pigment , prism,
visible spectrum
Color
Wheel (PDF, Size: 1.9mb)
Teachers Preparation
Session One:
• Read
Background for the Teacher
(PDF, Size: 20kb) to familiarize yourself with the scientific concepts behind
this lesson. It is important to note that the primary colors of pigment (red,
blue, and yellow). The
Color Wheel (PDF, Size 1.9mb) demonstrates the primary and
secondary colors of pigment.
• If
necessary, ask students to bring a flashlight from home.
• Cut
pieces of colored cellophane and tape them over the front of the flashlights.
• Students
will need to shine their flashlights against a white surface. If needed, tape
sheets of white paper to the wall.
Teaching Tips
This activity works best if overhead lights are dimmed
or turned off.
Glossary
Electromagnetic
spectrum – the entire range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation
extending from gamma rays to radio waves.
Primary
colors of light – the three colors of light (red, blue, green) from which all
other colors of light may be derived.
Primary
colors of pigment – Refers to the colors red, yellow, and blue; from these all
other colors are created.
Prism –
an optical device used to refract (“bend”) a beam of light.
Visible
spectrum – the part of the electromagnetic spectrum to which the human eye is
sensitive.
Procedures
1. Begin with a class discussion to find out
what students already know about light and color. What color is light? What
makes a rainbow?
2. Give each group of students an old
compact disc (CD) and ask them to spend 5-10 minutes looking at light from
several different sources (lamps, flashlights, sunny window, etc.). Show them
how to tilt the CD to produce a “rainbow” on the surface.
3. Ask the students to record the colors of
light they see in their “rainbow.” They can use colored pencils or markers to
draw what they see.
4. If prisms are available, give a prism and
flashlight to each group. Show the students how to produce a “rainbow” using
the prism.
5. After 5-10 minutes, ask each group to share
some observations. Make a list of the colors the students observed. Ask them to
think of other places they have seen “rainbows” (bubbles, puddles, sky, etc.).
6. Introduce the idea that white light is
composed of different colors of light. Have students practice the ROY G. BIV
mnemonic device to help them remember the order of the colors in the visible
light spectrum.
7. Give each group of students three flashlights
covered with red, green, and blue cellophane. Show them how to shine the
flashlights against the white wall. They should start with one color of light
and then shine a second flashlight so the two colors overlap.
8. Have students experiment with all possible
combinations of two colors. Ask them to use colored pencils or markers to draw
the circles of color they see. (They should pay particular attention to the
areas where the different colors of light overlap.)
9. When students are finished exploring the
two-color combinations, they should shine all three colors of lights on the
white paper so that the circles of color overlap in the middle. Have them draw
and label the colors that they see. They should observe that the area where all
three colors overlap is white. (Note: the degree of “whiteness” will vary
depending on the quality of the flashlight and the cellophane.)
10. Give each group an object to place in front of
the wall in the “white” area formed where the three colors overlap (or have one
student put his/her hand in the center of this white area). Have them
experiment with moving the object closer to or farther from the wall until they
can see distinctly colored shadows.
11. Have the students turn off one of the colored
flashlights and observe the effect on the shadow. Ask them to repeat this step
with a different light turned off. They can draw and label their colored
shadows using colored pencils or markers.
12. When the students have completed their
investigations, have a class discussion of the group findings. What new
colors were made when the blue and red lights overlapped (magenta)? What about
the combination of blue and green lights (cyan) and the combination of red and
green lights (yellow)?
13. Challenge the class to think about why the wall
appeared white when all three colors of lights overlapped. Remind them of the
opening activity in which they discovered that white light is actually made up
of many colors. How might this explain why the overlap of multiple colors of
light produced white light?
14. Discuss the students’ observations of the
colored shadows. Were you surprised that the shadows were different colors?
Why do you think this happened?
15. Explain that red, blue, and green are the
primary colors of light and they combine to make all of the other colors of
light. (Note: the primary colors of light are different than the primary colors
of pigments.) When an object is placed in front of the colored lights, the
shadows appear cyan (blue-green), magenta (hot pink) and yellow. These are the
complementary colors of light. Turning off one or two of the colors of light
changes the colors of the shadows.
Extensions
Science:
Have the students repeat the activity using different colors of paper as a
background.
Visual
Arts: Have students mix the primary colors of paint (red, blue, and yellow) and
compare the additive properties of paint to those of light. (See Session One in
Abstract Portrait lesson plan)
Visual
Arts: Have students look at the artwork images.
Initiate a discussion about the artworks and label the primary colors of
pigment.
Teaching
Tips
• This activity works best if overhead lights are dimmed or
turned off.
CA
Content Standards
Third Grade
Science:
2c Light
has a source and travels in a direction. The color of light striking an
object affects the way the object is seen.
5d Predict
the outcome of a simple investigation and compare the result with the
prediction.
5e Collect
data in an investigation and analyze those data to develop a logical
conclusion.
Fourth Grade Science:
6b Measure and estimate the weight, length,
or volume of objects.
6c Formulate and justify predictions based
on cause-and-effect relationships.
Fifth
Grade Science:
6b Develop a testable question.
6d Identify the dependent and controlled
variables in an investigation.
Third
Grade Visual Arts:
1.5 Identify
and describe elements of art in works of art, emphasizing line, color,
shape/form, texture, space, and value.
Fourth
Grade Visual Arts:
1.
1.5.1 Describe and analyze the elements of art
(color, shape/form, line, texture, space and value), emphasizing form, as they
are used in works of art and found in the environment.
Fifth
Grade Visual Arts:
3.
1.3 Use their knowledge of all the elements
of art to describe similarities and differences in works of art and in the
environment.
Bibliography/Webography
Teachers
Rutgers
University
List of
elementary school science lesson plans
A to Z Teacher Stuff
List of
elementary school science lesson plans on the subject of shadows and light
NASA
Scientific
explanation of visible light rays and the electromagnetic spectrum
Students:
Fowler,
Allan. All of the Colors of the
Rainbow. New York: Children’s Press,
1998
Gardner,
Robert. Experiments with Light and
Mirrors. Springfield, NJ: Enslow Publishing, 1995
Gibbons,
Gail. Sun Up, Sun Down. San Diego:
Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1983
Graham,
Joan Bransfield. Flicker Flash. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999
Miller-Schroeder,
Patricia. The Science of Light and
Color. Milwaukee, WI: Gareth Stevens
Publishing, 2000
Murphy,
Bryan. Experiments with Light. Princeton: Two-Can Publishing, 2001
Riley,
Peter D. Light and Color. New York: F. Watts, 1999
Rosinsky,
Natalie M. Light: shadows, mirrors,
and rainbows. Minneapolis, Minn:
Picture Window Books, 2003
Zubrowski,
Bernie. Mirrors: Finding out about
the properties of light. New York:
Morrow Junior Books, 1992
Colorworm
Explains Color
An
interactive student Website that teaches about the visible spectrum, the color
wheel, and the painter’s palette.
Background
for the Teacher
Sunlight, and white
light from other sources such as light bulbs and flashlights, is made up of
many different colors. We can see these colors if we pass white light through a
prism. The violet light is bent ("refracted") more than the red
because it has a shorter wavelength, so we see a rainbow of colors. This range
of colors is known as the visible light spectrum.
“ROY G. BIV” is a simple
mnemonic device that can be used to remember the order of the colors in the
spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet). Violet has the
least energy and the shortest wavelength, while red has the most energy and the
longest wavelength. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
When red, blue, and
green light overlap, the human eye perceives the color as white. This is
because the human eye has three receptors for colored light. One receptor is
sensitive to red light, one to green light and one to blue light. Red, green,
and blue are called the additive primaries of light. All other colors of light
can be made by combining these three colors.
To see the original web
page go to:
Light/Color Activity Preparation
1. Enlarge the graphics below on white card stock. *I used 2 per page
2. Students may decorate with crayons, colored markers or highlighters.
Do NOT use paint, chalk, glitter or any other media that will rub off as it will damage color filters and diffraction grating.
3. Cut out one x one centimeter squares or use a hole punch to create 3 holes in each design.
Make sure holes are spaced apart so color filters and diffraction grating can be taped onto the back of design.
Graphics for Light/Color Activity
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