Let’s Review
 Reflect-to bounce off a
surface
 Refraction-bending of light as
it moves from one material
into another
 Absorb-to take in
Let’s Review
 Transparent-letting
light pass through
easily
 Translucent-letting
some, but not all,
light through
 Opaque-blocking
light
Review Stations
5 minutes per station:
 Reflection
 Refraction
 Absorption
 Translucent, Transparent, and Opaque
Let’s Make a Rainbow
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugX1qbBhJEU
Think, Think, Think…
 How do you think a
rainbow is formed?
 Draw what you think a
rainbow looks like.
Rainbows and Refraction
 White light is made of all colors. These colors can be
seen in a rainbow or when white light passes through a
prism.
 A prism is a solid, transparent object that refracts, or
bends, light that passes through it.
 Prisms separate the colors that make up white light
into a band of colors called the visible spectrum.
Rainbows and Refraction
 Each color of the
visible spectrum is
refracted a different
amount.
 Violet light has the
shortest wavelength,
and it is refracted the
most.
 Red light has the
longest wavelength
and is refracted the
least.
Rainbows and Refraction
 The birth of each rainbow begins with millions of tiny
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

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rain droplets.
The rain droplets serve as a type of reflector of light.
White light enters one individual rain droplet and exits
as one specific color of the spectrum.
Without millions of rain droplets, a rainbow would not
occur.
If you only had a few rain droplets you would only see a
few colors. This is typically why rainbow appear after a
rain storm.
Rainbows and Refraction
 Each rain droplet has a function in the formation
of the rainbow.
 Sunlight enters the rain droplet at a specific angle
and the rain droplet separates the white light into
many different colors.
 <http://faculty.cord.edu/manning/physics215/stu
dentpages/genamahlen.html>
Let’s Make a Rainbow
 Work in groups to create a rainbow using a flashlight
and a prism.
 Have one person hold the white foam board while
another person shines the flashlight into the prism
and onto the board.
 The lights in the room will be turned off while you do
the activity.
 What appears on the board when you shine the light
through the prism?
Let’s Discuss
 On the opposite side of your note card, draw a rainbow
with the colors in the correct order.
 Write a short summary, 2-3 sentences, of what you
learned about rainbows and refraction.
Let’s Discuss
 What is reflection, refraction, and absorption?
 What is translucent, transparent, and opaque?
 How is a rainbow formed using a prism?
 How is a rainbow formed on a rainy day?