Target Concept: Different Wavelengths
PS: 8-6.8 Compare the wavelength and energy of waves in various parts of the
electromagnetic spectrum (including visible light, infrared, and ultraviolet radiation).
Pre-MacMODS
1. Which color has the longest wavelength? Red / Blue / Indigo / Green
2. How is frequency related to the wavelength?
3. Explain the difference between ultraviolet light, visible light and infrared light?
4. What type of light does the sun give off that can harm your eyes and your skin?
Post-MacMODS
1. Which color has the longest wavelength? Yellow / Orange / Violet / Blue
2. What happens to the frequency when the wavelength increases?
3. Which type of light has the shortest wavelength?
4. What is sunscreen used to protect against?
Materials
Station 1
Station 2
Station 3
Station 4
Color Photos
(attached)
Night Vision goggles
UV Beads
140 cm length receipt
paper
Crayons (light
spectrum colors)
Room with no
windows
Sunscreen (15,30,50
SPF)
Manila Folder
Graph (attached)
5 pictures of waves
(attached)
Four bowls
A red, blue, and violet
marker
4 books
String (yarn)
Stop watch
Ruler
Worksheet
Worksheet
Procedures:
Preparation:

Station 1:
o Print color photos and the chart in color
Worksheet
Worksheet
Name:
Period:
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Station 2:
o Make sure the night vision goggles work
o Hide 5 pictures (anything you want) in the room with no windows
Station 3:
o Separate the UV beads into four different piles
o Leave on pile alone. Apply 15 SPF to one pile, 30 SPF to a different pile and the 50 SPF
on the last pile.
o Let the sunscreen dry for at least one hour
o Place the beads in the four bowls
o Cut the string or yarn into pieces big enough to fit around the wrist
Station 4
o On the receipt paper, measure 20 cm from the end and draw a line and write start
o Measure 100 cm from the start line, draw a line and write end
o Draw a red, blue and violet line evenly spaced from start to finish on the paper.
o On the red, make a mark every 14 cm
o On the blue, make a mark every 10 cm
o On the violet, make a mark every 7 cm
o In the center of the manila folder, cut a 5 cm wide by 10 cm high (or the height of the
receipt paper) rectangle out.
o Place the paper inside the folder
o Prop the folder up with the four books (two on each side), leaving the center visible.
At each station




Station 1
o Put on the Prism glasses and look around
o Finish the diagram on the worksheet according to the instructions.
o Look at the Underwater Pictures and the Graph.
o Answer the rest of the question for station 1 on the worksheet.
Station 2
o Have two people put on the night vision goggles.
o One person goes into the dark room at a time.
o Look around and try to find the pictures of the wave.
o Leave the dark room and switch so someone new has on the night vision goggles.
o Go into the dark room and look around for the pictures of the waves.
o Keep switching the goggles until everyone has had a turn wearing them.
o Go back into the classroom.
o Answer the questions on the worksheet for station 2.
Station 3
o Take a piece of string.
o Place a bead from bowls 1, 2, 3, and 4 (in that exact order) on the string.
o Tie a knot on each side of the beads so that the beads do not fall off.
o Make the string into a bracelet (if you’re not sure how ask)
o Go over to the window and place the bead into the sunlight.
o Go back to your seat and answer the questions on the worksheet for station 3.
Station 4
o Pull the paper until you can see start in the window in the center of folder
Name:
Period:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Assign one person to count the black marks they see on the red line, another to count
the marks on the blue line and someone else to count the marks on the violet line.
The last person will pull the paper to the folder until it says stop and times how long it
takes to pull the paper through with the stop watch.
Pull the paper through the folder until it says stop. Do Not Forget to Start the Stop
Watch!!
Record your numbers in the chart on your worksheet.
Pull the paper out and measure the distance between two of the black marks on the
red, blue and violet line.
Record those numbers in the chart on your worksheet.
Do all calculations needed to complete the chart on your worksheet
Answer the questions on the worksheet for station 4.
Name:
Period:
Worksheet:
Station 1: Visible Light Spectrum
Put on the Prism Glasses and look around you.
1. What colors do you see around everything?
There are seven colors in the visible light spectrum; each color has a different wavelength.
Red – 650 nm, Orange – 590 nm, Yellow – 570 nm, Green – 510 nm, Blue – 475 nm, Indigo – 445 nm,
Violet – 400 nm
In the diagram below, color the areas with the correct wavelength.
2. Which color has the longest wavelength?
3. Which color has the shortest wavelength?
Look at the underwater pictures and the graph.
4. According to the graph, which color is disappears first?
5. What happened to that color (color from #3) to make the pictures look different?
Name:
Period:
6. Why does the ocean appear to be blue?
Station 2: Night Vision
Real night vision goggles to not use a blue or red light to see in the dark.
7.
What are the five locations of the pictures of the waves?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
8. What do humans put off that night vision goggles pick up?
9. This is also known as what type of waves (hint: look at the diagram for station 1)?
10. How are these (the waves from question #7) types of waves different from the rest of the waves
in the diagram?
Station 3: Bracelets
Answer questions 10 and 11, then follow the instructions on the table and then answer the rest of the
questions.
UV beads look white under a normal light, but under sunlight they turn colors. Three of the UV beads
on the table have been treated with sunscreen with different SPFs (15, 30 and 50 SPF).
11. What do you think will happen to the beads treated with sunscreen when put in sunlight?
12. Which level of SPF do you think will be affected the most?
Make your bracelet by following the instructions on the table.
13. Which bead(s) changed color when placed in the sun? (Circle all that changed color) 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
14. Were all the beads treated with sunscreen affected the same way? If NO, what was the
difference between the beads?
Bowl 1 was not treated with sunscreen, Bowl 2 was treated with 30 SPF, Bowl 3 was treated with 15 SPF,
and Bowl 4 was treated with 50 SPF.
15. Which sunscreen was the most effective?
16. Which type of waves does sunscreen protect you against?
Name:
Period:
Station 4: Wavelength vs. Frequency
Follow the instructions on the table to fill out the chart below.
Time:
Red
Blue
Violet
# of Black Marks
Wavelength
Frequency
(# of Marks / Time)
17. How many waves passed from start to stop for the red?
Violet?
18. How would you define frequency?
Blue?
19. What happened to the frequency as the wavelength increased?
20. What do you think would happen to a wave’s energy as the frequency increases?
21. What do you think would happen to a wave’s energy as the wavelength increases?
Name:
Period:
Each line represents the depth of the ocean. If the Spectral Irradiance is equal zero then that
wavelength is no longer visible. Look at the numbers on your worksheet to determine which color
disappears first and answer that question on your worksheet. Also, figure out which color or colors
disappear last, this may help answer other questions on your worksheet.
Name:
Period:
Name:
Period:
Name:
Period:
Name:
Period:
Name:
Period: