NASA
Taking Apart the Light
Break down light into spectra. Scholars learn how atoms emit and absorb photons and come to understand how this process allows scientists to identify different atoms based on either absorption lines or emission lines. Learners then...
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...
Santa Monica College
Flame Tests of Metal Cations
Scientists used flame tests to identify elements long before the invention of emission spectroscopy. Young chemists observe a flame test of five metal cations in the fourth lesson plan of an 11-part series. Individuals then work...
Pingry School
Chemical Equilibrium
We know about the light spectrum, the age spectrum, and sound spectrum, but do chemical reactions also occur on a spectrum? Young scientists experiment with partial reactions on a spectrum and observe the color changes. Then, they...
Rice University
College Physics for AP® Courses
Take a look at an organized physics course. The 34-section electronic textbook covers material in AP® Physics 1 and 2. Teachers use the text to supplement lectures and have the class work through the labs. Each section contains...
National Wildlife Federation
Quantifying Land Changes Over Time Using Landsat
"Humans have become a geologic agent comparable to erosion and [volcanic] eruptions ..." Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist. Using Landsat imagery, scholars create a grid showing land use type, such as urban,...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: The Science of Light: Light in Color
Site explores colors and how they are formed. Provides three different activities to explore color.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Electromagnetic Spectrum
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Students learn what an electromagnetic wave is, gain a feel for the main parts of the spectrum, and work on problems involving basic properties of electromagnetic...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Chemistry Simulation: Neon Lights
[Free Registration/Login Required] Neon lights are a type of discharge tube. Observe how electrons create colored light in a hydrogen gas discharge tube. Can you figure out why hydrogen's emission spectrum contains more than one color of...
Physics Classroom
The Physics Classroom: The Electromagnetic and Visible Spectra
A tutorial on the electromagnetic and visible spectra. Discusses dispersion and how perceptions of white and black are related to the visible light spectrum.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Light Waves, Visible and Invisible
Lucianne Walkowicz shows us the waves just beyond our perception: microwaves, radio waves, x-rays and more. [5:58]
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Understanding Spectra
This is an 8-problem quiz/practice to increase students' understanding of spectra. Color is a property of light. Test your understanding of this concept and how light can be represented in with a spectral power distribution.