What makes the ocean blue but a glass of ocean water nearly colorless? Investigators prepare tubes of water to examine the color of water. Scholars discover the relationship between light absorption, color variations, and water depth as...

Make a class set of spectrum tubes by first purchasing some diffraction grating, and then constructing the tools with mailing tubes or shoe boxes. If you aren't up for assembling them, you could purchase prepared spectroscope kits. This...

What do physicists and musicians have in common? A lot more than you might think. After first viewing a slide show presentation and completing a series of skills practice worksheets on the physics of light, sound, and...

Using a Maori legend, How Maui Tamed the Sun, youngsters are introduced to the importance of sunlight to civilization. Teach them about nuclear fusion that occurs to produce the solar energy we later receive on Earth as...

Here is a large collection of simple science class activities for understanding the physics of light.

In this activity, students make simple spectroscopes (prisms) to look at different light sources. The spectroscopes allow students to see differing spectral distributions of different light sources.

Students apply everything they have learned over the course of the associated lessons about waves, light properties, the electromagnetic spectrum, and the structure of the eye, by designing devices that can aid color blind people in...

A simple experiment through which students observe the connection between color and heat and prove that dark-colored objects and light-colored objects heat at different rates, even when exposed to the same heat or light source.

An easy experiment through which students learn about light rays and the electromagnetic spectrum. Requires a TV, its remote, and a hand-held, flat mirror.

[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about electromagnetic radiation and the effects it creates. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.