4-5.1 Summarize the basic properties of light (including brightness and colors).
Properties of Light
Essential Question: What are the basic properties of light and how do they affect light?
Properties of Light:
1. Brightness (or intensity)– is related to how much light we see. The brightness of light depends on two things:
a. Amount of light energy given off by the source. The sun gives off much more energy than a candle flame.
b. Distance. The closer a light source, the brighter it looks. The farther the light source, the less bright it looks.
2. Colors – most of the light that you see is white light.
White light is made up of different colors of light mixed together. The colors are red, orange, yellow, green blue and violet. These are the colors you see in a rainbow. Each color of light has a different amount of energy.
3. Visible – makes objects visible, or able to be seen.
An object is visible only if it gives off light or reflects light. To reflect means to throw back. When an object reflects light, light bounces off the objects surface.
Essential Question: What are the basic properties of light and how do they affect light?
Properties of Light:
1. Brightness (or intensity)– is related to how much light we see. The brightness of light depends on two things:
a. Amount of light energy given off by the source. The sun gives off much more energy than a candle flame.
b. Distance. The closer a light source, the brighter it looks. The farther the light source, the less bright it looks.
2. Colors – most of the light that you see is white light.
White light is made up of different colors of light mixed together. The colors are red, orange, yellow, green blue and violet. These are the colors you see in a rainbow. Each color of light has a different amount of energy.
3. Visible – makes objects visible, or able to be seen.
An object is visible only if it gives off light or reflects light. To reflect means to throw back. When an object reflects light, light bounces off the objects surface.
Learning Task #1
Science TechBook: Light Energy Questions: 1. What is light? 2. How can light be described? 3. How does light travel and how does light change as it travels? 4. What forms of energy can light be transformed into? 5. How do we know that light can transfer energy from place to place? Learning Task #2 Students will experiment with a partner to summarize the property of brightness. The students will use a flashlight to walk toward/ away from a partner, and record what they notice in their notebooks. |
Resources:
Discovery Ed Video: Out of Darkness: An Introduction to Light ABDO e-Book: ● Light in the Real World - Chapter 3 Lerner e-Book: ● Investigating Light Discovery Ed Techbooks: ● Light Energy Techbook Resources: ● Light Animation ● Light at a Glance Passage ● The Science of Light in the Real World Video Clip |