This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team and is aligned to the NC Standards for 6th Grade Science.

Students observe how light from a flashlight scatters off baby powder and ice cubes to simulate how sunlight interacts with Saturn's rings.

In this video, students learn that light is a very important energy source that keeps us warm and lets us see the world. Light travels in waves in bundles of energy. The video includes examples of light sources and shows that it travels in a straight line.

This is a supplemental support resource to be used with the poster "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The teacher guide provides background content, information about misconceptions related to the topic, and explanations of demonstrations and activities. This resource poster provides illustrations and descriptions of light waves and color.

This is a supplemental support resource to be used with the poster "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." This resource poster provides illustrations and descriptions of light waves and color. The question handout provides a series of questions that can be used to assess students' understanding of the poster content.

This is a supplemental support resource to be used with the poster "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." This resource poster provides illustrations and descriptions of light waves and color. The question poster provides a series of questions that can be used to assess students' understanding of the poster content.

This is a supplemental support resource to be used with the poster "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." This resource poster provides illustrations and descriptions of light waves and color. The tutorial provides the same illustrations and descriptions as the poster, in a virtual format.

In this lesson, students investigate satellite missions operating in four electromagnetic bands using the Internet and hands-on activities.

This is a lesson about using light to identify the composition of an object. Learners will use a spectrograph to gather data about light sources. Using the data they’ve collected, students are able to make comparisons between different light sources and make conjectures about the composition of a mystery light source. The activity is part of Project Spectra, a science and engineering program for middle-high school students, focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System.

Students use the data they have collected from the "Using a Fancy Spectrograph" lesson and make comparisons between light sources and then make conjectures about the composition of a mystery light source.

This is an article about the color of the sky. Learners will read about and discuss the colors of the day- and night-time skies. They may sing the Top-down Black and Blues, a song about the sky; or they may write a poem, essay, or song about the bluest sky or blackest night they have ever experienced.

In this lesson, students will observe, explain, and model reflection and refraction through a series of inquiry light stations. Students will engage and perform different challenges to obtain knowledge about how light reflects off of surfaces and how light is refracted when changing mediums.

Through this series of simple hands-on activities, students will develop a basic understanding of the physical properties of waves. They will investigate and identify the "crest" and "trough" of sound, water, and light waves.

Students use a spectrograph to examine various light sources and make conjectures about composition.

Students use a spectrograph to examine various light sources and make conjectures about composition.

Students use satellite imagery to learn about the visible light spectrum and infrared radiation and radar waves.

Sample Learning Goals
Make waves with water, sound, and light and see how they are related.
Design an experiment to measure the speed of the wave.
Create an interference pattern with two sources, and determine the ways to change the pattern.
Find points of constructive and destructive interference by eye and by using the detectors.
Put up a barrier to see how the waves move through one or two slits. What sort of pattern do the slits create? How can you change this pattern?
For light, predict the locations of the fringes that appear on the screen using d sin(θ) = mλ. Use the tape measure to verify your predictions.
Explain how the aperture geometry relates to the diffraction pattern.
Predict how changing the wavelength or aperture size affects the diffraction pattern.

Make a copy of this Google Drawing and edit as needed. This game is for individual students, and allows them to choose which activities they want to try. Add your own School Net test code to the bottom right box.