Students will be able to understand that our eyes see color differently under different conditions Students will be able to understand that different colors of paints or pigments mix differently than light does.

Associated Standard and CORE Objectives:

• 3020-03     - Students will gather data about properties of light and communicate observations.
• 3020-0301 - Observe and describe different colors of light.
  
  

• 1 - Color disk mounted on hand drill to spin disk
• 1 - Print of a pointillist painting
• 30 - Magnifying Glasses
• 15 - Wooden tops with small color wheels
• 30 - Laminated comic strips
• 1 - Color Wheel poster
• 1 - Hand mirror
• 1 - Lamp with red light bulb in it.
  
  

Now hold up a red piece of paper. What color of light reflected from the red paper? (red) Hold up a green piece of paper.

What color of light is reflected from the green paper? (green)

Turn off all the lights in the room and turn on the lamp with the red light bulb. Hold the Red paper up to the lamp. The paper looks red, because it is reflecting the red light.

Now hold the green paper up to the light. It appears black because there is no green light to reflect.

As the disk spins, our eyes will pick out one or two colors to see. The color(s) our eyes pick depends on the speed of the disk. Once the disk spins fast enough, our eyes can’t pick out individual colors anymore, and we see the gray-white or brownish color.

Each child can achieve a similar effect by spinning the individual wooden tops.

White light is made up of light of many different wavelengths, each wavelength to its own color. Our eyes view all the colors blended; this appears as white to us. When different colors are blended or used in varying proportions, our eyes see other colors.

Humans use color to communicate: red = hot, fire; blue = cool, water. Have students list practical uses of color.

You could also try using colored play dough to reinforce the idea of mixing colors. A good recipe is:

• 2 C. water
• 4 C. flour
• 1 C. salt
• 2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
• 3 Tbs. oil food coloring.

Mix all of the ingredients together except for the food coloring. Divide the dough into three portions. Color one portion blue, one red, and one yellow.

Let each child take a small amount of each color. Have them predict what color they will get when they mix yellow & blue, blue & red, etc. Let them mix a little of each color.

Make sure you ration the dough to last through the day. Make sure the students don't spill any dough on the carpets, as it is very hard to clean up.

• Country Journal v23, July/Aug ’96, p.8 "Celestial Colors" This article explains how rainbows are formed and what they are composed of.
• Natural History June ’90, p.78-9 "The Elusive Rainbow" This article also deals with rainbows, focusing on the details of rainbow formation and how the white light refracts to form the colors of the rainbow.
  
  

Career Fields:

Art, Science, Social-Humanitarian, Technical

Occupations:

• Artist: Communicate ideas, thoughts, and feelings using a wide variety of materials and methods. These materials might include oils, water colors, or plaster. They may also create drawings for use in business and industry. They may also create designs or illustrations for fashion publications, advertisements, or medical publications. Education: Minimum Associates' Degree with related work experience

• Designer: Design and arrange objects and materials for artistic and decorative effects for apparel and other commercial items. They may also create, mark out, or draw designs for furniture and machinery. They are generally classified according to the products that they design. Education: Bachelor’s Degree

• Painter: Apply paint, stain, varnish, and other finishes to buildings and other structures. They choose the right paint and finish for the surface to be covered. They may also mix colors or match paint to get the right color. Education: 1 to 12 months of on-the-job training.

• Photographer: Use cameras to portray things, people, places, and events. They use a variety of cameras, lenses, and film. They may also develop and print their own photographs. They usually specialize in portrait, commercial, or industrial photography. Education: 1 to 12 months of on-the-job training

• Physicist: Explore and identify basic principles governing the structure and behavior of matter, the generation and transfer of energy, and the interaction of matter and energy. Some use these principles in theoretical areas, such as the nature of time and the origin of the universe; others apply their physics knowledge to practical areas such as the development of advanced materials, electronic and optical devices, and medical equipment.

  They design and perform experiments with lasers, cyclotrons, telescopes, mass spectrometers, and other equipment. They attempt to discover laws that describe the forces of nature, such as gravity, electromagnetism, and nuclear interactions. They also find ways to apply physical laws and theories to problems in nuclear energy, electronics, optics, materials, communications, aerospace technology, navigation equipment, and medical instrumentation. Education: Doctor of Philosophy

• Printer: Prepare, operate, and maintain the printing presses in a press room. They install and adjust the printing plate, mix fountain solution, adjust pressure, ink the presses, load paper, and adjust the press to the paper size. They check that paper and ink meet specifications and adjust control margins and the flow of ink to the inking rollers accordingly. They perform preventive maintenance: oiling and cleaning the presses and making minor repairs. Education: 12 months of on-the-job training
  
  

1. What is refraction?
2. What is reflection?
3. "White" light is make up of blended colors.
4. What observations did you make with the magnifying glasses?
5. How can pictures be made of dots?