Technicians’ lists of equipment
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Catalyst 2, Unit K: Light
Lesson K1: Seeing the light
Starter activities
Problem solving
For each group:
 rubber tube,
 four cards with pinholes mounted in stands, and torch or lamp
Capture interest
 helium neon laser,
 screen,
 chalk dust (e.g. board rubber) or lighted taper to produce smoke
Main activities
K1a The pinhole camera
For each group:
 pinhole camera with no hole made up in advance (see right)
 access to an optical pin to make hole
 piece of thick paper (e.g. sugar paper) to make cuff
 piece of sticky tape
For the class:
 carbon filament lamp or 8 candles in candle holders
 matches (if candles used)
Plenary activities
Looking ahead

mirrors
Lesson K2: Which ray?
Starter activities
Recap last lesson
 calculators
Problem solving
 selection of mirrors
 small sheet of aluminium,
 other metals
 a metal spoon
This list is in Microsoft Word, so it can be customised to fit each school’s requirements.
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Technicians’ lists of equipment
Downloaded from www.catalystscience.co.uk
Catalyst 2, Unit K: Light


glass
shiny plastic, i.e. shiny materials that reflect but are not silver
Capture interest (2)
 kaleidoscope
 periscope
Capture interest – Technician sheet
 safety screen (clean) supported by holders or clamps
 two identical Bunsen burners, one on and one off.
Main activities
K2a Equal angles
For the teacher:
 set square
For each group:
 mirror and stand
 ray box with single slit
 sheet of white paper
 ruler
 power pack
 protractor
K2b Kaleidoscopes
For each group:
 object, e.g. brightly coloured die
 two mirror stands
 two mirrors
 protractor
Lesson K3: Travelling through
Starter activities
Recap last lesson
 plane mirrors
Capture interest (1)
 bowl or trough of water (opaque may be an advantage)
 ruler
For each group:
 opaque mug
This list is in Microsoft Word, so it can be customised to fit each school’s requirements.
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Technicians’ lists of equipment
Downloaded from www.catalystscience.co.uk
Catalyst 2, Unit K: Light


coin or similar disc
beaker of water
Main activities
K3a Is it transparent?
 low voltage supply
 ray box
 black paper or card
 scissors and sticky tape
 plasticine (to hold sample)
 computer
 interface
 light sensor
 datalogging software
 printer (optional)
 samples of test materials, preferably all the same thickness (approximately 5mm), to
include: clear, colourless glass; opaque white glass; translucent white glass; clear colourless
plastic; clear coloured plastic; translucent white and opaque plastics; aluminium; cardboard
K3b Refraction
For each group:
 ray box with single slit
 low voltage supply
 glass block
 white paper
 ruler
Lesson K4: Coloured light
Starter activities
Recap last lesson
 class set of scissors and glue (optional)
Problem solving
 paper
 pencils
 rulers
Capture interest (1)
 colour charts for diagnosing colour blindness
 3D pictures and red/green glasses
 colour puzzles
This list is in Microsoft Word, so it can be customised to fit each school’s requirements.
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Technicians’ lists of equipment
Downloaded from www.catalystscience.co.uk
Catalyst 2, Unit K: Light
Main activities
K4a Coloured light
For the prism demonstration:
 two good-quality large prisms
 light source with intense white beam (not fluorescent)
 white screen onto which to direct spectrum
For the colour mixing demonstration:
 three light sources, preferably of variable intensity (e.g. ray boxes linked to low-voltage
supplies with variable voltage, encased to produce a circular beam of light)
 a red, a green and a blue filter, each fitted to one of the lights to give a red, a green and a
blue light. (Alternatively, you may have a dedicated piece of equipment for mixing the
lights.)
 white screen
K4b Reflecting colour
For each group:
 computer
 interface
 light sensor
 datalogging software
 printer (optional)
 low voltage supply
 ray box
 black paper or card
 scissors and sticky tape
 selection of metal plates sprayed with paint, or coloured card
 plasticine to support coloured surfaces
Plenary activities
Review learning
 sodium lamp
 blackout or blackout area
 small objects, e.g. green bead, red brick, blue toy, etc
Sharing responses
 TV
 magnifying glass
Group feedback
 coloured pens
 large sheets of paper
 drawing compasses or circular templates
This list is in Microsoft Word, so it can be customised to fit each school’s requirements.
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Technicians’ lists of equipment
Downloaded from www.catalystscience.co.uk
Catalyst 2, Unit K: Light
Looking ahead
 coloured filters other than red green and blue or 3D glasses and pictures
Lesson K4 Investigate: How do coloured filters change the colour we
see?
Starter activities
Setting the context
 different coloured filters
Introduce the apparatus
 different coloured filters
 some example colour filters
Main activities
K4d Investigate: How do coloured filters change the colour we see?
For each group:
 coloured objects (red, green, blue, black, white, yellow, magenta, cyan)
 coloured filters (red, green and blue)
 lamp (white light)
Lesson K5: Mix it
Main activities
K5a Mix it
 Red, blue and green objects (bricks, balls, discs, cards)
This list is in Microsoft Word, so it can be customised to fit each school’s requirements.
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