Science and Data Acquisition with
Vernier Probeware
Reflectivity of Light – Level 1
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What You’ll Learn…
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How color affects the reflectivity of light
How to use Vernier light sensors
How to use the Vernier LabQuest interface
How to use Vernier Logger Pro software to
record and analyze scientific data
Stuff You’ll Need…
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Vernier light sensor probe
Vernier LabQuest interface
Computer with Logger Pro software
Soda can bottom and different colored paper
Vernier, LabQuest and Logger Pro are all registered trademarks of Vernier Software and Technology
© Creative Learning Systems
www.creativelearningsystems.com
Research/Documentation…
 Before you start the activities in this Learning Launcher, write down
what you already know about light and how it reflects off of different
colors.
 Record all of your experimental data.
 Formulate and explain a hypothesis before you begin to record data.
What do you think your experimental data will reveal? Remember – it
doesn’t matter whether your hypothesis is right or wrong, only that you
have a hypothesis to test.
 Include a graph of your experimental data in your Word Document.
 Answer the questions at the end of the experiment (Word Document
from the website).
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What You Should Know…
Light:
The light we see is made of extremely tiny
particles called photons. A source of light
such as the Sun gives off vast amounts of
photons each second. When some of
these photons hit our eyes, we see them
as light.
If a lot of photons hit our eyes, we see them as
a bright light. If fewer photons hit our eyes, we
see dim light or darkness.
Light sensors, like the one you’ll be using in this
activity work much the same way and can
record the amount of light with precision.
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What You Should Know…
Light:
When we measure the intensity of light, we are really
measuring the number of photons hitting a certain area.
There are too many photons to measure individually, so we
compare the total amount of light to some standard
measurement.
A foot-candle is a common
measurement that approximates
the intensity of light on an object
emitted from a candle placed one
foot away.
One Foot Candle
Your Vernier light probe will measure
light intensity in units called “lux”.
You can think of one lux as
approximately equivalent to one
meter-candle – or a little less than
1/10th of a foot-candle.
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What You Should Know…
What Makes Color?
Light particles travel in waves – similar to waves in the ocean. The distance
between each wave is called its wavelength. Different colors of light have different
wavelengths. Each wavelength is perceived by our eyes as a different color. Only
a narrow band of wavelengths can be seen with the human eye. We call this the
visible spectrum.
Portion of the spectrum
visible to humans
Light that contains all wavelengths in the visible spectrum is colorless. You’ve
probably seen how a prism divides light into its component parts: red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. You can remember these colors with the
name Roy G. Biv!
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What You Should Know…
When light waves hit an object they can be reflected, absorbed, or transmitted
(allowed to pass-through).
For the most part, opaque objects (things you can’t see through) will either reflect
or absorb light. Substances can absorb certain wavelengths and reflect others.
When something reflects all the wavelengths in the visible spectrum, it’s seen as
white. When something absorbs all the colors of the visible spectrum, it’s seen as
black. When something reflects certain wavelengths and absorbs others, it is
perceived as having color.
So it’s the wavelength of reflected light that gives an object its color!
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What You Should Know…
The Scientific Method
You’ve probably studied the scientific method before in other classes.
But, before we start to use our Vernier probeware to collect data, let’s
review it one more time:
1. State the question you intend to answer through your research and
experimentation.
2. Form a hypothesis – a prediction of what you think you’ll find.
3. Test your hypothesis by doing an experiment or study.
4. Analyze your results.
5. Draw a conclusion and report your findings.
Be sure to capture all of these steps in your eFolder to be turned in.
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What You Should Know…
The activities in this Learning Launcher use the Vernier light sensor,
the LabQuest interface and Logger Pro software on your computer.
Light Sensor
LabQuest Interface
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What You Should Know…
Now let’s explore the Logger Pro software. It’s what you’ll use to record and
analyze your experimental data.
Launch Logger Pro software. Then under the File menu, click Open and select the
Tutorials folder. Click on Tutorial 1 – Getting Started and follow along with the
tutorial.
To learn about using Logger Pro for the kind of data you’ll be collecting in this
Learning Launcher, follow along with Tutorial 3 – Events with Entry. [Note that
this tutorial uses the temperature probe. That’s okay, the process of collecting
data with the light sensor will be similar.]
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Do It!
Reflectivity of Light
In this Learning Launcher, you will conduct an experiment using the
Vernier light sensor to measure how color changes the amount of
reflected light.
 Download the Reflectivity of Light activity from the class website and
do the experiment. The print of the color charts on the following pages
are in the Vernier Lab Tools box that you check out from Mr. Ochs. Use
the worksheet from the folder on the desktop.
You don’t have a light
stand, so hold the
probe the same
distance from each test
color.
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Vernier Science – Reflectivity Experiments
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Vernier Science – Reflectivity Experiments
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Vernier Science – Reflectivity Experiments
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Answer one of these questions…
 How do you think the amount of reflected light affects temperature?
Design an experiment using the Vernier temperature probe to find out.
 Experiment with the reflectivity of various materials like glass, soil,
water, etc.
 Consider how the colors of clothing absorb or reflect light. Now go
online to learn about traditional clothing in different parts of the world
(especially those with extreme climates). Do the traditional clothing
choices reflect this factor?
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