By Myrl Shireman
Rainbows
and Light
By Myrl Shireman
Illustrated By Pat St. Onge
Copyright © 2012 Revised, Mark Twain Media, Inc.
ISBN 978-1-58037-914-4
Printing No. D04120-EB
Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers
Distributed by Carson-Dellosa Publishing LLC
P.O. Box 35665 • Greensboro, NC 27425
www.carsondellosa.com
Reading Level 4 (Science Facts not leveled)
Fountas and Pinnell: Level T
Interest Level: Gr. 3–7
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
D04120-EB © Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers
Rainbow and Light
Table of Contents
Rainbows............................................................................... 4
Wavelengths........................................................................... 6
Prisms..................................................................................... 8
Reflected Light..................................................................... 10
Light Waves......................................................................... 11
Filtered Light....................................................................... 13
Color.................................................................................... 14
Glossary............................................................................... 19
Reading Activities................................................................ 20
Index.................................................................................... 22
D04120-EB © Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers
Rainbows
H
ave you ever looked into the sky at a rainbow? Did it
look like a semicircle, or half circle? Were the colors
red, green, and blue? These are called the primary colors.
A rainbow can also have the colors orange, yellow, indigo,
and violet. The primary colors can be used to make all of the
other colors. White light from the sun can be broken down
into all of the colors in a rainbow.
The rainbow is in the shape of a semicircle.
Science Fact:
You can’t ever reach the end of a
rainbow. As you move, the raindrops
are at different spots in the atmosphere.
The rainbow seems to move away at
the same rate as you are moving.
D04120-EB © Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers
A ray of white light strikes the kite.
Only red rays are reflected, so we see
that the kite is the color red.
Rays of white light travel from the sun to Earth. The
white light contains wavelengths. A ray of white light can
become many colors. White light contains colors like red,
green, blue, orange, and yellow. The white light rays strike
objects. The object may reflect part of the white light.
Reflect means to bounce. We do not see the colors unless
the colors are reflected.
D04120-EB © Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers
An object that absorbs
all the wavelengths of
light is seen as black.
Wavelengths
When we see a rainbow, we see the wavelengths that
make the colors. The wavelengths have been reflected. The
white light is broken into its many colors. However, an
object does not always reflect the wavelengths that strike it.
An object may absorb all of the wavelengths of light. Then
no light is reflected. The object is seen as black. No colors
are reflected, so it appears black.
D04120-EB © Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers