Pre-visit Resources
Spectroscopy:
Colors of Light
IN THE WORKSHOP SPECTROSCOPY: COLORS OF LIGHT YOUR STUDENTS WILL EXPLORE ONE OF
THE WAYS THAT ASTRONOMERS STUDY DISTANT OBJECTS IN THE UNIVERSE AS THEY BUILD SIMPLE
SPECTROSCOPES AND USE THEM TO IDENTIFY UNKNOWN GASES. PREPARE STUDENTS FOR THE
WORKSHOP AND THE SPACE COMMAND EXHIBIT WITH THESE ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSIONS ABOUT
CELESTIAL OBJECTS, LIGHT, AND DISTANCES IN SPACE.
DISCUSSION:
OBJECTS IN THE UNIVERSE
TIME:
10-20 minutes
G OA L :
Activate prior knowledge and engage curiosity about celestial objects
and how astronomers study them.
Invite students to share things they know about
objects in space and record their responses.
• What different kinds of objects (or groups of
objects) can be found in space?
• What are they made of? How are they the same
as or different from one another?
• What are some of the tools we use to study
objects in space? What kinds of information do
these tools give us?
• What questions do students have about objects
in space or how we study them?
Make a list of the class’s questions. Before visiting
the museum, encourage each student to choose
a question from the list about which they’d like
to look for more information during the visit.
Save the list of questions and revisit it after the
field trip.
N OT E : These resources, like the workshop,
are designed for a wide range of grade levels.
Please adapt the activities as necessary to
match the capabilities of your students.
Pre-visit Resources
Spectroscopy: Colors of Light
AC T I V I T Y:
SOLAR SYSTEM ON A ROLL
(Adapted from an activity by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific:
www.astrosociety.org/edu/family/materials/toiletpaper.pdf )
TIME
30-45 minutes
G OA L :
Create a scale model illustrating distances between objects in the solar system.
M AT E R I A L S :
• Matchbox car, globe, or other model of a larger
object (optional)
• Toilet paper, 1 full roll per group
• Felt tip markers, preferably in 10 different colors
• Clear tape for repairs
PROCEDURE:
1. Introduce the activity with a discussion of
distances in space. How do we measure
distances on Earth? In space? What are some
ways we might study or think about things that
are very large or far away?
2. Use the matchbox car or globe to demonstrate
the idea of a scale model. How is the matchbox
car similar to a real car? How is it different?
What could you learn about a real car by looking
at a matchbox car? Explain that students will
be making a scale model to show distances
between the planets in our Solar System.
3. Divide students into small groups and provide
each with markers, a roll of toilet paper, and
the following instructions:
• Tear one piece of toilet paper from the roll
and use as a test sheet for the markers.
Practice writing gently on the toilet paper.
• A long hallway or other large space
(at least 45 feet long)
• Meter sticks or metric tape measures
• Calculators (optional)
• Make a dot on the seam between the first
and second sheets of toilet paper. Label this
dot “Sun”.
• Using the table below, mark the distances
to each object as you unroll the paper. The
number in the table is the number of toilet
paper sheets needed to reach the object’s
orbit from the sun, so keep a running count
as you go.
• Make a dot and write the object’s name at
each distance indicated, using a different
color for each object and making repairs
with tape as necessary.
Pre-visit Resources
Spectroscopy: Colors of Light
SOLAR SYSTEM ON A ROLL
AC T I V I T Y:
PLANET
D I S TA N C E
FROM SUN
AC T UA L D I S TA N C E F R O M S U N
(toilet paper squares)
Mercury
1.0
57,910,000 km / 35,983,606 mi
Venus
1.8
108,200,000 km / 67,232,363 mi
Earth
2.5
149,600,000 km / 92,957,130 mi
Mars
3.8
227,940,000 km / 141,635,350 mi
Asteroid Belt
7.0
414,436,363 km / 257,518,817 mi
Jupiter
13.2
778,330,000 km / 483,631,840 mi
Saturn
24.2
1,429,400,000 km / 888,187,982 mi
Uranus
48.6
2,870,990,000 km / 1,783,950,479 mi
Neptune
76.3
4,504,000,000 km / 2,798,655,850 mi
Kuiper Belt (incl. Pluto)
100.0
5,913,520,000 km / 3,674,490,973 mi
4. Bring completed models to a long hallway
or outdoor space and carefully unroll them.
What do students notice about the distances
between objects in our solar system?
5. Use meter sticks or tape measures to measure
the distance in meters from the sun to the
Kuiper Belt in this model.
6. Alpha Centauri, the nearest star to our
solar system, is 4.2 light years away. This is
approximately 10,000 times further from the
sun than the Kuiper Belt. Ask students to
calculate the following:
• How many squares of toilet paper would
be needed to add Alpha Centauri to their
models?
• If an average roll of toilet paper has 300
sheets, how many rolls of toilet paper would
that be?
• Based on their measurements of their
models, how many meters (or kilometers)
away would the end of the toilet paper
model be, if it included Alpha Centauri?
7. Where would their toilet paper models end
if they included Alpha Centauri? Challenge
students to consult a map and find a landmark
that is as far from your school as Alpha Centauri
is from the sun in the toilet paper model.
Pre-visit Resources
Spectroscopy: Colors of Light
AC T I V I T Y:
SOLAR SYSTEM ON A ROLL
N OT E S :
• In this activity, only the relative distances
between the objects in the solar system are
represented (not the relative sizes of the
objects). At this scale, the sun would be
roughly the size of an apple seed, Jupiter
would be the size of a grain of salt, and
Earth would be too tiny to see.
•The orbits of the planets are elliptical rather
than circular, so the distances listed are
average distances from the sun. Also, the
planets will never be aligned in a perfectly
straight line as they are shown in this
model—they are always in different parts of
their orbits.
•T
he toilet paper model of the solar system
will be approximately 14 meters long. Adding
Alpha Centauri would make it approximately
140 km (87 mi) long.
REFLECTION:
• What did students notice or learn about the
solar system from this model?
• In what ways is this model similar to the actual
solar system, and in what ways is it different?
• What things about the solar system does this
model not show? What kinds of models might
do a better job of illustrating them?
EXTENSIONS:
• For a hands-on experience that models the
relative sizes of objects in space, see the
following activity: http://wise.ssl.berkeley.edu/
documents/scalerealmsuniverse.pdf
• An online Scale of the Universe interactive
(http://htwins.net/scale2/ ) allows students to
zoom in and out of various orders of magnitude
and explore the relative sizes of objects in the
universe. The video version could also be used
as an introduction or demonstration: (https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaGEjrADGPA)
Pre-visit Resources
Spectroscopy: Colors of Light
I N V E S T I G AT I O N :
WHAT MAKES A RAINBOW?
TIME
Three 15–20-minute investigations, plus time for introduction and discussion
G OA L
Investigate the separation and combination of different colors (wavelengths) of visible light.
M AT E R I A L S :
Part 1 – Prisms
• Room that can be darkened
• Bright incandescent light sources (flashlight,
clip-on lamp, etc.), 1 per station. Clear bulbs,
not white/frosted, work best.
• Pieces of cardboard or cardstock with a
2–3”-long slit cut in each, 1 per station
• Prisms, at least 1 per station
• White paper and a way to hold it vertically,
such as taping it to the side of a box
• Pencils
Part 2 – Filters
• Materials from Part 1
• Red, green, and blue filters, 1 each per
station. The acetate “gel” filters used in
stage lighting work best, but colored
cellophane could be substituted. If using
cellophane, test in advance—multiple layers
may be needed for a strong color change.
Part 3 – Light Sources
• Materials from Part 1
• Light source with fluorescent bulb
• Light sources with other varieties of bulbs,
such as:
• Halogen or LED
• Different wattages of incandescent bulb
• Different shades of bulb—soft white,
daylight, clear, etc.—and/or colored bulbs
PROCEDURE:
1. The three parts of this investigation could
be done by the whole class in sequence, set
up as rotating stations, or used individually.
Each group or station needs a set-up that
allows a light source to shine through a slit in
the cardboard onto a vertical white surface.
The websites listed at the end of this activity
provide various suggestions for ways to do this.
2. Introduce the activity by asking students what
they know about rainbows. Where have they
seen them? What things do you need to make
a rainbow? Where do the colors come from?
Record their responses and hypotheses and
explain that they will be conducting some
investigations to find out more information
about how rainbows form.
3. Demonstrate how to set up the light source,
slit, and white paper, if not already in place.
Darken the room.
4. Ask students to shine the light through the slit
and observe what happens.
5. Give each group a prism and challenge
them to figure out how to use it to make a
rainbow. Where does the prism have to be?
In which orientation or direction must it face?
Encourage groups to share information so that
all groups can successfully create a rainbow on
the white paper before continuing.
Pre-visit Resources
Spectroscopy: Colors of Light
I N V E S T I G AT I O N :
WHAT MAKES A RAINBOW?
Part 1—Prisms
6. Ask groups to remove the prism and trace
on the paper where the light from the slit
falls, then replace the prism and compare the
rainbow to the traced outline.
• Is the rainbow in the same place as the
original light?
• Is it the same size? The same shape?
• Is it similar or different in any other ways?
7. Encourage students to try moving the prism,
paper, and/or slit and notice any changes in the
light on the paper.
• What happens if the prism is closer to the
slit? Closer to the paper?
• What happens if the paper and the slit are
close together? Far apart?
• Which arrangement makes the biggest
rainbow? Which makes the brightest?
• What role does the cardboard with the slit
play? What happens without it?
Part 2—Filters
8. Invite students to place the red filter in front of
the light source.
• What color is the light on the paper
(without the prism)? What happens when
the prism is added?
9. Encourage groups to try the green and
blue filters and observe the results; then try
combinations of two filters.
• What color is the light on the paper? What
happens when the prism is added?
• How do the “rainbows” change with each
filter or combination of filters?
• What happens if all three filters are used?
10. Remind students to record their observations
and conclusions.
Part 3—Light Sources
11. Ask students to replace the original light
source with a compact fluorescent and
observe the resulting rainbow. How is it the
same? How is it different?
12. Invite groups to explore the rainbows created
by other types of light bulbs.
• Which bulbs create similar rainbows? What
differences are there between the rainbows
made by different types of bulbs?
Pre-visit Resources
Spectroscopy: Colors of Light
I N V E S T I G AT I O N :
WHAT MAKES A RAINBOW?
REFLECTION:
Review the ideas and hypotheses the students
made at the beginning of the activity and
compare to the results of their investigations.
• What did you find out about how prisms create
rainbows?
• What did you find out about changing the color
of the light making the rainbow?
• How does the type of light bulb affect the
rainbow?
• Based on your investigations, what can you say
about how rainbows are made? What do you
think the prism does? Where do you think the
colors come from?
• What questions do you still have? How could
you find out more about those questions?
EXTENSIONS:
Encourage students to conduct a second
investigation into one of the questions
generated by the group discussion.
Other possibilities could include:
• What other objects create rainbows? (What
type of substance? What shape or thickness?)
• What happens with more than one prism?
• What happens to the rainbow if the colored
filters are combined with the other types of
light bulb?
Identification Challenge—Astronomers use the
light coming from distant stars to provide clues
about the stars themselves. Try a similar task
with the elements from this experiment. Arrange
the experimental set-up so that a person (or
the class) can view the light projected on the
paper without seeing the prism, slit, or filter.
One person (or the teacher) creates a rainbow
with a combination of prism, colored filter, and/
or bulb, and the other partner (or the class) tries
to determine what the set-up is, based on the
light they see on the paper. What clues help to
identify the set-up? What tells you if there is a
prism? A filter?
Sir Isaac Newton was the first to demonstrate
that white light is made up of all the colors
of the spectrum. Ask students to research
Newton’s original experiment—what question
was he trying to answer? How did he set up
his experiment? Challenge them to recreate his
experiment and see if they can confirm his results.
S E T- U P I D E A S A N D
R E L AT E D AC T I V I T I E S :
Exploring Light and Prisms:
https://cms.bsu.edu/-/media/WWW/
DepartmentalContent/FSEEC/docs/
Exploring%20Light%20and%20Prisms.doc
Spectroscopy Activity:
http://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.
php?url=collection/cub_/activities/cub_spect/
cub_spect_activity7.xml
Two Prisms, Four Demos:
http://blog.teachersource.com/2011/11/26/twoprisms-four-demos/