Light Interactions with Materials

A student is sitting at her desk one day, and notices that the lights in her classroom have a cover over them: She wonders if these covers affect the light in any way, and decides to plan an investigation to find out if they are transparent or translucent. Which of the choices below is an investigation and will give her accurate results?

• She can do research on the internet to see if the company who builds the covers tells if they are transparent or translucent on their website.

• She can turn off the lights and try to see through the cover, deciding if the objects on the other side look clear or not.

• She can interview the workers who installed the ceiling, asking if they use transparent or translucent covers.

• She can take off one of the covers and shine a light through the cover, looking at the light carefully on both sides.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

Students observe how light interacts with different materials and record what they see in a data table. Which material would be entered into the empty box on the data table?

• Cardboard

• Glass

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

On his way home from school, a student notices a car with dark, tinted windows: He wonders if the windows he is seeing are translucent or opaque, and plans the following investigation to find out: Step 1 - Shine a laser pointer at the window from outside the car. Step 2 - Look through the window to see if the laser’s light is shining inside the car. Which of the following choices would improve his investigation?

• Change step 1 - he should use a flashlight instead of a laser pointer

• Change step 1 - he should look to see if he can see through the window

• Change step 2 - he should look to see if he can see the laser on the outside of the window

• Change step 2 - he should look at how the laser pointer’s light looks from inside the car

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

Jonathan wants to build a doghouse for his new puppy. His puppy will be living in the backyard. He uses a flashlight to test the following materials: frosted plastic, wood, and glass. He wants to make sure the material he uses will keep his puppy shaded and cool during the day. Below are his observations from his flashlight test.

• He should use glass because it allows all light to come in, therefore, there will be no blocked light, so it will remain cool in the doghouse.

• He should use frosted plastic so there is some light that can come in to keep the doghouse cool, but not too cold.

• He should use a combination of all three materials to allow different amounts of light in to keep the doghouse cool.

• He should use wood because it blocks all light from coming in, and this will keep the doghouse cool.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

Students want to explore how light interacts with different materials. Which of the following investigations would BEST allow students to see how light interacts with different types of materials to classify them?

• Take three different types of flashlights to see the amount of light that shines through a piece of construction paper.

• Take three different types of flashlights to see the brightness of light when turned on in a dark classroom.

• Take three different types of materials such as: cardboard, wood, and a thick blanket to see the amount of light that shines through it when placed under a flashlight.

• Take three different types of materials such as: aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and white paper to see the amount of light that shines through it when placed under a flashlight.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

Students conducted an experiment to classify different types of materials as opaque, transparent, or translucent. Which of the following charts correctly classifies the materials?

• Chart A: Opaque - Wood, Transparent - Glass, Translucent - Frosted glass

• Chart B: Opaque - Glass, Transparent - Wood, Translucent - Metal

• Chart C: Opaque - Frosted glass, Transparent - Wood, Translucent - Glass

• Chart D: Opaque - Glass, Transparent - Metal, Translucent - Wood

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

Which table correctly matches the materials to their properties?

• Opaque: Aluminum foil, Transparent: Glass, Translucent: A leaf

• Opaque: Glass, Transparent: Aluminum Foil, Translucent: A leaf

• Opaque: Aluminum foil, Transparent: A leaf, Translucent: Glass

• Opaque: Glass, Transparent: A leaf, Translucent: Aluminum foil

Willow is performing an investigation using a flashlight on a transparent object. Which picture most likely shows the results of her investigation?

• A (flashlight beam is partially scattered)

• B (flashlight beam passes straight through the object)

• C (flashlight beam is blocked by the object)

• D (flashlight beam is mostly blocked)

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

Michelle did an experiment to see how light from a flashlight travels through different materials. Her results are in the table below. Object | Amount of Light Passed Through --- | --- Green food wrap | a lot of light Piece of wood | none Glass cup | all of the light Plastic plate | none Tinted light cover | some Based on her experiment, what can Michelle explain about light?

• Light travels through all objects but through some better than others.

• Light can travel through some objects and is absorbed by others.

• Light only stops traveling when in contact with wood.

• Light only travels through clear objects like glass.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

Abbey wants to compare how the backyard of her house looks through three different types of materials used in windows. The picture shows what Abbey is able to see. Which table correctly identifies each window as transparent, translucent, or opaque?

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Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2