Science Students should have had an introduction to the electromagnetic spectrum and the concepts of wavelength and frequency. Warm - Up Direct students to write for ten minutes in their journals summarizing the graphic on the electromagnetic spectrum shown above. Tell them to think about the relationships in and among the various wavelengths and the position of each type of radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum. The visible light from the sun is actually composed of the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, which can become distinguishable when sunlight passes through a prism. We can think of light traveling in waves with properties of wavelength and frequency.
Frequency is the number of complete waves, or wavelengths, that pass a given point each second.
All light travels at the same speed, but each color has a different wavelength and frequency. It is their different wavelengths that cause the different colors of light to separate and become visible when passing through a prism. Look at the illustration of the visible spectrum above. The wavelengths of the other colors decrease in order, with violet light having the shortest. In this hands on lab, you will construct a simplified model of different light waves in order to determine a constant relationship between wavelength and frequency.