Republic of the Philippines

Philippine Normal University

The National Center for Teacher Education
Mindanao
The Multicultural Education Hub
Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur

DOES COLOR AFFECTS THE ABSORPTION OF HEAT?

INTRODUCTION
In research from Kittmer (2019) it said that heat energy obeys the same laws of
conservation as light energy. If a certain substance reflects most light wavelengths, most heat
energy will be reflected as well. Therefore, due to the nature of visual light, colors that reflect
most wavelengths of light tend to be cooler than those that only reflect a few. Understanding
how this principle applies to different colors can allow a person to stay warmer or cooler
simply by wearing different colored clothes.
According to Science Buddies (2020), light is an example of an electromagnetic wave.
Electromagnetic waves can travel through the vacuum of interstellar space. They do not
depend on an external medium—unlike a mechanical wave such as a sound wave which must
travel through air, water, or some solid medium. Electromagnetic waves cover a huge range
of frequencies, from high-frequency gamma rays and x-rays, to ultraviolet light, visible light,
and infrared light, and on into microwaves and radio waves. As the frequency decreases, so
does the energy. The wavelength of an electromagnetic wave is inversely proportional to its
frequency. So waves with high frequency have short wavelengths, and waves with low
frequency have long wavelengths. Electromagnetic waves interact with materials in
different ways, depending on the nature of the material and the frequency of the
electromagnetic wave. Light is the range of electromagnetic waves that are visible. This
range of wavelengths is called the visible spectrum of light. When you see a rainbow in the
sky, or white light that has been refracted through a prism, or diffracted by the regular
surface of a CD, you are seeing a spectrum of colors. The different colors are related to the
different wavelengths of light. Violet light is at the short-wavelength end of the visible
spectrum (400 nm), and red light is at the long-wavelength end of the visible spectrum (700
nm), with the rainbow of colors in between. We perceive different colors because our visual
system has evolved to make use of the spectral information in reflected light. When light
interacts with an object, the light can be absorbed by the object, reflected by the object, or
transmitted by the object.
For example, when you look at yourself in the mirror, the light that you are seeing has
been reflected by the mirror, transmitted through the air, through your cornea, through the
lens of your eye, and through two layers of cells in your retina before it is absorbed by
lightsensitive pigments in your photoreceptor cells. The energy from the absorbed light
starts a cascade of chemical reactions in your photoreceptors that ultimately leads to your
perception: seeing yourself in the mirror. Objects in the world have different colors
depending on which parts of the visible spectrum they absorb, and which parts of the visible
spectrum they reflect. Red objects reflect long wavelengths of light (and absorb shorter
wavelengths), while blue objects reflect short wavelengths of light (and absorb longer
wavelengths). Black objects absorb all visible wavelengths about equally, and white objects
reflect all visible wavelengths about equally.
Moreover, according to Beek (2015), when light interacts with an object, that light
can be absorbed, reflected, or transmitted. Black objects absorb all wavelengths of light,
while white objects reflect all visible wavelengths. They are complete opposites. Other colors
absorb some wavelengths and reflect others, which is what makes them appear different to
the human eye. Color is a result of the wavelength of light reflected by that object.
Furthermore, when a light wave with a single frequency strikes an object, a number
of things could happen. The light wave could be absorbed by the object, in which case its
energy is converted to heat. The light wave could be reflected by the object. And the light
wave could be transmitted by the object. Rarely however does just a single frequency of light
strike an object. While it does happen, it is more usual that visible light of many frequencies
or even all frequencies is incident towards the surface of objects. When this occurs, objects
have a tendency to selectively absorb, reflect or transmit light certain frequencies. That is,
one object might reflect green light while absorbing all other frequencies of visible light.
Another object might selectively transmit blue light while absorbing all other frequencies of
visible light. The manner in which visible light interacts with an object is dependent upon
the frequency of the light and the nature of the atoms of the object, Physics Tutorial: Light
Absorption, Reflection, and Transmission. (n.d.)
OBJECTIVES
Light that is absorbed by an object is usually converted into heat energy. The goal of this
project is to measure how much heat is produced by the absorption of light by different
colors. This experiment aims to find out which among white, yellow, orange, green, blue and
black absorbs less or more light.
METHODS
1. Wrap the six identical beakers with six different colors of construction paper (white,
yellow, orange, green, blue, black) by folding the construction papers in half the long way
and using elastic bands.
2. Another one beaker is not covered with a construction paper.
3. Fill the same amount of water into the beaker. Use a room temperature water, make sure
they are of the same temperature by checking them through a thermometer. Record the
starting temperature on the chart provided.
Starting After 10 After 20 After 30
temperature minutes minutes minutes

No construction
Paper
White

Yellow

Orange

Green

Blue

Black

4. Put one thermometer on each beaker.

5. Put them all at the same time under the shade of sun.
6. Using a timer, every ten minutes, peek at each thermometer and write down the
temperature on the chart. Do this for 3 times. Assign one member to each beaker to make
sure that you check the temperature at the same time. Record the temperature on the given
table.
7. Now look at your table. Did all the thermometers heat up at the same pace, or did some
heat up faster and others slower? Did they end up being the same temperature at the end, or
different temperatures?
8. Analyze your results. What was the average increase in temperature for each color?
9. Make a bar graph to show your results, ordering the colors from lowest to highest
temperature increase.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

COLOR ABSORPTION

After 40 minutes

After 30minutes

After 20 minutes

After 10 minutes

Starting Temperature

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Black Blue Green Orange Yellow White

GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. Which colors absorb heat faster? The light or dark colors?
2. What can you conclude based on the result of the experiment?
3. In what ways can you apply the experiment on real life?
4. Why do you think that the temperatures change that way in different colors?

CONCLUSION
Make a generalization about the entire experiment.
REFERENCES:

Beek, M. (2015, July 6). How does color affect heat absorption? Discovery Express.
https://www.discoveryexpresskids.com/blog/how-does-color-affect-heat-absorption

Kittmer, L. (2019, March 2). What Colors Absorb More Heat? Sciencing.Retrieved December
20, 2020 from https://sciencing.com/colors-absorb-heat-8456008.html
Physics Tutorial: Light Absorption, Reflection, and Transmission. (n.d.). The Physics Classroom. Retrieved
January 19, 2021, from https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/light/Lesson-2/Light-
Absorption,-Reflection,-and-Transmission

Science Buddies Staff. (2020, November 20). How Does Color Affect Heating by Absorption
of Light? Retrieved December 20, 2020 from
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-
ideas/Phys_p030/physics/how-does-color-affect-heating-by-absorption-of-light