WGSS – Science 8 Name:

Light Prisms Lab

Objective:

To observe what happens to light as it passes through a prism. You will experiment with white light
that is composed of a continuous band of colors. The band of colors appears in the same pattern as
the colors of a rainbow.

Background Info:

This experiment was first done by Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727). Newton let a beam of sunlight
pass through a glass prism and observed the white light spectrum. When light passes through a
material, such as glass or water, the red light at one end of the spectrum travels faster than the
violet light at the other end of the spectrum. This difference in speed causes a change in the
direction of light when going from air to the prism and from the prism to air. This change of
direction is called refraction and is greater for violet light than for red light. The speed of light in
the prism depends on the color; thus, we get a continuous band as in the rainbow. The rainbow of
colors we can see is called the visible spectrum.

Materials:

 LightBox  Prism

Procedure:

Using a lightbox and a prism, shine the light through the prism in an attempt to try to create a
rainbow.

Observations/Questions: (Hint – Use your notes)

1) When shining the light through the prism, what do you observe?

2) Which color in the visible spectrum has the longest wavelength? Does it refract a lot or a little
bit?

3) Which color in the visible spectrum has the shortest wavelength? Does it refract a lot or a
little bit?

4) Which color has a higher frequency – yellow light, or blue light? (Hint: There is an inverse
relationship between frequency and wavelength)