Minds On
Artificial and natural light
This learning activity highlights people, places, or innovations that relate directly to the province of Ontario. Enjoy the exploration!
Explore the following carousel of light sources
Light is a type of energy that people interact with every day. The largest natural source of light is the sun. Other natural sources of light are lightning, fire, and stars. We use artificial sources of light all around, such as with ceiling lights, in cell phones, lamps, and flashlights.
What light sources can you find around you?
What sources of light can you think of? Use your ideas to complete the following chart. Find at least three sources of natural light and at least three sources of artificial light in your environment. Describe what the light source is, what type of source it is, and how it affects people.
Complete Sources of Light Around Me in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document. If you would like, you can use speech-to-text or audio recording tools to record your thoughts. You may wish to draw a picture of your light sample.
Press the Activity button to access the Sources of Light Around Me.
Activity (Open PDF in a new tab)Action
Some animals do light up!
Can humans produce light? People can hold a flashlight and move artificial sources of light around a dark room, but why can’t the end of people’s fingers light up so that they can see where they are going?
Well, Zoey from TVO’s Finding Stuff Out may just have the answer to that question. Examine the following video to find out more.
Check out the following video entitled “Finding Stuff Out: Nature’s Bright Light” to learn more about animals that produce their own light.
Ontario’s fireflies
In many places in Ontario, there are insects that light up. Commonly known as fireflies, they can be seen on summer nights throughout many areas of the province.
Click the image to enlarge in a new window.
Description
A map of Ontario showing the distribution of fireflies with black dots. There are many black dots in Eastern Ontario and along the shores of the Great Lakes, and a few other locations with fireflies throughout central and Western Ontario. There are no fireflies indicated in Northern Ontario.
Fireflies have special chemicals in their bodies that allow them to light up. Biologists describe this with the word bioluminescence.
Press ‘Bioluminescence’ to explore its definition!
Bioluminescence is the light produced by various living things. It is the result of a chemical reaction within those living things. There are many bioluminiscent creatures in nature, including fireflies, glow worms, some species of centipedes, mushrooms, fish, and more.
Glowsticks operate on the same principle as bioluminescent animals. When a glowstick is shaken, the chemicals inside mix and produce light.
Student Success
Think!
What do fireflies use light for?
Think back to the video segment “Finding Stuff Out: Nature’s Bright Light” or review it again. Record your answers on paper, digitally, or orally, and if possible, discuss your ideas with a partner.
Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.
Explore another segment of the video entitled “Finding Stuff Out: Nature’s Bright Light” to learn more about what some sea creatures use light for.
Student Success
Think!
Why do some creatures produce light? What do they use light for?
If possible, discuss your thoughts with a partner. Or, you can record your thoughts on paper, digitally, or orally. If you would like, you can use speech-to-text or audio recording tools to record your thoughts.
Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.
Check your knowledge
For each sentence, select the missing word from the drop-down menu.
Let’s reflect for a minute
Bioluminescence is a chemical reaction that occurs in some organisms that helps them produce light. However, some organisms can take advantage of reflection so that they appear to be lit up.
Headlights from cars driving at night reflect off the eyes of deer or raccoons on the road. The light from the headlights travel in a straight line to the eyes of the animal, reflecting off of their eyes and back to your eyes.
How many animals do you know of that reflect light off of their eyes at night? Check your knowledge with this interactive sorting game.
How does light travel?
Explore another segment of the video entitled “Finding Stuff Out: Nature’s Bright Light” to learn more about what some sea creatures use light for.
Did you know?
Keeping up appearances
Even though the neon fish appear to be bioluminescent, they actually just reflect light off their bodies, creating the illusion that they emit light.
When light reflects off of fishes’ bodies or animals’ eyes, that is an example of one of the properties of light – reflection. Light has many properties. Let’s take a closer look at the properties of light.
One property of light is that light travels in straight lines.
How do we know? Press the following tabs to try out a test of this property of light.
You’ll need the following materials:
- three index cards or half sheets of heavy paper
- flashlight or laser pointer
- a hole punch or scissors to make holes in the cards or paper
- a ruler
- modeling clay or tape
Make holes in the center of the three cards.
Use the clay to make the cards stand up straight and so the holes are in line. No clay? Try tape.
Shine the flashlight through the center of the hole in the first card. If light travels in a straight line, you should see light on the surface beyond the last card.
Light travels in straight lines
Another property of light is that light can be absorbed.
How do we know? Press the following tabs to try out a test of the absorbing property of light.
You’ll need:
- two empty identical containers (shoe box, coffee cans)
- black and white paper – enough of each to cover one container
- thermometer
- sunny day
Cover one container with black paper and the other with white.
Place both containers in a sunny location.
Check the temperature of the surface of each container at the start of the experiment and at regular intervals during the day. Record your data. You may wish to make a graph to compare the results.
Why does the black container get warmer? Dark colours absorb more light, and change that energy to heat. Lighter colours reflect light, instead.
Another property of light is that it can be refracted. When light is refracted, that means it changes direction, or bends, when it moves from one material to another.
How do we know? Press the following tabs to try out a test of the refracting property of light.
Try this out.
You’ll need:
- piece of paper
- marker
- clear glass of water
Take the paper and draw two arrows on it, one arrow at the top of the page and one closer to the bottom. Have the arrows point the same direction.
Slowly lower the paper behind the glass of water and observe what happens to the arrow near the bottom of the page.
What appears to happen to the bottom arrow?
Light refracts or bends as it travels through different mediums or substances. It travels fastest through the air, slower through water, and even slower through glass. In our experiment, light bent as it traveled through the glass and into the water, and bent again as it traveled out of the glass and into the air. The result was that the arrow looked like it flipped direction.
Pause and Reflect
Properties of light
In this learning activity, we have explored four properties of light! Record a description of the four properties of light highlighted here on paper, digitally, or orally. You may wish to include a diagram where appropriate. If possible, give examples of each property. Be prepared to share your ideas.
Did I…
Consolidation
Light up your learning!
Pause and Reflect
Light sources
Think about what information you would share with others about what you have learned about sources of light and properties of light.
Share your learning
Create a short description, an image, or an audio or video clip to share your learning about light from this learning activity. You may wish to include appropriate diagrams and labels or examples to help explain your understanding.
Use the following checklist to organize your thoughts.
In my planning for my paragraph and diagram, did I…
Reflection
As you read through these descriptions, which sentence best describes how you are feeling about your understanding of this learning activity? Press the button that is beside this sentence.
I feel…
Now, record your ideas using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.
Discover MoreDiscover more
There are many things that appear to be a source of light, like the neon fish in the video segment from the Action section of this learning activity; but in reality, these things are just reflecting light from a different source.
One of those things is the moon. Many people think that the moon gives off light. In reality, the sun is shining on the moon, and that sunlight is then reflected back to Earth and to our eyes.
Explore the following video entitled “Little Bits of Light”, where Malamar learns about light in the sky. As you explore, make note on paper, digitally, or orally of the information shared about the moon, the sun, and the stars.