Light: reflection, refraction and colour
Light behaves differently depending on the material it meets — bouncing off, bending through, or splitting into a rainbow of colours.
Part of your national curriculum
- Physics: waves: Understand the transmission of light through materials, reflection, refraction and the colours of the light spectrum
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Understand the transmission of light through materials, reflection, refraction and the colours of the light spectrum
Key learning points
- • Transmission through materials
- • Reflection and refraction
- • The visible spectrum
This lesson at a glance
- 26 minutes
- 17 parts to scroll through
- 3 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 17
Visual introductionPicture this
Light: reflection, refraction and colour
Light behaves differently depending on the material it meets — bouncing off, bending through, or splitting into a rainbow of colours.
In a nutshell
Understand the transmission of light through materials, reflection, refraction and the colours of the light spectrum
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 17
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Transmission through materials
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 17
Learn
Transmission through materials
Transparent materials, like glass, let light pass through almost unaffected, so you can see clearly through them. Translucent materials, like frosted glass, scatter light as it passes through. Opaque materials, like wood, block light entirely, casting a shadow.
Reset break
Part 4 of 17
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 4 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 17
Learn
Reflection and refraction
Reflection occurs when light bounces off a surface, with the angle of incidence equal to the angle of reflection. Refraction occurs when light changes speed and bends as it passes between two different transparent materials, such as air and water, which is why a straw looks bent in a glass of water.
Quick check
Part 6 of 17
Quick check
Part 7 of 17
Reset break
Part 8 of 17
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 4 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 9 of 17
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · The visible spectrum
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 17
Learn
The visible spectrum
White light is made up of all the colours of the visible spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. A prism refracts different colours by different amounts (violet bends most, red least), splitting white light into a rainbow, called dispersion.
Quick check
Part 11 of 17
Reset break
Part 12 of 17
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 4 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 13 of 17
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 14 of 17
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
Transparent ____, like glass, let light pass through almost unaffected, so you can see clearly through them.
____ occurs when light bounces off a surface, with the angle of incidence equal to the angle of reflection.
____ occurs when light changes speed and bends as it passes between two different transparent materials, such as air and water, which is why a straw looks bent in a glass of water.
Challenge round
Part 15 of 17
Game · Recall cards
What happens to light hitting an opaque object?
Card 1 of 3
Mastery quiz
Part 16 of 17
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Light: reflection, refraction and colour
3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. What happens to light hitting an opaque object?
2. What causes a straw to look bent in a glass of water?
3. Which colour of visible light bends the most through a prism?
Lesson round-up
Part 17 of 17
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
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Ask LunaPart 1 of 17 · Watch & discover
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Understand the transmission of light through materials, reflection, refraction and the colours of the light spectrum