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teachwire.net/secondary Light is a physical phenomenon, an electromagnetic wave, that is responsible for our perceptions of colour. Without light there cannot be colour. The colour of an object, such as a T-shirt or mobile phone case, is determined by chemistry – in particular the wavelengths of light that are absorbed and transmitted by the chemicals in the object or on its surface. In turn, colour affects our emotions, imagination and thoughts. These fascinating connections allow you to make links between physics, chemistry and biology, and the unexpected effect of light on our imaginations. Lesson plan: SCIENCE KS4 Help your pupils understand how the interplay of chemistry and light affects the colours we see, and in turn the emotions we feel LIGHTS, COLOUR, IMAGINATION! WHYTEACHTHIS? Why do we feel blue when we are sad? Why does red arouse feelings of attractiveness and anger? Why does yellowmake us feel cheerful? How do colours affect our emotions and how can we manipulate our mood using colour and light? KEYCURRICULUM LINKS Explore the relationship between colour, light and imagination with your KS4 scientists.This lesson looks at the physics of light,the chemistry of colour and the biology of your imagination. DOWNLOAD a full set of worksheets to accompany this lesson for FREE at teachwire.net/ scienceofcolour How does light affect our imagination? If your wardrobe is closed and no light can get in, do your clothes still have different colours? What feelings do we associate with different colours? Q 94 STARTER ACTIVITY Show your students an extract from Khan Academy showing Newton’s Prism experiment (see bit.ly/ka- newton-prism). This shows how light passing through a triangular prism is separated into different colours according to refractive index – white light is a combination of all these colours. Set up the experiment as shown in the video, using a ray box, prism and cardboard screen. It is extremely compelling to add a lens, thus demonstrating how the different colours of light can be recombined into white light. Within the visible region of the spectrum, red has longest wavelength and violet the shortest. The shorter the wavelength of the light, the more it is refracted. Students could draw a diagram of the electromagnetic spectrum, labelling the wavelengths from the shortest gamma rays to the longest radio waves, and use this to show the location and wavelengths of the different colours that make up visible light.