KS3 Physics Colours of Light, Colour of Objects, Filters and Dispersion: Complete Lesson

This PowerPoint resource provides an engaging middle school science lesson on light behavior, how it interacts with materials, and the concept of dispersion. It combines visual aids, hands-on activities, and real-world applications to deepen students’ understanding of light and color.

Key learning objectives:

• Explaining what happens to light when it passes through a prism, demonstrating the concept of dispersion.
• Understanding primary and secondary colors of light and how they combine to form white light.
• Describing how colored filters and objects interact with light, including absorption, reflection, and transmission.

Resource features:
The lesson begins with a starter activity designed to assess prior knowledge about lenses and light behavior, including questions like:
Which type of lens converges parallel light rays?
How many times do light rays refract as they travel through a lens?
Core topics include:
Dispersion of Light:
Demonstrates how a prism separates white light into a spectrum of colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet), with explanations of why colors refract differently based on their wavelengths.
Primary and Secondary Colors:
Introduces the primary colors of light (red, blue, green) and explains how they combine to form secondary colors and white light.
Interaction with Filters and Objects:
Discusses how objects appear specific colors based on the wavelengths they reflect and absorb (e.g., a red apple reflects red light while absorbing other colors). Includes analysis of how filters transmit certain wavelengths and block others.

Interactive tasks include:

• Drawing and labeling diagrams of light dispersion through a prism.
• Completing tables to predict the colors transmitted by filters and reflected by objects.
• Answering reflective questions about why objects appear certain colors under different lighting conditions.

The lesson concludes with a plenary to review key concepts, such as why rainbows form and how colored filters alter perceived colors.

File details:
This editable ‘.pptx’ file aligns with middle school science curricula and supports interactive and visual learning. It provides structured explanations, real-world examples, and practical activities, making it an essential resource for teaching the behavior of light and color.