White Light and Prisms by Harcourt Achieve Inc

White Light and Prisms Worksheet

Light that comes from a natural source is white light. When it passes into glass or water, the speed slows and the beam bends. White light that enters a prism, a triangular piece of glass, bends in the glass, and then bends again when leaving the glass. The result is a spectrum, seven colors that make up light. The colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The color red bends the least in a prism, while violet bends the most.

Answer the questions.

  1. What happens when white light passes through a prism?
  2. What is a spectrum?
  3. How is a raindrop like a prism?
  4. How is a rainbow made?

WORKSHEET & Sample PDF Activity

Sample PDF Activity

Answer Key – White Light and Prisms

Answer Key

  1. The light bends as it enters the prism, separating the colors in light. The colors are bent again as they exit the prism, spreading out more.
  2. A spectrum is seven colors that make up light.
  3. Water, like glass, can bend light. A raindrop bends rays of sunlight and produces a spectrum of colors.
  4. Sunlight hits a raindrop and bends several times, making the spectrum of colors a raindrop.

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