Color and Light

NOTE
Before using this collection of activities for the first time, please read About Super Science
Connections for a discussion of teaching strategies, introductory activities, a full table of
contents of all SSC activities, how to connect SSC with literature, mathematics, art, and
much more. It is a very useful introduction.

A Note about Safety

Science Concepts and Benchmarks 1
Is Black Really Black? 3
The Mystery Pen 7
Extension: Fly, Fly Butterfly 15
Gels of Color 19
Fabulous Fancy Fabric 23
Rainbows Without Rain 27
Rainbow Grid and Goggles 33
Rainbow in a Jar 41
Firefly Light 45
Suppliers 48A

Disclaimer. This publication is intended for use by teachers or other adults with properly supervised children. All adults
and children are expected to follow normal safety precautions when performing the activities described in this manual (see
A Note about Safety). Neither the authors nor the publisher assumes liability for the use of information in this publication.
Copyright 1994, 1995, 2012 by the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents
ICE Publication 94-009
Creative Commons License Deed. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported [http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/] A portion of this document is below; see complete deed online.
You are free to Shareto copy, distribute and transmit this work; to Remixto adapt this work. You may do so
under the following conditions: AttributionYou must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or
licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). NoncommercialYou may
not use this work for commercial purposes. Share AlikeIf you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may dis-
tribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.
Permission to copy worksheets: You have our permission to make as many copies as are needed for students in your
classes of any or all of the worksheets that accompany each activity.
Printed copies of SSC are available for purchase from ICE, The Institute for Chemical Education (http://ice.chem.wisc.edu/
Catalog/Manuals.html#Anchor-Super-25730); ICE publication 94-009.

Super Science Connections 1995, 2012 by Univ. of Wisconsin Board of Regents ICE, The Institute for Chemical Education
 A Note about Safety
The measure of appropriate safety precautions is what would a reasonable person have
done in the situation. We have taken a cautious, conservative view of reasonableness
in the activities in SSC. We have included only those chemicals and procedures that we
do in our own classrooms with confidence that we are not risking the safety of any of
the students. The proper safety action if something is splashed into the eye is to wash
the eye out with water for five or ten minutes. We are not recommending safety glasses
for all of the activities, unless local policies require it. While one of the experiments
uses vinegar, no family requires its children to wear safety glasses while using Italian
salad dressing! We have not included reactions with ammonia at this age level, however,
because a reasonable person would not have a child of this age using ammonia.
There are two activities where we suggest eye protections. One is Seltzer Surprise
where the top of a film canister pops off, and there is a chance that the top could hit a
student directly in the eye, if the student did not follow the directions to stand back.
Try this experiment yourself to get an idea of the force of the reaction. The other experi-
ment where we suggest eye protection is Fabulous Fancy Fabric. This is because we are
using plastic pipets that are similar to medicine droppers containing rubbing alcohol.
These pipets are a great way to deliver small quantities of liquid to one spot. They can
also be used as squirt guns, either accidentally or because one of your students just
couldnt resist the temptation!
You will want to check with your local school district about specific regulations. Some
require safety glasses for any science work. There are usually two justifications of this.
One is that the district is responding to any potential liability by exercising extreme
caution. The other is that wearing safety glasses is a way to model behavior that
highlights that safety is an important consideration in a laboratory situation. That is,
it doesnt matter what chemicals are being used, the goal is to reinforce that safety
glasses should be worn in a science laboratory.
There are many sources of both safety glasses and safety goggles including Safety
Glasses USA.com (www.safetyglassesusa.com), Enviro Safety Products (www.enviro-
safetyproducts.com), Educational Innovations (www.teachersource.com), Delta (www.
deltaeducation.com), and Science Bob Store (www.sciencebobstore.com).
Publications that are good references for safety at the elementary school level include:
Exploring Safely: A Guide for Elementary Teachers by Terry Kwan and Juliana
Texley; NSTA; available in print, as an e-book, or bundled (both print and e-book)
Safety in the Elementary (K6) Science Classroom 2nd edition, American Chemi-
cal Society; PDF available online at http://portal.acs.org/portal/fileFetch/C/
WPCP_012300/pdf/WPCP_012300.pdf
Science and Safety: Its Elementary, Council of State Science Supervisors;
information is in the form of a calendar/poster; available online at http://www.csss-
science.org/downloads/scisaf_cal.pdf
Safety in the Elementary Science Classroom, NSTA; a flipchart/poster; available
updated 2/2012 from NSTA or from amazon.com

Super Science Connections 1995, 2012 by Univ. of Wisconsin Board of Regents ICE, The Institute for Chemical Education
All of the activities in SSC are designed to follow general Benchmarks from
Benchmarks for Science Literacy. Those listed below are from the 1993
version. Go to About Super Science Connections for a list of all those that apply
with both 1993 and current (2009) versions listed.
updated 2/2012

Some events in nature have a repeating pattern. The weather changes from day
to day, but things such as temperature and rain (or snow) tend to be high, low, or
medium in the same months every year.
Chapter 4: The Physical Setting
Section B: The Earth Grades K2, page 67
updated 2/2012

1995, 2012 by Univ. of Wisconsin Board of Regents

 The sun is the main source of energy for people and they use it in various ways.
The energy in fossil fuels such as oil and coal comes from the sun indirectly,
because the fuels come from plants that grew long ago.
Chapter 8: The Designed World
Section C: Energy Sources and Use Grades 35, page 193

updated 2/2012 Section B: Symbolic Relationships Grades K2, page 217

1995, 2012 by University of Wisconsin Board of Regents

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Suppliers
List of Suppliers for Materials Recommended updated 2/2012

American Science & Surplus Jamie Lazenby (cotton farmer)

P.O. Box 1030 The LA-Z-BEE
Skokie, IL 60076 4184 Lee Road 146
phone: 888-724-7587 Auburn, AL 36830-8415
email: service@sciplus.com phone: 334-749-5346
Internet: www.sciplus.com
Micromole Scientific
Biophilia, Randy Korb Attn. John Mauch
W6803 Manitowoc Road 1312 N. 15th
Menasha, WI 54952 Pasco, WA 99301
phone: 920-734-6595 phone: 509-545-4904

Clifford W. Estes Co., Inc. Kathy and Robert Miller (owners of a cotton gin)
40 Vreeland Avenue 2222 Lee Road
Totowa, NJ 07512 Auburn, AL 36830
phone: 800-248-2271 Contact between September and November
email: tomc@estesco.com (customer service)
Internet: www.estesco.com Museum Products Co.
84 Route 27
Delta Education, Catalog Mystic, CT 06355-1226
80 Northwest Boulevard phone: 800-395-5400; 860-536-6433
Nashua, NH 03061-3000 www.tracksandscat.com
phone: 800-258-1302
Internet: www.deltaeducation.com National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
1840 Wilson Boulevard
Edmund Scientifics SCIENTIFICS Arlington, VA 22201
60 Pearce Avenue phone: 800-277-5300
Tonawanda, NY 14150 Internet: www.nsta.org/
phone: 800-728-6999; 800-818-4955 (orders)
email: scientifics@edsci.com Oriental Trading Co.
www.scientificsonline.com P.O. Box 2308
Omaha, NE 68103-2308
Educational Innovations phone: 800-348-6483
5 Francis J. Clarke Circle Internet: www.orientaltrading.com
Bethel, CT 06801
phone: 888-912-7474; 203-229-0730 Rainbow Symphony, Inc. (3D glasses)
Internet: www.teachersource.com 6860 Canby Avenue, Suite 120
Reseda, CA 91335
Flinn Scientific, Inc. phone: 800-821-5122; 818-708-8400
P.O. Box 219 email: rainbowsymphony@rainbowsymphony.com
Batavia, IL 60510 Internet: www.rainbowsymphony.com
phone: 800-452-1261
email: flinn@flinnsci.com WREN Enterprises
Internet: www.flinnsci.com 3145 West Monmouth Avenue
Englewood, CO 80110
phone: 303-798-2778

The Institute for Chemical Education 1995, 2012 by University of Wisconsin Board of Regents Super Science Connections 233