How light travels: Investigation Method
Question: Does light travel in a straight line?
Aim: To determine if light travels in a straight line.
Materials:
• Blu-tack or plasticine
• 3 light shield cards
• 1 torch
• a thick book that can stand on its own
• a piece of string
• ruler
Method 1:
1. Carefully fold each light shield card in half using the cross as a marker for the mid-point.
2. Cut a small hole in the centre of each card where the lines cross.
3. Stand the book on the desk.
4. Place the cards in a straight line 10 cm apart. Use the Blu-tack or plasticine to help them stand up (see diagram below).
5. Check that the holes are lined up by looking through them.
Predict (1) what will happen when you shine the light through the hole in the first card and the holes are lined up straight. Use this Word document to record your personal predictions. Then use this for the rest of the inquiry.
Also, use the Padlet below to add to our collective predictions and read what your classmates think:
6. Shine the torch through the hole in the first card.
7. Record your observations on the activity sheet provided.
8. Thread the string carefully through the holes until it can’t go any further.
9. Record your observations on the activity sheet provided.
Access this worksheet to record all of your findings for this experiment: How Does Light Travel Experiment
Remember to update our Word Wall if needed - last page in our Weebly.