How do science concepts apply to your world? Here are some questions you'll be able to answer after you read this chapter.

• Why does a lamp seem brighter the closer you are to it?
• How does a microwave oven cook food?
• How is a mirage formed?
• How can you make millions of colors from only three?
• Why are fluorescent lights commonly used in large buildings?
• How can you tell if a painting is a forgery?

How Do Color Filters Work?

Procedure

1. Place a piece of cardboard that has a slit cut into it in sunlight so that a beam of light passes through the slit. CAUTION: Never look directly at the sun.
2. Create a rainbow by positioning a prism in the beam of light that has passed through the slit. Project the rainbow onto white paper.
3. Use colored markers to draw the colors in the order in which they appear on the paper.
4. Replace the paper. Place a red filter between the slit and the prism and draw the colors you see projected onto the paper.
5. Repeat Step 4 with a blue filter and then with a green filter.

Think About It

1. Inferring   What happens to sunlight when it passes through a prism?
2. Observing   Which colors did you see projected onto the paper while using each filter? Which colors didn't you see while using each filter?
3. Drawing Conclusions   What can you conclude about what happens to sunlight as it passes through a filter?