Colour of a shadow in Light, Shadows and images – Class 6 Science Experiment

Chapter Name: Light, Shadows and images

Activity Name: Colour of a shadow in Light, Shadows and images

Activity Description:

Required Items:

1. Four balls of equal size but different colors
2. A light source
3. A screen or wall to project the shadows

Step by Step Procedure:

1. Set up a light source such as a lamp or flashlight in a well-lit room.
2. Place the four balls in a row, equidistant from the light source.
3. Position a screen or wall in front of the balls to capture the shadows cast by the balls.
4. Make sure that the person attempting to guess the colors of the balls is facing the screen and cannot see the balls directly.
5. Illuminate the balls with the light source, causing them to cast shadows on the screen.
6. Ask the person facing the screen to guess the color of each ball based on their observations of the shadows.
7. Record their guesses for each ball.

Experiment Observations:

1. Note down the color of each ball.
2. Write down the guesses made by the person facing the screen.

Precautions:

1. Ensure that the light source is placed at a fixed position throughout the experiment.
2. Keep the distance between the balls and the light source consistent.
3. Make sure that the person guessing the colors cannot see the actual balls and relies solely on the shadows.

Lesson Learnt from Experiment:

The experiment demonstrates that it is not possible to accurately guess the color of an object by observing its shadow. Shadows are areas where light is absent, and therefore, they appear colorless regardless of the color of the object casting the shadow.

This experiment reinforces the understanding that shadows do not contain color information and cannot be used to determine the color of an object.