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Title
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Detecting Ultraviolet Radiation
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Type
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Primary: Laboratory
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Operation
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Infinite Potential
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Mission:
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Mission 1: Critical Current
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Print Page
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19
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Subjects
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Physical science | Light | Science as inquiry | Science process skills | Observing | Science
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Grades
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5 | 6 | 7 | 8
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Keywords
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ultraviolet radiation, wave, radiation, UV, UV bead, detect, sunlight, sun, light, bead
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Duration
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01:00:00 (HH:MM:SS)
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Audience
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Teachers | Elementary Grades | Junior High
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Created On
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3/27/2009
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Copyright
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Sun photo: NASA; Sunglasses photoLotus Head/Wikimedia Commons
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From: Infinite Potential Mission 1: Critical Current (pp: 19) |
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Detecting Ultraviolet Radiation In this activity, you will use inexpensive plastic indicators, known as UV beads, to detect ultraviolet radiation. |
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Although Janet Green mostly studies the high-energy particles emitted by the sun, she is also aware of its electromagnetic radiation. Like high-energy particles, electromagnetic waves stream across the vacuum of space. Although an assortment of waves strike Earth’s outer atmosphere, only narrow bands of this energy reach our planet’s surface. Most electromagnetic radiation is absorbed by our atmosphere. UV radiation contains slightly more energy than can be detected by the human eye. So although this energy strikes the eye’s photosensitive layer, we do not detect it. This radiation, however, can be sensed by a variety of devices. In this activity, you will use inexpensive plastic indicators, known as UV beads, to detect ultraviolet radiation.
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| Materials |
| | - ruler
- materials provided by instructor
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| Lab Prep |
- Review with your teacher what UV beads are and what they indicate.
- Place some UV beads in one hand. Close this hand tightly, not allowing light to reach the beads.
- Walk into a location bathed in direct sunlight.
- Open your hand. Observe the beads. What happens? How long does it take? Did all the beads react in the same way? Write down your observations.
- Shield the beads again from direct sunlight. Wait several minutes. Look at the beads now and describe any changes you observe.
- Close your hand and return into the sunlight. Once again open your hand, exposing the beads to the direct rays of the sun. What did you observe?
- With your instructor, discuss the behavior of these UV-detecting beads.
- Turn a box on one side, so that the box opens horizontally.
- Fasten UV beads in a line at the bottom far edge of a box, separating each from its neighbor by about 2.5 cm.
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| Make Observations |
- Transport the box outdoors into an area with direct sunlight, making sure that sunlight does not stream into the box. Position the box on a flat, horizontal surface so that the opening faces away from direct sunlight.
- Design an investigation to determine if UV behaves like visible light, based on what you learned about visible light in Lab 3: Exploring Visible Light.
- With your instructor's permission, perform your investigation and record your results.
- Design an investigation in which you determine the effectiveness of various items at blocking UV light.
- With your instructor's permission, perform your investigation and write down your results.
- Once the investigations are completed, share your results with classmates. Based on what you have learned, compose additional questions that could be answered by your classmates.
 | Journal Question
How can you usethese beads to help you protect yourself against UV radiation? | |
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