Safe in the Sun

American Chemical Society

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In this activity on page 13 of the PDF, use a special plastic card that has been painted with a chemical that changes color when it is in UV light. Examine how the more UV rays there are, the darker the painted portion on the card with turn. Use this activity to explore UV rays (too small to see), nanoscale science, and sun protection.

Preparation Time:: Under 5 minutes
Learning Time:: 10 to 30 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:: $5 - $10 per student
Age Range:: Ages 6 - 14
Resource Types:: Activity, Experiment/Lab Activity
Language:: English, Portuguese, Spanish

Materials List (per student)

PULS card (or other UV indicator card), or UV detector beads
Letter-size envelope
Zip-closing bag (snack size)
Watch with second hand
Clear spray-on sunscreen (SPF 30 or greater)
Paper towel

Keywords

Subjects

Engineering and Technology
- Engineering
  - Nanotechnology
- Technology
  - Medical Technology
Life Sciences
- Human Body
  - Muscles and Skin
  - Health and Nutrition
Mathematics
- Measurement
  - Size and Scale
Physical Sciences
- Heat and Thermodynamics
  - Heat and Temperature
  - Heat Transfer
- Vibration and Waves
- Light and Optics
  - Electromagnetic Spectrum
  - Sunlight and Color
- Structure and Properties of Matter
  - Atomic Structure
The Nature of Science
- The Scientific Process
  - Conducting Investigations
  - Gathering Data
The Nature of Technology
- Technology and Society
  - Impacts of Technology

Informal Categories

Outdoor Activity

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

see
see color
read
touch

Learning styles supported:

Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Foreign language versions of this resource:

Access Rights:

Free access

By:

Jaworek-Lopes, Christine H. ; Sittenfeld, David

Source Institutions

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