Why is the Sky Blue?

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In this activity, learners create a "mini sky" in a glass of water in a dark room. Use this demonstration to explain to learners why the sky appears blue during the day and orange at sunset, Rayleigh scattering, and principles of sunlight and color in general.[Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org.]

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
Under 5 minutes
Learning Time:
Under 5 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
1 cent - $1 per student
Age Range:
Ages 6 - 14
Resource Types:
Activity, Demonstration
Language:
English

Materials List (per student)

  • a glass of water
  • milk
  • an eyedropper
  • a flashlight

Keywords

Subjects

  • Earth and Space Science
    • Earth Structure
      • Atmosphere
    • Earth, Moon and Sun
    • Solar System
      • The Sun
  • Life Sciences
    • Human Senses and Perception
      • Vision
  • Physical Sciences
    • Vibration and Waves
    • Light and Optics
      • Electromagnetic Spectrum
      • Sunlight and Color
  • The Nature of Science
    • The Scientific Process
      • Conducting Investigations

Informal Categories

  • Food and Cooking
  • Nature and Environment

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • see color

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

This resource is part of:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, Ontario Science Centre, 2011