Light Notes - 4th Grade

What is light?
● A form of ________ that you can see that is made up of _______.
● Energy is the ability to _______ something move, happen, or change
● What are some __________ of light?
○ Light bulbs, fire, sun, fireflies
● How does the sun’s light _________ Earth?
○ Light waves travel through ___________ space to reach Earth
Not all light is created equal - Brightness
● Brightness, or the _____________ of a light, has to do with the ____________ of
light the eye ____________ from a source.
● Does a light seem brighter from up close or far away?

Visibility
● In order for a light to be visible, it must ________ _______ its own light or
__________ light.
○ * The ________, a candle flame, or flashlight gives off visible light.
○ * The _________ reflects other forms of light.

The sun is our ________ source of light energy. It is __________ light made up of
________ colors. You can see these colors in a rainbow.
● You see a ___________ because as sunlight passes through ___________, it is
______________ into different colors.

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The Spectrum of Light - Colors
● Light (_________ light) is made up of many different colors of light.
● The colors represent the __________ of energy in the light.
● You can see these different __________ if white light passes through a
________. The different colors of light __________ when white light passes
through a prism are called the ___________.
● A prism is a piece of _________ or other transparent material shaped like a
____________ that separates white light into the colors of the rainbow.

How are we able to see objects?

Light is ____________ from a light source to an object and then to our ________.
How do light waves travel?
Light waves travel in ___________ lines and can go in all ___________.
What happens when light hits an object?
It can be ___________, absorbed, or ________ through an object.
Reflection
● Reflect means to bounce off a __________
● This lets us _______ any object that doesn't give off it's own __________.
● Smooth, shiny objects like _________ reflect light so well that we see the light
reflected off other items!

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Refraction
● What happens when light is refracted?
○ Refract means to ________ light waves.
● When does refraction occur?
○ Refraction occurs when light bends as it passes from one _____________
material to another (like _________, air, or glass). It causes an object to
look bent or __________.
Absorption
● Light that is absorbed does _______ reflect off or pass through an object.
● An object absorbs all colors that it does not reflect. (Black absorbs _____ colors)
● Absorbed light is __________ into _________ forms of energy, like heat!
Seeing Color
● The light reflected by an object _____________ the color(s) of that object.
● Look at the blue bear. What colors are being absorbed? ________________
What colors are being reflected? ________________________
● *The color black is seen when ______ of the colors of light are ___________
● * The color white is seen when all of the colors of light are __________.

Transparent
● What is a transparent material?
○ A material that __________ light to pass through it
● What are some transparent materials?
○ Clear glass, _______, water
Translucent
● What is a translucent material?
○ A material that allows ________ light to pass through it
● What are some translucent materials?

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 ○ Tissue paper, ___________ __________
Opaque
● What is an opaque material?
○ A material that does _______ allow light to pass through it
● What are some translucent materials?
○ Book, tree, _________

Convex vs. Concave

● What is a convex lens?
○ A convex lens is _________ in the center. It bends light rays __________
towards a focal point. This lens makes objects appear _________.
● What is an example of a convex lens?
○ Magnifying glasses and __________
● What is a concave lens?
○ A concave lens is thin in the _________. It bends light ___________. This
lens makes objects appear smaller.
● What is an example of concave lens?
○ _____________ for people who are near-sighted, a peephole in a door

Shadows
● What is a shadow?
○ A _______ area on a surface created by an object ___________ the path
of light
● How does a shadow form?
○ When __________ waves are blocked, a shadow forms. Some light
waves are ____________ by the opaque object, and others travel
__________ the object forming a shadow in the shape of the object.
● In the morning, the Sun appears ______ in the sky; objects cast long shadows.
● As Earth __________, the Sun’s appears __________ in the sky, and the
shadows get shorter.
● At noon, with the Sun overhead, objects cast short shadows or no shadow at all.

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● As Earth continues to rotate and the Sun appears _______ in the sky toward
evening, the shadows get __________ again.
● Why do some shadows look blurry and some look sharp?
○ Shadows can appear _________ or blurry based on how ______ the
object is from the surface where the shadow is ________.
○ The __________ away you are from the surface where the shadow is
cast, the bigger and _________ the shadow will be. The closer you are to
the surface where the shadow is cast, the ________ and sharper it will be.

Sound Notes - 4th Grade

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What is sound?
● Sound is a form of __________ that is produced by _____________ objects. It
has specific properties including pitch and volume.
● Sound _________ are vibrations that move back and forth movements that occur
very __________.

Sound travels through air and other __________. It can move through some materials
_________ than others.
Solids
*Molecules are very _________ together.
*Sound travels ___________ through solids
*Railroad Tracks
Liquids
*Liquid molecules are ___________ apart
*Sound does not travel as ________
*Ex: Animals using _________
Gas

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*_____________ are even farther apart
*Sound travels the ___________ through gas
*Ex: Alarm clock
What’s in a Sound
● Sound can have ______________ characteristics
● Changes in vibrations _________ the resulting pitch and ________ of the sound.
Pitch
● The pitch of a sound is how _______ or _____ it is.
● A frequency is the number of _________ or troughs of a wave that pass over an
amount of _______.
● ________ frequencies result in a higher-pitched sound, like a __________.
Lower frequencies result in a lower-__________ sound, like a low sound emitting
from a bass or cello.

Changing the properties of the material will change the pitch.

● Thickness
○ A ___________ object with a greater thickness will produce a lower pitch.
○ ______________ string or wires vibrate ___________ than thicker string
producing a higher pitch.
○ Ex: Plucking a thicker string on a cello vs. a violin.
● Length
○ A vibrating object with a greater length will produce a ________ pitch
○ ___________ objects vibrate faster creating a __________ pitch.
● Tension
○ Tension is the __________ of an object. (Rubber band)
○ A vibrating object under __________ tension will produce a higher pitch.

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 ○ Ex: Stretching a rubber band as much as possible and plucking it.
Volume
● *The volume of a sound is the _____________ or softness of a sound.
● *_______________ is the size or intensity of the sound wave's frequency.
● *The __________ of a sound can also be referred to as the amplitude.
● The waves of louder sounds have ________ energy, so they travel farther
● The waves of softer sounds have less energy, so they ________ travel as far.
Properties of Volume
● Force
○ *Exerting a __________ force on a vibrating object will produce a
__________ volume.
○ *The _________ of the force alters the strength of the vibrations.
○ Ex: Tapping a desk vs. hitting a desk hard
● Distance
○ *If the sources of the sound are __________ away, the volume of the
sound is _________.
○ *The __________ the source of the sound, the _________ the volume of
the sound will be.
○ *Ex: A fire truck gets louder the closer it gets to you
Instruments for Sound
● Tuning Fork: a two-pronged steel device used by musicians, which __________
when struck to give a note of specific ________.
● Microphones: an instrument for converting _______ ______ into electrical energy
variations, which may then be amplified, transmitted, or recorded.
Echolocation
● Bats make _________ as they fly and listen to the returning echoes to build up a
sonic _______ of their surroundings.The bat can tell how ________ away
something is by how ________ it takes the sounds to return to them.
● These calls are usually pitched at a frequency too ________ for adult humans to
hear _____________.