How we see the world – light and colour

This collection supports the House of Science resource kit – but it is also useful for anyone interested in light and colour.

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Learning about light and colour is part of the science strand Physical World: Physical inquiry and physics concepts.

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Learning about the human eye is part of the science strand Living World: Life processes.

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Glossary and subject-specific terms

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Articles on the Science Learning Hub all have a glossary page. Here you will find key words and what they mean.

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Under the article's title, there's a glossary tab to the right of the resource tab. It lists the glossary words in the article. You can select and download terms that are helpful. The PLD article Using our glossary provides additional information.

Eliciting prior knowledge and possible alternative conceptions

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The following resources provide helpful information about common alternative conceptions that students (and adults) may hold. Awareness helps educators identify them when they surface in discussions and provides an opportunity to scaffold change.

Sources of light

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Learning objective (levels 1-4)

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Students understand that sources of light can be artificial (man-made) or naturally occurring.

Investigating mirrors

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Learning Objective (levels 1-4)

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We see objects because light rays enter our eyes after bouncing off objects. This bouncing of light off objects is known as reflection.

Light lessons with a laser

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Learning Objective (levels 2-4)

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Students understand that:

• light travels in a straight line
• a beam of light changes direction when it is bounced off a surface.

Making rainbows

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Learning Objectives (levels 3-4)

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Students understand that white light is a collection of component colours that can be observed using a rectangular prism.

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How we see colour

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Learning Objectives (levels 3-4)

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Students understand that the colours we see are a result of which wavelengths of white light have been absorbed by an object and which wavelengths have been reflected.

Characteristics of colour

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Learning Objective (levels 1-4)

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Students understand and can discuss the 3 main characteristics of colour - hue, chroma and value.

Activity idea

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To model blue sky and a red sunset, try shining white light from a torch or a projector into a glass container of water with a few drops of milk in it. You should see a blue haze from the sides. If you look to the far end of the container, you should notice the light has a reddish hue.

Mixing colours

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Learning Objectives (levels 2-4)

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Students understand how the chroma and value characteristics of a hue (colour) can be changed.

Printing colour

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Learning Objective (levels 1-4)

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Students visualise the absorption of the primary colours of light (red, green and blue) by the primary colours of pigments (cyan, magenta and yellow) producing a multitude of different colours.