Color with M&M’s Big Idea

Demonstrate how color is due to

reflection and absorption of light
Color is everywhere. Just this morning, you had to choose what color by sorting M&M’s under colored
shirt or shoes you were going to wear. So what gives an object its lights.
color? Why are some things red and others blue?
What You’ll Need
Color Starts With Light • 3 Lazr fingers/Light BLOX:
To understand
BIG IDEAS
COLOR WITH M&M’S
Red, Green, Blue
why objects have color, we need to understand
where light gets its color. • 1you
Color is everywhere. Just this morning, White
hadLazr finger what
to choose
• Demonstrate how color
color shirt or shoes you were going•to wear. So of
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is due to reflection and
Light is a special kind of wave, calledobject its color? Whywave,
an electro-magnetic are some
and things red and others blue?
absorption of light by
so it has
sorting a wavelength.
M&M’s under Take a look at Figure 1.STARTS
COLOR The blue light
WITH LIGHT
colored lights. wavelength than the red light. Wavelength is
has a shorter To understand why
what gives light its color. objects have color, we
need to understand where
WHAT YOU’LL NEED light gets its color.
Reflection
• Light BLOX:
So what Red,
gives anGreen, Light
object its color? The is aanswer:
simple speciallight!
kind of
Blue wave, called an electro-
magnetic wave, and so it
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light, an object has no color. This is because without
has a wavelength. Take
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M&M’ssee the object! When you lookatatFigure
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what you’re actually seeing is red lightblue light has
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and into your eye. The bouncing of lightwavelength thanisthe
off an object red
called
light. Wavelength is what Figure 1: Blue and red light have different
reflection.
gives light its color. wavelengths, and wavelength gives light color

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So what
When you see a red ball, however, there’s gives
no red anshining
light object on
its it,
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Bloxfrom the sun or the lightWithout
in your room. Thisobject
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has nolight is called
color. white
This is light. without light,
because
we can’t see the object! When you look at a red object, what you’re
actually
But white light isn’t colorless at all! Itis seeing
a mixture is red light
of colors! Whitebouncing
light fromoff
thethe object
sun and into
is actually your
all the colors
Elementary Light, Color & eye. The bouncing of light off an object is called reflection.
of the rainbow!
Shadow Kit Many white lights that are made by people, like the lights in your tv, are made ofthe three
primary colors of light: red, blue and WHITE
green. ThisLIGHT
is why you can see all the colors of the rainbow under
sunlight - all the colors are in the white
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reflects red light, but there’s anotheriseffect
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the “clear” light coming from the sun
or the light in your room. This “colorless” light is called white light.

But white light isn’t colorless at all! Itis a mixture of colors! White

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light from the sun is actually all the colors of the rainbow! Many white lights that are made by people,
like the lights in your tv, are made ofthe three primary colors of light: red, blue and green. This is why
you can see all the colors of the rainbow under sunlight - all the colors are in the white light, ready
to be reflected! So the red ball is red because it strongly reflects red light, but there’s another effect
that’s happening called absorption.

ABSORPTION
Let’s think more about the red ball. Say we take a look at it under
sunlight, like in Figure 2. We now know that it looks red because
the red wavelength in the white light is reflecting off the ball and
into our eye.

But wait - we said white light is made up of all the colors of the
rainbow. So what happened to the rest of the light? Where did
the blue light go, for example?

The other colors that weren’t reflected off the ball were trapped
inside the ball by a process called. absorption. This is why
it couldn’t be reflected back for us to see. A black object, for
example, absorbs all the light you shine on it, and reflects
nothing back - this is why black is not scientifically considered to Absorp
be a color! White objects reflect all the colors, and absorb none. Figure 2: How objects have color Let’s
unde
because the red wavelength in the white light is re

COLORS IN REAL LIFE: COLORIMETRY

But wait - we said white light is made up of all the
Scientists can use a device called a colorimeter to find out whatlight?
a liquid mixture
Where is made
did the of. go, for example?
blue light
Different substances absorb certain wavelengths, or colors, of light. If scientists know what
ingredients are mixed together, they can figure out how much of each ingredient there is in the
mixture by shining light at it. The other colors that weren’t reflected off the ball
absorption. This is why it couldn’t be reflected bac
The colorimeter measures how much of a specific wavelength of light is absorbed by the
light you
mixture. Each substance has its own distinct pattern of absorption. Andshine
so byonmeasuring
it, and reflects
the nothing back - th
absorption of many different wavelengths, it is possible to work White
out how much
objects of a specific
reflect all the colors, and absorb no
substance is in the mixture. (comment: I am having trouble using commenting in this box, but I
wanted to say this just seems very abstract. Making it more concrete, with a specific example,
would probably help younger students out a lot).

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ACTIVITY SHEET: COLOR WITH M&M’S
We’re now going to see just how much light affects our ability to see color by sorting M&Ms under
colored light!

1. Mix up the M&Ms, and place them in the centre box of the worksheet.

2. Switch off the overhead light and darken the room as much as you can.

3. Switch on the white LED and hold it over the unsorted M&M’s. Sort them into each of their
labelled color boxes.

4. Switch off the LED and turn on the overhead light again.

Were the M&M’s in the correct boxes? Why/Why not?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Under the white light, all the M&M’s should be sorted easily and correctly. This is because the white
light contains all the colors of light needed to see each of the M&M’s.

Place the M&M’s in the unsorted box again and repeat the experiment using the red LED Were the
M&M’s in the correct boxes when sorted under the red light? Why/Why not?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

You probably found that some of the colors were in completely the wrong boxes! Others looked
exactly like each other, but when you saw them under the white light again, they were completely
different.

Repeat the experiment again using the green and then the blue LED, respectively. (This order is
recommended, since the results just get crazier!)

Were the M&Ms in the correct boxes when sorted under the green or blue lights? What does this tell
us about how color works?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Under the colored lights, the M&M’s were probably more difficult to sort. Like with the red light, a
group of colors could all look exactly the same. Sometimes an M&M could look definitively like one
color under a certain color light, but when the white light is switched on, it’s another color entirely! This
is because the wavelength of light making up the main part of the M&M’s color wasn’t present, so it
could not be reflected, and you could not see it.

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ACTIVITY SHEET: COLOR WITH
Activity Sheet Color withM&M’S
M&Ms

YELLOW

BROWN
RED

UNSORTED
ORANGE

GREEN
BLUE

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