Spin Some Colors
By: Jessica Vaughn and Tonya Estep
Materials needed: Paint (violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red), paintbrushes, sharp pencil, scissors, protractor, water for paint, white card stock
Step 1: Cut out a circle from the card stock. Use the protractor to mark seven sections. Make a hole in the center of the disk.
Step 2: Paint each of the seven sections a different color. Allow to dry.
Step 3: Place a pencil/Sharpie through the hole and spin the disk.
Why do the colors appear white?
When the plate is spinning, your eyes cannot separate each color and
identify it. In the whirl, all your eyes can see is white! Light
plays a big factor in how we view objects, especially color. When you
look at a moving object, the color you see distorts itself because of
how your brain registers what it is seeing. This science experiment
is just like a magic trick: now you see it, now you don’t!
For this experiment, we had to use black instead of indigo. The
experiment might have worked better if we had used the correct color.
Standards
GLE 0407.Inq.2 Select and use appropriate tools and simple equipment to conduct an investigation.
GLE 0407.Inq.3 Organize data into appropriate tables, graphs, drawings, or diagrams.
GLE 0407.10.2 Investigate how light travels and is influenced by different types of materials and surfaces.
Related Science Project Links
Excellent job!! Great pictures and explanations!! How could you speed it up to see the white more clearly?
ReplyDeleteCould you have used magic markers instead of paint? Great job!
ReplyDeleteGreat and interesting project. I really got into your information. You could have maybe used like the children's spinning toys to get the speed faster, just a suggestion. :-) But over all I really loved your presentation. I will try it at home with my little boy.....he would love it too.
ReplyDeleteWow...that would be a lot of fun in the classroom. This would be a great way to engage students in discussions.
ReplyDeleteGood job. The pictures and presentation is very good. It makes me want to go home and try it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a unique project. This not only involves the students scientific ability but also their artistic ability. I wonder if the colors would appear different if the disc is bigger?
ReplyDeleteI like how the 2 of you explained why you used a sharpie instead of a pencil and how you even tried using a cd to make the cardstock spin faster. I changed some of the elements in a couple of my experiments too and I think its helpful when people note that the new methods/elements may or may not work. Very nice :)
ReplyDeleteGreat work! I would like to know how it's possible to spin it fast enough to make the colors appear white. Students will also want to know why it appears that way.
ReplyDeleteThis is a cool experiment. Children will be very interested to see the magic happen right before their eyes. This will lead to a great discussion.
ReplyDelete