Collection of interactive notebook pages and worksheets designed to teach students about wave properties, the visible spectrum, and electromagnetic radiation.

- Light is made of tiny particles called photons.
- Does it travel in a straight line? Yes.
- The distance between the peaks of a wave over a distance without any change is called the wavelength.
- The height of the wave from the middle is called the amplitude.
- The number of waves that pass a fixed point in a given time is called the frequency.
- Waves that require a medium through which to travel are mechanical waves.
- Waves that can travel through a vacuum are electromagnetic waves.
- Electromagnetic waves are composed of oscillating magnetic and electric fields.
- Radio waves are an example of an electromagnetic wave.
- Light is energy that is made by undulating electric and magnetic fields—the electrons in atoms vibrate. These waves are transverse waves that are partly electric and partly magnetic.
- Light is just a combination of electric and magnetic fields.
- If the electric fields and magnetic fields vibrate just the right way, we get light.
- Light is a small portion of the broad family of electromagnetic waves that includes waves from radio waves to gamma rays.
- Light is measured in nanometers (nm) or meters (m).
- One nanometer equals the distance between two successive crests or troughs.
- Wavelength equals the number of waves that pass a given point per second.
- The visible spectrum ranges from about 400 nm (violet) to 700 nm (red). Violet light has the shortest wavelength.
- Electromagnetic waves of frequencies lower than the red of visible light are called infrared waves.
- Electromagnetic waves of frequencies higher than those of violet are called ultraviolet waves.
- Some animals such as bees can see ultraviolet light.
- Radio waves, microwaves and infrared rays have wavelengths that are longer than visible light.
- Gamma rays have the shortest wavelength and highest frequency.
- Radio waves are used for broadcasting and communication.
- Microwaves are used for cooking, satellite communications, and radar.
- Infrared waves are used for remote controls, thermal imaging, and heating.
- Visible light is used for vision, photography, and lighting.
- Ultraviolet waves are used for sterilization, black lights, and vitamin D production.
- X-rays are used for medical imaging and security screening.
- Gamma rays are used for cancer treatment and sterilization.
- As the frequency increases, the energy increases.
- Draw a picture of the wavelength as increasing using the electromagnetic spectrum: (longest wavelength on left: radio waves → microwaves → infrared → visible → ultraviolet → X-rays → gamma rays on right, with waveforms showing decreasing wavelength and increasing frequency).