Light Action!: Amazing Experiments With Optics (Vicki Cobb Science Power)

Explains what light is and explores the basic principles of optics through experiments.

Gr. 5-8. Cobb presents information about optics and explores its basic principles through activities. Various aspects of light are covered: shadows, direction, focus, reflection, color, waves, energy, polarization, prism effects, and human perception of light; and the experiments follow. For instance, a chapter entitled "Light Benders" describes the history, functions, and practical applications of lenses, beginning with several pages of explanation, and proceeds through a series of simple demonstrations. These include observing the patterns of light at the bottom of a swimming pool, making a lens from ice in a mold (using half a tennis ball), and "grinding" an ice lens using hot water. While not experiments in the classic sense, the activities are simple and well designed and will give students basic knowledge. Cheerful line drawings and diagrams illustrate the text. Carolyn Phelan