Name: edHelper

Waves and Rays, Part II

In Waves and Rays, Part I, you learned about radio, microwave,

and infrared waves in the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum.

Just above the infrared band of the EM spectrum is the spectrum of

visible light. This part of the EM spectrum we CAN see. The waves are between 30 millionths of an inch and 14
millionths of an inch. These have very high frequencies, ranging from a hundred trillion to a thousand trillion
cycles per second. Your eyes and the eyes of every creature on Earth have evolved to be able to see these
particular light waves.

Light appears to be white to us. But by using a prism, we can separate light into its different colors. The
colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Each color has its own wavelength and its own
frequency. You can remember the order of the colors by remembering Roy G. Biv. Each letter stands for a color
in the spectrum. We see these colors in a rainbow in the sky. Sunlight passing through raindrops in the sky is
refracted, or bent. When this happens, the light waves slow down. Starting with red, each color that follows has
a shorter wavelength and a higher frequency than the one before it. A rainbow can only be seen in the early
morning or later afternoon, when the sun is no higher than 42 degrees above the horizon.

All the colors of the visible light spectrum combine in white light to let you see. If there's no light, you can't
see color. To see, you must have light from the sun or from an electric light bulb, a fire, or another source.
Everything you see has its own color. When light shines on an object, the molecules of the object absorb most of
the wavelengths of the visible spectrum. When they don't absorb them, the wavelengths are reflected. If an
object reflects only the red wavelengths, the object looks red to you. If the object reflects green, you see the
object as green. If an object reflects all colors, you see the object as white. If an object absorbs all colors, you
see it as black.

Higher up on the EM spectrum are ultraviolet (UV) waves. These waves have higher frequency, more than
one thousand trillion cycles per second, and shorter wavelength. When UV waves hit some materials that
"fluoresce," or glow, they produce visible light. Special "black light" fluorescent tubes send out energy in UV
wavelengths only a billionth of an inch long. Under black light, certain types of material have an eerie glow.
These UV rays are what cause your skin to sunburn. A small amount of UV radiation isn't harmful to you; in fact,
it allows your body to produce vitamin D that you need for strong bones. Too much UV will damage your skin.
It can cause cancers, wrinkles, and early aging of the skin.

The next band above UV waves is X-rays. Notice that the name has changed from "waves" to "rays." From
here on up the spectrum, wavelengths grow smaller and frequencies become extremely high. The radiation
carries large amounts of energy so they are called rays. X-rays have wavelengths around one ten-billionth of an
inch or less. Their frequencies are about one million trillion cycles per second. Their energy is so great that just a
 Name: edHelper

brief burst of them can kill cells inside your body. Ultraviolet waves damage the skin on the outside of your body,
but X-rays go much deeper.

Doctors use X-rays to take pictures inside your body. You may have had an X-ray taken of your teeth or of a
broken bone. Having an X-ray taken of a part of your body every now and then is generally safe. X-ray
technicians must protect themselves from X-rays so that they are not exposed to too much radiation. A lead
shield or an apron made of lead will not let X-rays penetrate.

The last part of the EM spectrum is the gamma ray band. Gamma rays are extremely high energy. They have
a frequency of around one hundred million trillion cycles per second. Gamma rays are as much as ten billion
times more energetic than visible light. These powerful rays are released into Earth's atmosphere when a nuclear
bomb explodes and are given off by the radioactive fallout. If a gamma ray passes through a healthy human cell,
it can knock electrons from some of the cell's atoms. After enough of this damage, the cell may die. That's why
nuclear accidents cause radiation sickness.

Doctors use gamma rays to destroy diseased cells and make patients healthy again. Gamma rays and X-rays
used in radiation therapy can target the diseased cells of tumors. The tumor cells are destroyed and healthy cells
can continue to grow.

Scientists in the last hundred years have found ways to create and use electromagnetic energy. Your everyday
life is filled with EM rays that light your sight, cook your food, change channels on your TV, and entertain you.
What would we do without them?

Earth's atmosphere blocks many infrared waves, most ultraviolet waves, all X-rays, and all gamma rays.
There would be no life on Earth if all these high-energy waves and rays were able to get through the atmosphere.

Waves and Rays, Part II

Questions
1. What is the part of the EM spectrum that we can see?
A. gamma rays
B. visible light
C. infrared
D. X-rays

2. At what times of the day can rainbows be seen?

A. early afternoon and late morning
B. any time of day
C. sunrise and sunset
D. early morning and late afternoon
Name: edHelper

3. In what order do the colors of the spectrum appear?

A. blue, violet, indigo, green, red, yellow, and orange
B. in any order
C. red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet
D. yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, orange, and red

4. Ultraviolet (UV) waves can:

A. enable your body to produce Vitamin D
B. cause cancers
C. cause skin damage
D. all of the above

5. X-rays can:
A. only pass through your skin
B. help your body make Vitamin D
C. be used to take "pictures" of broken bones
D. both b and c are correct

6. Nuclear bombs release:

A. X-rays
B. infrared waves
C. gamma rays
D. UV waves

How many millimeters are in 4 centimeters? How many dimes make $2?

millimeters

18 lb = oz

Rewrite these in increasing order of length: For 15,487,652,654, write the

digit that is in the ten thousands
478 mm, 27 cm, 680 dm, 168 m, 5 km place.

Hannah rolls a die. What is the

chance of her rolling a 4?
8x6= 80 ÷ 10 =
Name: edHelper

How many of these can you write about? Think! Write! Check all the ones you answered.
Respond to this statement: the EM spectrum is harmful to life on Earth. Use details from the reading passage
to explain if you believe this is true or not.

Briefly explain the different types of electromagnetic energy.

Don't stop writing. Use a blank piece of paper to continue.

Name: edHelper

Can you draw ONE line going through ALL the circles? Your line can go left, right,
up, or down. It cannot go diagonally. Your line cannot cross over any part of the
line you have already drawn.
You MUST TURN in a BLACK circle. Do NOT TURN in a WHITE circle.

The puzzle on the left shows a correct line going through all the circles.

Finish the line: Finish the line:

Three girls ran a race. 1 cm = 10 mm

Mary ran past Hannah in the 62 3 1
race and Hannah never - 26 + 45 19 cm = mm
caught up.
Rosa was not as fast as Mary.
Who won the race? Do you 48 1
have enough information to
know? + 494
Name: edHelper

Use each of the blocks to spell three different words.

M A I S B W Y S H R D
U T

E A D
A Y

1.
2. H R
3. U

Draw one line to find two words in each puzzle. The bold letters start each word.
You can move in any direction, including diagonal. Write the two words that you find.

OA I S V R E I I L B H R E UG D J I Q I AOO
VO U OQ F GA D U F E J F R E NO Y V E R R X
A F U B V L S G S B T U S X OO Z K QU A E U N
I B E E B A X E R F E N J K A E MO CO B L AO
I A CG L H KA P E L J E B U M G R E L F C U D
P R T U X K A N O P I I F J P T E T S U E E M R
O J A V J OOC O D UQ K DC U RO F D P F I V
U V M S T U K I F T R N N N E N U T Q T G E A B

Write the hidden word. Start at one letter and then move either left or right. Continue in same direction.

T H O O I T R O T
N
U A O

T S P
V C
H G T A R L O