Tips for the Classroom

• The CEA Light Tour is intended for student use (primarily advanced middle school students and high school students). If you have not covered the concept of light as a wave (wavelengths and amplitude) in the classroom, have the students go through the "light basics" section linked to the main navigation table in the front CSE Light Tour page.

• The light basics  section  discusses several features tied to light's property of behaving as a wave. These include the speed of light, how to measure a light wavelength, and how to measure the amplitude of a wave.
• To start off the Light Tour, students enter values for wavelengths in the first page of the tour. A WWW-based program generates the corresponding light type. Through this mechanism, students will discover the following:
  1. the names of the main types of light on the electromagnetic spectrum.
  2. astronomical properties of different types of light (X-ray, infrared, etc.)
  3. size of different types of light waves compared to a molecule, a blood cell, a fly, etc.
  4. how to recognize the type of light found in several different spectra.
  5. basic comparison of images in different types of light (X-ray, visible, etc.)
  6. the exact distribution of these lights along the electromagnetic spectrum.

  Optional: You may want to print out this quick answer form that allows students to respond in writing to the questions that come up on their computer screen. Two other forms, the incredible wavelength form and the electromagnetic spectrum chart are also provided to help students record data, information, and final results. These questions are just a start for the students; in-depth projects might include research projects on particular types of light and their properties, projects on different instruments scientists use to record light, or projects on interpreting different spectras of astronomical objects.

• LESSON PLAN ONE: You may want to tie this module to the lesson plan "Electromagnetic Spectrum on Trial" by Nellie Levine. This lesson plan introduces general properties of electromagnetic waves, describes astronomical and artificial sources of electromagnetic radiation, discusses methods used to detect and analyze waves, and much more!

• Two features of this lesson are the electronic bulletin board and a mock "trial." Both of these features may be used independently from this lesson.

• The Electronic Bulletin Board is an interactive Internet-based form that allows students to discuss features of different types of electromagnetic radiation.

• The Trial is a classroom project in which electromagnetic radiation in its various forms is put on trial. Students serve as prosecutors and defense attorneys and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various radiation types.

• Other interesting projects/assessment strategies for this module are poster sessions, further Internet-based research projects that are more narrow in focus, for instance, a research project on one light type like extreme ultraviolet, and hands-on experiments and labs on light, waves, and wavelengths and amplitude.

• LESSON PLAN TWO: You may want to tie this module to the lesson plan "The Guest Investigator Puzzle" by Timothy Keys and Isabel Hawkins. The purpose of this lesson plan is to familiarize students with the process of scientific research at a space science center. Students match EUVE spectra of "mystery" stars with those of known stars.