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How does color affect heat absorption? 

6/7/2015

42 Comments

 
Author: Maddie Van Beek

Did you know that different colors absorb different amounts of heat? Colors are NOT all equally heat absorbent. Think of walking out on the black tar in the summer time without shoes. Yowch! Walking on the sidewalk pavement or in the dirt is much easier on your bare toes! Why is that? 



Let’s find out!



Why would anyone care what color their roof was? Well, take a look at the graph below. 

Picture
http://www.ips-innovations.com/bilder/exterior_coatings_2008/roof_surface_temperature.jpg
What do you notice about the different materials? Do the materials affect how hot the roof got? Why do you think this is? 



When light interacts with an object, that light can be absorbed, reflected, or transmitted. Black objects absorb all wavelengths of light, while white objects reflect all visible wavelengths. They are complete opposites. Other colors absorb some wavelengths and reflect others, which is what makes them appear different to the human eye. Color is a result of the wavelength of light reflected by that object. For example, an object that absorbs selectively yellow light will not look yellow; it would be a combination of every other color besides yellow. The color you observe is a complement to the color the object absorbs. Take a look at the color wheel below. 

Picture
http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/principles-of-general-chemistry-v1.0/section_10/d4e464930933cb2a2ea7bfdd5cd23416.jpg
If red is being absorbed, then what color will you observe? 




If you observe violet, what color light is being absorbed?




When an object absorbs light, it usually converted from light energy to heat energy. This is what we are focusing on in our activity today! 




Activity: How does color affect heat absorption?  




YOU WILL NEED:

  • 2 glasses 
  • Water
  • Black construction paper
  • White paper 
  • Tape or rubber bands
  • Thermometer
  • A sunny day



Here’s what to do!

1. Find two identical glasses. 

2. Cut black construction paper to the same height as one of the glasses. 

3. Wrap the black construction paper around the glass so it covers the entire outside surface, as well as the top.


4. Tape the paper in place or put a rubber band around the glass to hold the paper in place. 


5. Repeat steps 2-4 with the second glass with the white paper. 


6. Fill both glasses with water. Make sure they have the same amount of water in them, and make sure you use the same temperature of water in both glasses. 


7. Take the temperature of the water in each glass and write down the starting temperature. 


8. Place both glasses outside in the sun. 


9. Use the thermometer to take each glass’s temperature every 15 minutes for two hours.  Carefully make a small hole in the paper at the edge of the glass to insert your thermometer. 


10. Record your observations as you go. What did you notice?


11. When the two hours are up, create a line graph to track the temperature change in each glass. Temperature should be your Y-axis and time should be your X-axis. Did one glass heat up faster than the other? Did they both reach the same temperature at the end? 



You should have found that the glass wrapped in black paper ended up with hotter water than the glass with white paper. This is because black absorbs more light (and thus, heat) than white. Clearly, black and white are on opposite ends of the color spectrum. Try using different colors to see how much of a difference there is between them. 




References: 

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/lightcolorheat.html

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Phys_p030.shtml#background

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/light/Lesson-2/Light-Absorption,-Reflection,-and-Transmission

http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/features/color-complement.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color

42 Comments
Andrew Yates link
11/30/2015 07:14:13 pm

This is amazing!

Reply
veronica[vb]
9/20/2019 03:39:21 pm

I know, right?

Reply
Andrew Tate link
10/22/2022 06:36:25 pm

ey lil Tate go search Andrew tate on YouTube or google

Reply
Chris
10/2/2016 12:20:10 pm

Thanks

Reply
Brian
10/27/2016 07:50:15 pm

eyelikeit

Reply
XP
2/24/2019 03:21:52 pm

XP

Reply
veronica[vb]
9/20/2019 03:40:17 pm

I love it

Reply
kie
10/28/2016 06:03:05 pm

thanks it was really helpful.

Reply
ho link
11/13/2016 12:25:01 pm

hi

Reply
:P link
11/15/2016 06:12:33 pm

Gonna try this for my science experiment. Wish me luck!

Reply
veronica[vb]
9/20/2019 03:41:10 pm

All ready did!

Reply
poik
12/9/2016 09:34:08 am

hiihihihihihihih

Reply
Emma Liden link
11/12/2020 06:49:43 pm

JUST WANTED TO SAY HI!!!!!!!!!

Reply
Hannah link
1/18/2017 11:23:06 pm

Im gonna use this on my science fair project okay?

Reply
soham
9/7/2017 02:14:00 pm

no

Reply
karalynn
3/28/2018 06:40:10 pm

me tooo

Reply
meh
4/16/2018 02:19:59 pm

Sure thing :)

Reply
veronica[vb]
9/20/2019 03:42:02 pm

No problem!

Reply
nono
5/13/2020 10:39:16 pm

ok?

Reply
Hannah link
1/18/2017 11:28:54 pm

Ima use this in my science fair experiment XP

Reply
leah
1/20/2017 08:33:43 pm

you just did my science fair project!!!

Reply
Julian
10/25/2018 05:55:33 pm

Oh I'm doing a projected

Reply
veronica[vb]
9/20/2019 03:43:47 pm

Again!

ash
2/9/2017 10:34:02 am

amazin

Reply
Poop link
2/24/2017 05:10:32 pm

What does glass mean I'm doing it for science project

Reply
hihihihihihihi
4/30/2017 01:51:12 pm

i am going to use this in my school science faiy

ps: this is very helpful

Reply
veronica[vb]
9/20/2019 03:44:48 pm

Wish you luck!

Reply
veronica[vb]
9/20/2019 03:46:41 pm

Love it p.s it is very helpful

Reply
hi
4/30/2017 01:52:26 pm

very go

Reply
Unknown
5/14/2017 04:27:54 pm

Thanks! I was looking for something like this for 20 min! thanks!

Reply
seb
8/31/2017 05:10:07 am

g up

Reply
thanks
10/18/2017 06:43:18 pm

cooll

Reply
Samae
11/25/2017 04:18:12 am

Simple experiment that can easily work with my pupils:'))
Thanks for sharing this ;)

Reply
Bailey
1/26/2018 10:49:47 am

Science fair project!!

Reply
yd
2/1/2018 07:21:17 pm

really helpful on my science experiment

Reply
jeff
2/12/2018 06:49:25 pm

hi

Reply
1
2/14/2018 01:28:23 pm

Thx for the help on my science project fair hopefully I will get a good score and maybe even win the whole thing!

Reply
Y link
9/15/2019 09:31:10 am

Y

Reply
veronica[vb]
9/20/2019 03:37:49 pm

i have a science fair project and i hot a A plus

Reply
s
5/13/2021 11:09:19 pm

Who is the publisher of this website?

Reply
Little Miss Toboggan
10/4/2021 10:05:03 am

THIS IS A GREAT EXPERIMENT!

Reply
Muslim
2/23/2022 07:31:09 pm

Such a great experiment might try with c4 👍🏿

Reply

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