Illustration from "Electromagnetic Waves have different wavelengths." ;IMAGERS Program NASA at http://imagers.gsfc.nasa.gov/ems/waves3.html
ENVIRONMENTAL EARTH SCIENCE
EXPLORING SPACE WITH THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
NAME ________________________________ PER ______ DATE _____________
USE YOUR TEXT, YOUR NOTES AND THE PARAGRAPHS ON THESE PAGES TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.
Activate Prior Knowledge
1. Describe the last time that you used a telescope or binoculars in terms of using it as a tool to improve your ability to observe. How did it work?
2. Was the last telescope you used a refracting or reflecting telescope? How could you tell?
A satellite television dish is used to gather the radio signals from a satellite in orbit. In a similar way, a radio telescope uses a large dish antenna to focus radio waves onto a radio receiver. Radio waves from stars are located and the position of the stars are mapped in this way.
3. How are optical reflecting telescopes and radio telescopes similar?
Electromagnetic Spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, x rays, and gamma rays. Visible light, which makes up only a tiny fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum, is the only electromagnetic radiation that humans can see..
4. Attached are a lot of definitions from the internet. Circle the three of them that are the clearest and most useful to you.
The Sun gives off energy of all kinds: radio waves, microwaves, infrared energy, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays.
MOST of this energy cannot get through the atmosphere. Only radio waves, visible light, and little of infrared and ultraviolet reach Earth's surface.
5. Explain why optical telescopes and radio telescopes can observe stars from the surface of the Earth, but telescopes that observe different forms of energy must be placed in orbit to operate.
THE EM SPECTRUM
Information about distant parts of the universe is based on the ability of humans to interpret measurements and observations of light and other electromagnetic radiation. Electromagnetic radiation is all kinds of energy that produce electric and magnetic effects as it travels though empty space as waves. Light, radio, X-rays, and nuclear radiation are all forms of electromagnetic radiation.
6. Label the definition of em radiation in the previous paragraph. Label examples of em radiation.
7. Give examples of how we use three kinds of electromagnetic radiation other than visible light.
The electromagnetic spectrum is the way that we group forms of energy based on their wavelength. Wavelength is the distance from any point of one wave to the same point on the next wave.
8. What type of energy travels in the longest waves? The shortest waves?
The frequency of waves is the number of waves that go past a fixed point in a period of time. Longer wavelengths produce lower frequencies because all electromagnetic radiation travels at the same speed.
9. What types of radiation have the highest frequencies?
10. How fast in kilometers per second and in miles per second do these waves travel? (hint: look up the speed of light)
Types of electromagnetic radiation with higher frequencies, shorter wavelengths deliver more energy when they strike an object.
11. Which type of radiation: ultraviolet or infrared, has higher frequencies. Why will this make it more dangerous than the other one?
A mnemonic is something that helps you to remember something. For example the order of colors of visible light can be remembered with the name ROY G. BIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet).
12. Invent a mnemonic to remember the order of the electromagnetic spectrum: radio, microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma rays.
12. Honors classes only: Use any source of information available to you to list the names and the type of radiation used by 10 telescopes that are not optical telescopes. Include where you found your information.