Reflection, Absorption & Transmission
Aligned to MS-PS4-2 — Next Generation Science Standards.
What this lesson teaches
When a wave meets a material it can bounce off (reflect), pass through (transmit), or have its energy taken in (absorb). Most materials do a mix of all three.
Worked examples
Example 1
Light hitting a window is mostly transmitted, so you see through it; a mirror reflects nearly all of it back; and a black shirt absorbs it and warms up in the sun.
Example 2
A leaf looks green because it absorbs red and blue light and reflects green. The colour you see is the light a thing rejected.
Example 3
The same surface can do all three. A window reflects a little, absorbs a little and transmits most — which is why you see a faint reflection of yourself in it at night.
Practice questions
- Observe how light behaves with a mirror, clear glass, and dark paper, and sort each result as reflected, transmitted, or absorbed.
- Develop a model showing what happens to sound waves when they hit a soft curtain.
- Explain why a material can reflect one type of wave while transmitting another.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Reflexión, Absorción y Transmisión
Cuando una onda llega a un material puede rebotar (reflejarse), atravesarlo (transmitirse) o que su energía sea absorbida. La mayoría de los materiales hacen una mezcla de los tres.
Ejemplo 1: La luz que llega a una ventana se transmite en su mayoría, por eso ves a través de ella; un espejo la refleja casi toda de regreso; y una camiseta negra la absorbe y se calienta bajo el sol.
Ejemplo 2: Una hoja se ve verde porque absorbe la luz roja y azul y refleja la verde. El color que ves es la luz que la cosa rechazó.
Ejemplo 3: La misma superficie puede hacer las tres. Una ventana refleja un poco, absorbe un poco y transmite casi todo — por eso de noche ves tu reflejo tenue en ella.
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