Activity (Hands-On)Grades 10 - 12
Designing a Spectroscopy Mission
Materials List
Each group needs:
- 1 holographic diffraction grating (1,000 lines per mm or 25,400 grooves per inch)
- 1 scientific calculator
- 1 protractor or angle ruler
- 1 ruler
- Graph paper
- Butcher-block paper
- Designing a Spectroscopy Mission Worksheet (PDF), one per team
To share with the entire class:
- 4-5 large sheets of black foam core board
- 1 red or green laser pointer
- 1 white light source (incandescent light bulb, not fluorescent)
- Copies of Astronomy Today or Sky and Telescope magazines
- Internet-accessible computers, for research
Have readily available, if needed:
- X-ACTO knives
- Scissors
- Masking tape
- Duct tape
- Black paint
Materials note:
- Student teams are asked to make a materials list. Encourage them to use already-available materials found around the home or school (to minimize items that must be purchased).
- Purchase holographic diffraction gratings in sheets or card-mounted slides. For example:
- Rainbow Symphony Store, http://www.rainbowsymphony.com/
A set of 10 12-inch x 6-inch linear sheets with 500 lines per mm costs $25
A set of 50 2-inch x 2-inch linear calibrated card mounted slides with 500 lines per mm costs $20
A set of 100 2-inch x 2-inch linear calibrated card mounted slides with 500 lines per mm costs $35