Rayleigh scattering

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/rayleigh-scattering

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Rayleigh scattering?Lord Rayleigh (John William Strutt) in the late 19th century
2. What is Rayleigh scattering?It is when tiny gas molecules in the air bounce light around. The molecules are much smaller than the light's wavelength, so they scatter the light in all directions.
3. Why does the sky look blue during the day?Blue light is scattered about ten times more than red light. Because of this, blue light spreads all over the sky and makes it appear blue.

Electromagnetic Radiation: Energy propagating as waves, encompassing visible light, radio waves, X-rays, etc.
Wavelength: The spatial period of a periodic wave, determining the color of light or type of radiation.
Polarizability: The ability of a particle's electron cloud to distort in response to an external electric field.