Transparent, Translucent & Opaque
Investigate the effect of placing objects made of different materials in the path of a beam of light, discovering transparent, translucent, and opaque materials
What a learner can do afterwards
- Test at least six materials and classify them as transparent, translucent, or opaque
- Define transparent (light passes through clearly), translucent (some light passes, blurry), opaque (no light passes)
- Predict whether a given material will let light through based on its appearance
The lesson
Light can travel through some things and not others. When light passes through something so clearly that you can see right through it, that material is transparent. Window glass and clean water are transparent.
Zoe shines her torch at three things on her desk. Through the glass jar, she sees the light clearly, so the jar is transparent. Through the tissue paper, she sees a soft glow but everything looks blurry, so the paper is translucent. Through her wooden pencil case, no light gets through at all, so the case is opaque.
Before you test a material, look at it closely. If you can see clearly through it, guess transparent. If it looks foggy or milky, guess translucent. If it looks thick and solid, guess opaque. Then check with a torch to see if your guess was right!
Transparent lets light through clearly, translucent lets some blurry light through, and opaque blocks all light: test with a torch to find out which is which.
Watch it
Where it sits
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.