Camouflage Using Color
Learning Objectives/Lesson GoalsStudents will understand that -

  • white light is made up of many different colors

  • when light hits an object, it is absorbed, reflected, or transmitted

  • objects are seen by the eye as a particular color because all the other colors are absorbed by the object. (ie: Red objects are seen as red because the red wavelengths of light are reflected into the eye and all other wavelengths are absorbed).

  • many animals in the deep ocean are colored red because there is no red light in the deep ocean and they can be camouflaged from their predators.

WHEREClassroom
WHOClassroom Volunteers
MATERIALS

  • Jar

  • Blue food dye

  • Colored plastic (recycled materials like bottle tops and plastic containers)

  • White paper

  • Black paper

  • Colored pens/pencils

  • Skewers

  • Scissors

  • Water

  • blue cellophane

  • Glasses template (template from joyincrafting.com)

  • Sticky tape/glue

  • Various colored pictures of deep sea organisms (prep)
ACTIVITIES

  1. Fill a jar or glass with water and add blue food coloring

  2. Place the jar on a black piece of paper

  3. Cut out a fish from colored plastic (red, blue yellow, orange, purple, and green)

  4. Using a pen, pierce a whole in each fish and place each fish on the end of a skewer.

  5. Place the fish underwater and compare the visibility of each color. Does the color of the fish change with the depth of the water it is submerged in?

  6. Place all of the fish under the water. Try and identify which fish is which color. Which color is the most difficult to identify?


Viewing Organisms Through Blue Filters:
  1. Print out the glasses template onto thin cardboard.

  2. Cut out the template and attach the arms using glue or sticky tape

  3. Attach at least 4 layers of blue cellophane to the eye pieces of the glasses.

  4. View the images of the deep sea organisms through the blue glasses. Which organisms are the easiest and which are the most difficult to see?


Extension Activity:

  • Design organisms and draw them in a deep ocean scene with colored pens or pencils. You could even use colored papers, cardboard, or foil to create mosaic art work.

  • Design an animal that would be well camouflaged and hard for predators to spot.

  • Challenge others to find the organisms in the deep ocean scene while they are wearing the blue glasses.