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Year 11
AQA
Foundation

Absorbing infrared radiation practical

I can investigate how the intensity of black ink affects the infrared radiation absorbed by a surface.

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New
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Year 11
AQA
Foundation

Absorbing infrared radiation practical

I can investigate how the intensity of black ink affects the infrared radiation absorbed by a surface.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In a fair test, only the (independent) variable being investigated is changed
  2. The dependent variable is measured to investigate the effect of changing the independent variable
  3. Control variables are other factors that could be changed, but are kept the same in order not to affect the results
  4. The greater the intensity of black ink, the more easily a surface absorbs infrared

Keywords

  • Absorption - Absorption is when an electromagnetic wave is incident on a surface and transfers some or all of its energy to that surface.

  • Infrared radiation - Infrared radiation means electromagnetic waves with frequencies in a range just lower than for red light.

  • Electromagnetic wave - Electromagnetic waves are oscillations (ripples) in electric and magnetic fields.

  • Frequency - The frequency of a wave is the number of oscillations that occur each second.

  • Control variable - Control variables are variables that must remain the same throughout an investigation.

Common misconception

Infrared radiation is visible and is seen when objects glow.

Distinguish clearly between light radiation and infrared radiation in terms of what is visible and what is not visible.


To help you plan your year 11 physics lesson on: Absorbing infrared radiation practical, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Preparing sufficient numbers of card envelopes of each shade for placing on thermometers speeds up the investigation; and dipping thermometers into a beaker of water at room temperature (and drying them) reduces time between measurements.
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

For each group: 0-100°C thermometer, prepared envelopes of card, radiant heater or filament lamp that gets hot (e.g. an optics lamp), timer

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Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - equipment
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision required

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Starting with red light, sort the colours of light into the order they appear on the visible spectrum.
1 - red
2 - orange
3 - yellow
4 - green
5 - blue
6 - indigo
7 - violet
Q2.
What is the bending of light called when it moves from one transparent medium into another?
diffraction
dispersion
reflection
Correct answer: refraction
Q3.
Starting with starting with the highest frequency, sort the colours of light into order of decreasing frequency.
1 - violet
2 - indigo
3 - bue
4 - green
5 - yellow
6 - orange
7 - red
Q4.
Which of the following types of EM radiation, emitted by the Sun, can be absorbed by the skin, causing it to become darker?
infrared
visible light
Correct answer: ultraviolet
X-rays
Q5.
Which of the following types of electromagnetic radiation causes the skin to detect feelings of warmth?
Correct answer: infrared
ultraviolet
X-rays
gamma rays
Q6.
Which of the following oscillate to produce electromagnetic waves?
Correct answer: electric fields
gravitational fields
Correct answer: magnetic fields
wave medium

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of following terms explain what is meant by 'absorbing'?
attracting
Correct answer: soaking up
sucking in
Q2.
Which of the following statements about the appearance of infrared radiation is correct?
It always appears red.
It sometimes appears red and is sometimes invisible.
It appears both red and invisible at the same time.
Correct answer: It is always invisible.
Q3.
Starting with the one with the lowest frequency, put these types of electromagnetic radiation into order of increasing frequency.
1 - infrared radiation
2 - red light
3 - violet light
4 - ultraviolet radiation
Q4.
The higher the temperature of an object, the more infrared radiation it emits and the the frequency of the most intense radiation emitted.
Correct Answer: higher, greater, bigger
Q5.
Which of the following type of variable is shoe size in an investigation to find out if shoe size affects the distance you can kick a football?
Correct answer: categoric variable
continuous variable
control viriable
dependent variable
Q6.
Which of the following does infrared radiation transfer to an object when it is absorbed?
Correct answer: energy
heat
radiation

Additional material

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