Year 6 Light Worksheet - Beginner

Year 6 Light worksheet for Year 6 (Key Stage 2 / Year 3-6 (Ages 7-11)). Beginner level science practice, aligned to the UK National Curriculum. Print-ready with answer key included.

Science•Key Stage 2 / Year 3-6 (Ages 7-11)•Lightbeginner

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Light in Action: Rays, Sight and Shadows

Year 6 Science • Ages 10–11 • Beginner

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Instructions: Work through the activities in order. Read each question carefully and use the information given to explain your thinking in the answer boxes. Remember: light travels in straight lines, and we see an object when light from it enters our eyes.

How Light Travels

Use the word bank to complete each sentence. Choose each word that best fits the science idea. Write one word or phrase in each box.

Word bank: straight lines, light source, transparent, opaque, reflect

1. Light travels in ___.

2. The Sun is a natural ___.

3. A clear window is usually ___.

4. An object that blocks light is ___.

5. Light can ___ from a mirror.

How Do We See an Object?

Choose the best answer for each question. Think about the path light takes from a source, to an object, and then to your eye. Circle one option for each question.

1. Which sequence explains how you see a book?

2. What must happen for you to see a non-luminous object?

3. Which object is a light source?

4. Why can you see the Moon?

Follow the Light Ray

Read each situation and decide what happens to the light. Use the words in the question to guide your answer. Write a short explanation in each box.

1. A torch shines towards a card with a small hole. The torch, hole and eye are in a straight line. Can light from the torch reach the eye through the hole? Explain why.

2. The torch stays still, but the card is moved so the hole is no longer in line with the torch and eye. What happens to the light reaching the eye?

3. A ray of light travels from a torch to a mirror. Does the ray travel in a straight line before it reaches the mirror?

4. A pupil is looking at a tree in daylight. Describe the path of light that allows the pupil to see the tree.

Investigating Shadow Shape

Use the evidence in the table to answer the questions. The object stays the same in each test, but its position changes. Explain what the results suggest about the shape of a shadow.

Test	Object	Shadow outline	Object position
1	Arrow cut-out	Arrow	Upright
2	Arrow cut-out	Arrow	Tilted sideways
3	Rectangle card	Rectangle	Upright
4	Rectangle card	Rectangle	Tilted sideways

1. In Test 1, what shape is the shadow?

2. Compare Tests 1 and 2. What happened to the arrow-shaped shadow when the cut-out was tilted?

3. What does the table suggest about the outline of a shadow and the shape of an opaque object?

4. In Test 4, what outline would you expect if the rectangle card were turned upright?

Shadow Science: Explain Your Thinking

Use what you know about light travelling in straight lines. Answer in a complete sentence where possible. For the last question, describe how you would make a fair test and what you would observe.

1. What is needed for a shadow to form?

2. A pupil stands between a lamp and a wall. Explain why a shadow appears on the wall.

3. A pupil moves an opaque card into the path of a beam from a torch. What happens to the light behind the card?

4. Describe a fair test to find out whether turning an arrow-shaped card changes the outline of its shadow.

Answer Key

Activity 1: straight lines ; light source ; transparent ; opaque ; reflect

Activity 2: Light travels from a source to the book, then reflects into your eye ; Light reflected from it enters your eye ; A lit candle ; It reflects light from the Sun

Activity 3: 1. Yes. The torch, hole and eye are in a straight line, so light can pass through the hole to the eye. ; 2. The light will not pass through the hole to the eye because light travels in straight lines and the parts are no longer aligned. ; 3. Yes. Light travels in a straight line until it reaches the mirror. ; 4. Light travels from a source, such as the Sun, to the tree; light reflects from the tree into the pupil's eye.

Activity 4: Arrow ; The shadow's outline turned sideways with the cut-out ; A shadow has an outline related to the shape of the opaque object blocking the light ; Rectangle

Activity 5: 1. A light source, an opaque object in the light's path and a surface for the shadow to fall on. ; 2. The pupil blocks some of the lamp's light, and because light travels in straight lines, a dark shadow forms on the wall behind the pupil. ; 3. The card blocks the light, so the area behind it receives little or no light. ; 4. Example: Keep the torch, card and wall in the same positions and distance; turn only the arrow-shaped card; observe and record the shadow outline each time. The outline should remain arrow-shaped, though its orientation may change.