Year 6 Light Worksheet - Intermediate

Year 6 Light worksheet for Year 6 (Key Stage 2 / Year 3-6 (Ages 7-11)). Intermediate 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)•Lightintermediate

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Light in Action: Straight Rays and Shadows

Year 6 Science | Ages 10–11 | Intermediate

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Instructions: Work through each activity and use the evidence in the questions to explain your thinking. Remember: light travels in straight lines, and we see an object when light from it enters our eyes. Check that each answer is supported by the information given.

How Light Travels

Use the observation in each question to decide what it shows about light. Give a clear scientific answer in each box.

1. A narrow beam of light is seen travelling across a dusty room as a straight path. What does this show about how light travels?

2. A torch is aimed at a card with a small hole. A second card with a hole lets the beam through only when both holes are lined up. Why must the holes be lined up?

3. A student sees a torch beam on a wall, then places an opaque book in the beam. What happens to the light reaching the wall, and why?

4. A ray of light travels from a torch through two aligned holes. Describe the path it takes after passing through the holes.

5. A student bends a strip of card between a torch and a screen. The bright spot disappears. Explain this observation using the way light travels.

How We See Objects

Follow the path of light in each situation. State whether the object gives out its own light or reflects light, and explain how light reaches the eye.

1. A book is on a desk in a lit classroom. Describe the path of light that allows a pupil to see the book.

2. The Moon is visible at night but is not a light source. Explain how light from the Moon reaches our eyes.

3. A switched-on lamp can be seen across a room. Is the lamp luminous or non-luminous? Explain your choice.

4. A pupil is in a completely dark room with a non-luminous ball. Can the pupil see the ball? Explain why or why not.

5. A mirror is lit by a torch. Describe how light travels from the torch, to the mirror, and then to the pupil’s eye.

Shadow Investigation Data

A class measured the length of a shadow made by the same upright object. Read the table carefully, then answer the questions using the measurements.

Distance from lamp (cm)	20	40	60
Shadow length (cm)	30	15	10
Material in beam	opaque card	opaque card	opaque card
Room light level	dark	dark	dark

1. At which lamp distance was the shadow longest?

2. How did the shadow length change as the lamp moved from 20 cm to 60 cm away?

3. What was the shadow length when the lamp was 40 cm from the object?

4. Name one factor that was kept the same in all three tests.

5. Using the results, predict the shadow length if the lamp were 80 cm away.

Predicting Shadow Shapes

Use the descriptions to reason about the shape of each shadow. Remember that an opaque object blocks light, and the shadow forms on the side opposite the light source.

1. A circular opaque disc is held parallel to a flat screen, with a torch directly in front of the disc. What shape will the shadow be?

2. A rectangular card is held parallel to a wall. A torch shines directly towards the card from the opposite side. Describe the shape of the shadow on the wall.

3. A square card is turned so that one corner points towards the screen, while it stays parallel to the screen. What shape will its shadow have?

4. A triangular piece of opaque card is held parallel to a screen. What shape will its shadow have?

5. A solid object is rotated while the torch and screen stay in place. Why might the shape of its shadow change?

Explain and Apply

Answer each question in your own words, using the key ideas of straight-line travel, reflection and blocked light. Include the reason for your answer rather than giving only a single word.

1. A student stands behind an opaque screen and cannot see a switched-on lamp on the other side. Explain why the screen prevents the student from seeing the lamp.

2. A non-luminous toy is placed in sunlight. Explain why it can be seen and how the light reaches an observer’s eyes.

3. A torch, an opaque object and a screen are arranged in a straight line. Describe how the shadow forms on the screen.

4. A student claims, “We see a book because light travels from our eyes to the book.” Correct this claim with a scientifically accurate explanation.

5. A shadow appears larger when an object is moved closer to a torch. Give a possible explanation for this change.

Answer Key

Activity 1: 1. Light travels in straight lines. ; 2. Light travels in straight lines, so the holes must form a straight path for the beam to pass through. ; 3. The book blocks the light, so little or no light reaches the wall behind it. ; 4. In a straight line through the aligned holes. ; 5. The bent card blocks the straight path of the light, so it cannot reach the screen.

Activity 2: 1. Light from a source reflects off the book and enters the pupil’s eye. ; 2. Sunlight reflects off the Moon and travels to our eyes. ; 3. Luminous; it gives out its own light. ; 4. No; without light reflecting from the ball into the eye, it cannot be seen. ; 5. Light travels from the torch to the mirror, reflects off it, and then enters the pupil’s eye.

Activity 3: 1. 20 cm. ; 2. It became shorter, decreasing from 30 cm to 10 cm. ; 3. 15 cm. ; 4. The same opaque card was used, or the room remained dark. ; 5. 7.5 cm, if the pattern continues (the prediction is an extrapolation).

Activity 4: 1. A circle. ; 2. A rectangle. ; 3. A square (turned so it appears diamond-shaped). ; 4. A triangle. ; 5. Rotating the object changes the shape or outline facing the light, changing the shape of the blocked-light region on the screen.

Activity 5: 1. The opaque screen blocks the straight path of light from the lamp to the student’s eyes. ; 2. Sunlight reflects from the toy and enters the observer’s eyes. ; 3. The opaque object blocks light travelling in straight lines, leaving a darker region on the screen behind it. ; 4. We see the book when light reflects from it and enters our eyes; light does not travel from our eyes to the book. ; 5. When the object is closer to the torch, it blocks a wider spread of the diverging light rays, so its shadow can appear larger.