Nick Beecher, Johnny Duncan, and Sam Warren

10/28/14
Saura
Period: 1
Science
UV Bread Lab
UV Bead Lab
Per: 1
Ultraviolet rays have shorter wavelengths than visible light rays. UV
radiation cannot be seen or felt. UV rays are more intense with the increase of
altitude. It reduces by clouds and anything that protects it from the sun. UV
radiation reflects off snow, pavement, sand, and water. So, the average person in
the United States gets 360 mrem (millirem).
UV radiation is beneficial because it gives Vitamin D, it helps skin
condition, and it helps mood. It can be harmful because it can cause sunburn,
skin cancers, and a suppressing effect on immune system. The government
recommends people to put on sunscreens, hats, and sunglasses when under the
sun. They also recommend staying out of sun at 11 am and 4 pm. People can
get out of the sun by sitting under a tree. We then wanted to know, how UV much
radiation humans get from the sun.
Question: When changing the amount of light to shade, partial shade, and direct
sunlight, how will it affect the UV Beads?
Hypothesis: I predict that if we change the UV beads location to shade, to
partial shade, and to sunlight, sunlight will affect the UV beads the most.
Materials: UV beads
The variable that we are going to control is the setting. We are going to go
to a complete dark place with the UV beads. It is a closet in the science room.
Then we are going to a shady place. It is in the amphitheater. Then we are going
to go to a place in direct sunlight. It is above the amphitheater.
We are testing: Does changing from shade, to partial shade, to direct
sunlight affect the UV beads the most? We all hypothesize that direct sunlight will
affect the UV beads the most. We think this way, because direct sunlight will
change the UV beads the most because it directs sunlight gives out the most UV
radiation.
Our control group for this lab is the setting. We are going to keep the
beads from uncontrolled light by not letting people stand in front of the beads. In
the complete darkness, it would not matter. In the shade, it would not matter that
much either. In direct sunlight, nobody should be allowed to stand in front of the
beads.
Data:

Setting

Effect on UV rays after 5 min

Darkness 0 (no color change)

Shade

5 (Color Change) (Scale of 1-6)

Direct Sun 6 (Color Change) (Scale of 1-6)

Graph:

How much beads changed

7
6
S
c 5
a 4
l
3
e
2
(

1 1
- 0
6

C
o
A
l
m
o
o
r
u
n
C
t
h
a
o
n
f
g
e

darkness
shade
Amount of sunlight given

light

Conclusion:
In this lab, we put UV Beads in different levels of sunlight
and we had interesting results. In darkness, the UV Beads did not change. In
shade they grew bluish-purple. In direct sunlight it was as purple as it could be. In
my hypothesis, I thought that in direct sunlight the UV beads would become
extremely purple. My hypothesis was correct.
A problem with this lab is that we did this at 9 A.M, when the sun is not
fully out yet. When it is the noon or afternoon, there will be more sun reflecting on
the rays. So our experiment could have gone differently at noon, then during the
morning when we did it. Since the UV Beads changed so significantly, it proves
that the sun is harmful and can cause damage to skin. Undoubtedly, the UV
beads exposed in sunlight made me realize how powerful the sun actually is.
Bibliography:
http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/You-Me-and-UV/Science-Ideas-andConcepts/Positive-and-negative-effects-of-UV
http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/doc/uvradiation.html

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/sunanduvexposure/skincancerpreve
ntionandearlydetection/skin-cancer-prevention-and-early-detection-what-is-u-vradiation
http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/118615/science/46_fascinating_fact
s_about_ultra_violet_light_and_radiation.html
https://sites.google.com/site/uvraysallyouneedtoknow/interesting-facts-2
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/uv-reactive-beads